The Belle of Belgrave Square
Ratings20
Average rating3.8
A London heiress rides out to the wilds of the English countryside to honor a marriage of convenience with a mysterious and reclusive stranger.
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. What he requires now is a rich wife to ornament his isolated ruin, and he has his sights set on the enchanting Julia Wychwood.
For Julia, an incurable romantic cursed with a crippling social anxiety, navigating a London ballroom is absolute torture. The only time Julia feels any degree of confidence is when she's on her horse. 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.
In exchange for her dowry and her hand, Jasper must promise to grant her freedom to do as she pleases. To ride—and to read—as much as she likes without masculine interference. 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. But the more she learns of the beastly former hero, the more intrigued she becomes...
Series
Featured Series
3 primary books#2 in Belles of London
Belles of London is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2022 with contributions by Mimi Matthews.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
4.5 stars
Julia is a real Wallflower. It is a better book than the first volume in the series.
4.25/5
Oh, this is the novel I was in the mood for. Horrible parents, the heroine freeing herself from them and making them pay (quite literally too!), and a hero caring for his loved one more than he cares for himself. He would do anything for her.
And that's exactly what this story delivered! Julia is trapped in her own house with neglecting parents who always suffer from illnesses and diseases. She can't decide anything by herself, she's forced to obey her parents. And she has a crippling social anxiety that prevents her from enjoying a London season.
That is, until she meets Captain Blunt who makes her feel brave. And desired. And for the first time in her life, Julia stands up for herself.
As much as I love a knight in shining armour saving his damsel in distress from time to time, which happens here, I love it even more when the damsel - even when she's in distress - allows herself to be saved and stands up for herself. And yes, Blunt did visit her first but it was Julia who proposed the solution.
I loved this book. The Beauty and the Beast is one of my favourite fairytales and this retelling is amazing. The writing is good, the descriptions vivid, the children are great. I'm glad at how everything happened and worked out.
Sometimes you just need a cheesy dramatic regency romance to really hit the spot.
Honestly, I don't actually read this genre often, but that might be something I need to change. This had all the usual tropes of the genre, which is what usually turns me away (misogyny (whether heavy or light is always there), small “fragile” woman with a big “strong” man, shotgun weddings, etc...) but this time I just had a really good time with it. I adored Julia and Jasper's relationship and how they obviously felt so much for each other even though they were trying to deny it.
I thought I had to twist figured out from all the (intentionally misleading) clues throughout the book, but the actual reveal REALLY got me. This isn't a particularly tense or breathtaking story but I don't think it needs to be. I was very much entertained the whole time.
