The setup for this romance novel set in Victorian England is pretty standard: a beautiful woman from a good family watches her marriage prospects disappear after her father dies and their wealth vanishes. Annabelle is a very likable protagonist, especially since she makes friends with three other women who also can't catch a husband, and their friendship is delightful. The four of them make a pact to work together during Annabelle's last season to make an advantageous match and help her snag the peer she's always wanted. If she doesn't, she will be forced to become a rich man's mistress, something that has already happened to her mother, who would do anything to save her daughter from that same indignity.
Annabelle finds the right sort of peer to trap into marriage, but she's draw to Simon, the son of a butcher who's made a fortune in the financial markets. Will her attraction to this gorgeous specimen of a man overrule her desire for a better social standing? I think it shall.
I found this book very readable, but it's not exactly my kind of romance novel; I spent a lot of it just feeling very frustrated with how dumb the class system was, given that Simon's wealth would secure Annabelle's future and the future of her mother and younger brother as well. He was also supposed to be unsuitable by virtue of being a scoundrel, but he wasn't particularly convincing in that role, and it was impossible to imagine that he was ever going to seriously try to sell Annabelle on being his mistress rather than just proposing to her. I really liked the dynamic between Simon and Annabelle, but I never really believed in the social constraints keeping them apart.
Grade: B
Annabelle finds the right sort of peer to trap into marriage, but she's draw to Simon, the son of a butcher who's made a fortune in the financial markets. Will her attraction to this gorgeous specimen of a man overrule her desire for a better social standing? I think it shall.
I found this book very readable, but it's not exactly my kind of romance novel; I spent a lot of it just feeling very frustrated with how dumb the class system was, given that Simon's wealth would secure Annabelle's future and the future of her mother and younger brother as well. He was also supposed to be unsuitable by virtue of being a scoundrel, but he wasn't particularly convincing in that role, and it was impossible to imagine that he was ever going to seriously try to sell Annabelle on being his mistress rather than just proposing to her. I really liked the dynamic between Simon and Annabelle, but I never really believed in the social constraints keeping them apart.
Grade: B
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