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The Belle of Belgrave Square Mimi Matthews
432 pages | Published by Berkley US Publication Date: October 11, 2022
Julia, an anxious but kind and beautiful woman, is on her third unsuccessful season in London when she meets the formidable Captain Jasper Blunt. Rumored to be a harsh man with a scandalous past, what Jasper is really in search of is a wife with a respectable fortune. Julia's dowry is just that, but her parents refuse to let her leave London so that she can remain by their sickbeds, and also be subjected to the medical care that they see fit. After a scary encounter with her parent's doctor, Julia proposes to Jasper as her way out.
The twists of this book!! Having finished, I'm tempted to re-read knowing all that I know now.
Julia is all of us bookish people who would much rather be cozy at home with a book than out at a social function. By the time this book ends, Julia has really come into her own and learned to believe in her own worth. She's really an incredible character.
Julia and Captain Blunt have the sweetest, most pure friendship and relationship. What a JOY to read. He was so protective yet gentle, really just swoon worthy, to be honest. They were just right for each other, and you could tell that they were great friends and partners.
What I didn't love: Julia is so disconnected from her friends. While I can understand that maybe she needed to be feeling a bit isolated to make some of the decisions she did, I really wish we had seen more of her own relationships other than with her parents. We know that her friendships are incredibly important to her and I would have liked to see a bit of that.
That said, we did get a bit of Anne towards the end and I'm hoping that her story is coming next, because I can feel that it's going to be a good one!
Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the advanced e-book!
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