When Your Best Friend Tries to Decide Who You Should Marry…
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Source: Gift from Publisher
TYPE OF NOVEL: Regency Romance Novella
SERIES: Cecilia’s Mismatches #1
THE PREMISE: Before Audra Hales has her first London Season she is invited by her former schoolmate – who is already happily married – to a house party in Bath. And while at this house party, Audra’s dear friend Cecilia intends to exercise her matchmaking skills and orchestrate the perfect match for Audra…
WHAT I LOVED:
- Subtle Jane Austen Nods: Imagine if Emma Woodhouse and Catherine Morland were friends. That is what the relationship between Cecilia and Audra felt like. Cecilia with her overconfidence and superior opinions on all things, and Audra with her overactive imagination and initial willingness to be led. It was a very interesting and realistic friendship dynamic to explore. While Ms. Lauder imbues originality and distinctiveness with these characters, Audra gets herself into the same variety of mixups and misunderstandings as naive Catherine Morland.
- Lord Vernon: *swoon* This is such a yummy hero. He is the serious older brother who is determined not to fall into anyone’s matchmaking schemes or traps. He is NOT who Cecilia has in mind for Audra. But between the rumors about his father, his supposed relationship with an actress, and his perplexing demeanor – Audra finds herself a bit distracted by him when her head and heart should be filled with his flashy and handsome younger brother, Lord Garner Tremaine. With his provoking style of teasing, infuriating deflections, heated stares, and solicitous attention who could blame Audra for being distracted! I adored everything about Lord Vernon – he is just the sort of quiet, misunderstood, and broody hero that can make a reader lose her heart.
- Charming and Captivating: From the bedroom mix-up to the rain rescue, from the run-in with the Fearsome Foursome to a scintillating row at the dinner table – this story was eventful and engaging. Audra is an endearing heroine, with her misplaced confidence and imagination. I loved following her adventures and misadventures in this short but satisfying novella.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:
- More Foundation: It felt like we needed more background and development for some of the relationships in this story – like Cecilia’s friendship with Audra, or what inspires Cecilia to believe herself to be a talented matchmaker, and the emergence and cause of Lord Vernon’s feelings for Audra. Maybe a little bit more world-building since this is the establishing first book of a series.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
🎩 A charming and guileless heroine and a broody and burdened hero creates a touching and entertaining romance.
✍🏼 I’m so excited to see Austenesque author Suzan Lauder branch out into the Regency Romance genre!
💕 I love that this is a series that promises some more matchmaking fails!
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I loved Lord Vernon and got a kick out of those funny scenes, too. Good question! I never considered how Cecilia got her idea.
I always enjoy Suzan’s books and this sounds interesting.
Suzan always has beautiful covers.
Thanks, Meredith, for a great review! I love how everyone swoons over Lord Vernon. He and Audra are quite the match, though Cecilia didn’t see it that way at first. Cassie’s story is coming out soon, and though they’re stand-alone, it would be more fun if readers read this one first. It’s short!
Lord Vernon was definitely the highlight here! Lucky Audra! I enjoyed this story and look forward to the next in the series.
Thanks for sharing your great review, Meredith. I swooned over Lord Vernon too, and Suzan teased me about falling for her hero! lol I enjoyed this story from the first. The bedroom mix-up scene hooked me. It was such fun!