A Proper Charade
By Esther Hatch
Adult Historical Romance
Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 224 Pages
May 1st 2020 by Covenant Communications
Summary
Lady Patience Kendrick was born to a life of privilege, and with the London Season looming, she finds herself facing unprecedented pressure to adhere to the rules of society. Unfortunately, the free-spirited young woman is anything but proper. Patience's elder brother, a former military man, bemoans his sister's antics—but when he accuses her of incurable frivolity, it is simply more than she can bear. Determined to prove her brother wrong, Patience undertakes a drastic experiment: she will disguise herself as a maid and demonstrate her ability to work as hard as anyone.
Taken on as household staff by her brother's former general, Patience soon learns that willingness and ability are two very different things. While her plan sounded promising in theory, the reality is that she is out of her depth—and the irresistibly charming son of the house isn't helping matters. Patience soon finds herself embroiled in a charade far more complicated than she imagined. With both her pride and her heart at stake, she is determined to prove her brother wrong—even as her plans spiral delightfully out of control.
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My Review
A PROPER CHARADE is a story full of humorous predicaments, a heroine that will make readers smile, and hero that will tug on the heart, and a sweet romance with a few swoon-worthy moments. Highly recommended to sweet historical romance fans!
This story was so much fun! It was exactly what I needed. Patience is a bundle of joy. I don't know how you could not like her. She can't contain her optimism for life and wanting to enjoy it even if it's not within society's expectations. Her brother doesn't think she's serious enough, that she's too spontaneous and frivolous, and basically gives up on her acting as he thinks she should, so she comes up with a plan and then carries it out, much to this reader's entertainment. Anthony is a planner. He's planned out for two years who he would marry and how he would achieve what he wants. I wouldn't say he's a pessimist, but more of a realist. He thinks he still needs to earn his father's good opinion and so he is doing all he can to make him proud. I couldn't help falling in love with his character as well. The two of them were quite a pair! They balance each other out and also challenge the other. I loved how Patience totally befuddled Anthony and how Anthony steadied Patience. Their banter as well as any dialogue (internal thoughts included) from Patience made me smile or laugh the whole way through this story. The romance was also very sweet and enjoyable. I also really liked some of the side characters, like Anthony's sister and her children, and Lord Bryant (who I remember from the previous story and who I feel should eventually get his own story).
I had very little to complain about in this story. There was one point I felt a particular charade was a bit to unrealistic (literally a paragraph long) and the ending might have been a touch too sweetly drawn out, but that's it. Very minor and nothing that impacted my enjoyment of this story.
In the end, was it what I wished for? This story was perfectly timed. It was fun, sweet, with plenty to make you laugh, and wonderful characters. If you're a sweet historical romance fan, definitely grab this one!
Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Other Books by the Author
(Linked to my reviews.)
About the Author
Esther Hatch grew up on a cherry orchard in rural Utah. After high school, she alternated living in Russia to teach children English and attending Brigham Young University in order to get a degree in archaeology. She began writing when one of her favorite authors invited her to join a critique group. The only catch was she had to be a writer. Not one to be left out of an opportunity to socialize and try something new; she started on her first novel that week. Visit her at estherhatch.com.
The publisher is running a giveaway for this book that is currently on tour. You can go check out Bookworm Lisa's review and enter the tour giveaway here.
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