The Belle of Belgrave Square

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.

4.5 stars
Julia is a real Wallflower. It is a better book than the first volume in the series.