Like all of the books in the series, A Night in Grosvenor Square includes three short stories by three different authors. I was especially excited to pick up this volume because all three authors are original authors to the series, plus one is one of my new favorite authors, Heather B. Moore. What is charming about this collection is that each story features a scene that occurs in Grosvenor Square in London sometime in the early 1800's.
A Match for Princess Pompous is a story of a widowed matchmaker in 1810 named Adelaide. Instead of being concerned with her own love life, Adelaide chooses to focus on helping other women find their true love and the more challenging the case the better.
No case is more challenging than that of Odette Armistead, otherwise known as Princess Pompous. Odette has a reputation in London for being one of the most disheartening maidens, but what no one knows is that she has purposely acquired this title. The truth is that her, and the man that she loves, Jack Hewitt, planned this for the Season, so that once it was over, they hoped, they could tell their disagreeable parents, and finally be together.
Their plan is faulty from the start, and really falls apart when Odette cannot fool the matchmaker! When I first started reading I had an ideas about where the story would take me and, though predictable at times, I liked how it all turned out. I must admit that I grew a little bored with the story of Odette and Jack, and the predictability, and actually would've loved to have seen more from Mr. Lexington (Jack's best friend) and the shy Ms. Summerfield, but I also understand this is a short story, emphasis on short. I did enjoy the story and found it over charming. This is the first time I've read any of Sarah M. Eden's work but I really liked her writing style and how she brought her characters, and this time period of London and Society, to life.
Confections and Pretense felt a lot like a Cinderella story to me. Anne Preston has lived a hard knock life. She has no family, lives in a boardinghouse in London in 1825, is thirty-one, considered an "old maid," with no hopes of ever getting married. She is lucky enough to work at Gunter's Tea Shop, an ice cream shop that is in a nicer London neighborhood, serving members of the ton. Anne pours everything she has into her job, slowly saving every cent, so that she can hopefully one day open her own ice cream shop in America.
Anne is a daydreamer, so when she meets a distinguished, older American man, her imagination runs wild, especially after he rescues her from what could've been a very bad situation. Little does the charming American, Davis Whitledge, know but he actually put Anne in an even worse predicament than either of them could've ever imagined; a matter of life and death.
Out of all of the stories, I would have to say that Confections and Pretense was my favorite. The plot did not lead where I thought it would and the ending actually gave me goosebumps with its twist ending. My heart felt for sweet Anne and her plight and I found myself rooting not only for her to find love with Mr. Whitledge but also to find a way out of her "societal rules," and able to pursue he dreams. Annette Lyon is also a new author to me, but I love her style of writing, and want to find books from her to read.
Little London was the story that I had anticipated by Heather B. Moore and was surprised it wasn't my favorite. It is the sweet story of Ellen Humphreys and Quinn Edwards, and their chance encounter in a small meadow near Harpshire Village, a small town on the outskirts of London, in 1826. Ellen is a country girl and Quinn is the Marquess of Kenworth, a title that he does not wish to bestow, but has grudgingly held since his father's passing a few years back. After Quinn and Ellen's parley in the meadow, they each know, due to their unequal status in Society, that they can never be together. As the story unfolds, events transpire, and characters come into play, and makes each of them both second guess everything they know.
Little London has its predictability (as most love stories in this series do) but it was an engaging read. What I loved the most was the epilogue at the end of the book. I hate when certain stories end and you're left to wonder where the characters ended up. With Little London, you do not have to worry! Heather B. Moore always does a wonderful job of character development, and this short story does not disappoint.
Just like the other books in the Timeless Regency Collection the stories are short, sweet, with little twists and turns and drama mixed in here and there. I enjoyed my time in early 1800's London and I'm sure you will too.
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Mirror Press in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. All opinions are my own.
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