Series Name: Belles of London, #2
“Captain.” She inclined her head to him, and catching up her heavy skirts in her hands, swiftly took her leave. As she exited the room, she senses him staring after her just as he had that morning in Hyde park.
She hastened her step, once again reminded of myths and fairy stories. Of dark, brooding villains abducting young maidens who were guilty of doing nothing more than minding their own business.
And Captain Blunt was a villain. Everyone said so.
She would do well to remember it.
The Belle of Belgrave Square took me a week to read because I never wanted it to end.
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…
Mimi Matthews is at the top of her game with this book ripe with literary allusions, references to some beloved classics, a swoon-worthy romance and a hero and heroine you can’t help but fall for. While I adored the first book in Mimi’s Belles of London series, I was ravenous for book two. Julia and Jasper are utter perfection. If you love classic and gothic stories this book will be a treat for your senses. As soon as I discovered that Mimi also pays homage to one of my most favourite romances of all times, The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. And Mimi exceeded all of my lofty expectations with humour and love.
Julia is the daughter of two selfish invalids who seem to compete to see who can be more poorly. Is anything actually wrong with them? Hard to tell. Julia is desperate to marry but believes herself to be an unlovable old maid thanks to her father’s secret habit of refusing any man who offers for her and has the audacity to want to take her away from him; he believes Julia should only do her duty and care for her parents forever. Julia hides her feelings away, including some strong anxiety, through her love of horse riding and reading novels. It’s only when she meets Jasper, a notoriously grizzled and curt war hero out to find a wealthy bride, that she realizes that there’s more to life than servitude to people who don’t care about you. Jasper is a seasoned soldier who’s not hiding his fortune hunting ways: he has a crumbling estate, three bastard children and debts to pay off. He doesn’t have time for something as foolish as love. After a terrible meet-cute that has Julia wanting to disappear into the ground forever, Julia and Jasper discover they have more in common than either, or society, ever suspected. Mimi spends a good portion of the beginning of the book building layer upon layer of their characters and the tension between them. I loved how deeply she dove into their backstories and made Jasper such a complex character who you don’t know if you should love or hate at the beginning. Julia could have easily come across as incredibly sheltered and weak, but like Valancy in my beloved Blue Castle, Mimi allows Julia the room to breathe, ask deep questions about class and roles in life, and recognize herself as a complex and dynamic woman. While Julia and Jasper’s love story is epically sweet, it’s the growth that Jasper helps Julia achieve that had me tearing up at points in the story.
When Jasper spirits Julia away to his estate, she feels like her life truly begins. Indeed, we see her discover her backbone when she’s given things to care about: kittens, children, a home of her own, and people to love. Watching Julia and Jasper fall deeply in love in this closed-door romance will melt even the most icy heart. I personally love a hero who shows his heart first, and Jasper was willing to make himself vulnerable to show Julia what it’s like to be cared for and loved. Is it any wonder I never wanted this story to end? They are a well-suited couple whose friendship and love made me wistful at the end of the story. I wanted more of their life and wasn’t ready to leave them behind.
I loved the world building and setting in this book. Mimi is renowned for the research she does in her books, and this one is no different. Her author notes are always worth a read for some of the further explanations she gives about what she references. I loved the different houses in this story so much – they almost seemed like their own characters. The oppressive house of Julia’s parents was so stuffy and sad. Jasper’s crumbling estate hidden way away in Yorkshire should have been sad and depressing, but instead it was a haven. It is a good reminder that money doesn’t buy you happiness; although by Julia’s reaction to books and a certain home library, perhaps a good story does.
A love story for book lovers, The Belle of Belgrave Square is a must-read!
Thank you to Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
