the belle of belgrave square mimi matthews

Navigating Victorian high society is a necessary nightmare for anxious heiress Julia Wychwood, who prefers the company of a good novel or her horse to men, but longs to escape the clutches of her ailing and overbearing parents. But the more she learns of the beastly former hero, the more intrigued she becomes…Ī grand cross-class romance, a twisty mystery, and emotional internal struggles combine to excellent effect in Matthews's effervescent second Belles of London romance (after Siren of Sussex). He readily agrees to her conditions, with one provision of his own: Julia is forbidden from going into the tower rooms of his estate and snooping around his affairs. To ride-and to read-as much as she likes without masculine interference. In exchange for her dowry and her hand, Jasper must promise to grant her freedom to do as she pleases. Unfortunately, a young lady can’t spend the whole of her life in the saddle, so Julia makes an impetuous decision to take her future by the reins-she proposes to Captain Blunt. 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. “Shiveringly Gothic.”- New York Times Book ReviewĪ PopSugar and BookBub Best Romance of 2022!Ī London heiress rides out to the wilds of the English countryside to honor a marriage of convenience with a mysterious and reclusive stranger.

The belle of belgrave square mimi matthews