The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews

The only time Julia feels any degree of confidence is when she’s on her horse.

What he requires now is a rich wife to ornament his isolated ruin, and he has his sights set on the enchanting Julia Wychwood.įor Julia, an incurable romantic cursed with a crippling social anxiety, navigating a London ballroom is absolute torture. Tall, dark, and dour, the notorious Captain Jasper Blunt was once hailed a military hero, but tales abound of his bastard children and his haunted estate in Yorkshire. If you’re looking for a Victorian historical with a heroine who is brave despite herself, in a book that won’t rip your heart out or drag you through rivers of angst and misery, then I think you’ll enjoy this romance.Ī London heiress rides out to the wilds of the English countryside to honor a marriage of convenience with a mysterious and reclusive stranger. It was a lovely experience while I read it, and after I finished it, it was gone from my consciousness. It didn’t give me sleepless nights of reading, and it didn’t blow my hair back, but it was exactly what I needed at the time. I enjoyed it and read it pretty quickly, but it’s… well, it’s fine. (She does blush rather a lot.)ĭespite the pattern of character revelations and Julia’s bravery in conversation, the book is pretty standard stuff. She does not shy away from the more difficult or awkward topics no matter how much she blushes. If there’s an issue, it bubbles out of her pretty quickly. She blurts out the question she wants answered. One thing did stand out for me: despite her anxiety, Julia (usually impulsively) does the brave thing. So far, so standard, but there are some big reveals as they get to know each other. Jasper sets his eyes on Julia and the pursuit begins in the most respectful way. She also has two ill parents, but how much is actual illness and how much is histrionics, it’s difficult to say.

London is most definitely not her happy place. She also happens to be beautiful and a bit prone to anxiety.

He’s notorious for his dour, taciturn personality, his rumored illegitimate children and his fortune hunting. And as it turns out, surly, scarred war heroes with questionable pasts are one of my reading kinks.Ĭaptain Jasper Blunt is notorious. As with so many of my reading kinks, they are so different from my real life preferences in human companionship. I did not enjoy the first book in Mimi Matthews’ Belles of London series, but I decided to give book 2 a try and I’m so glad that I did. You know, I love a series that’s connected enough to be rewarding, but separate enough to be dipped into at any point.

The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews