To paraphrase Austen, if I loved The Belle of Belgrave Square less, I could write about it better. One of the four horsewomen of the Belles of London series, Julia is a shy bluestocking of an heiress with a reputation as an eccentric. Jasper Blunt is a fortune hunting ex-military hero with a forbidding reputation and appearance. And isn’t that name fantastic? Jasper Blunt evokes a historical military action thriller, though this is the story that takes place after the hero returns from war and must do whatever is required to take care of the three illegitimate children he has at his run down country estate. This does nothing to enhance his prospects, while being the purpose behind his search for an heiress to wed.
When a marriage of convenience becomes one of necessity, Julia begins to come into her own and Jasper must hide his past while attempting to court his new wife. With secrets and a forbidden locked room, this story conjures shades of Bluebeard or an echo of The Blue Castle…it had me seeing the latter everywhere and thinking it was just too much on my mind, until the Author’s Note explaining that it was one of the inspirations for The Belle of Belgrave Square. I think that made me love Julia and Jasper’s story even more.
The Belle of Belgrave Square is a surprising addition to my favorites by Mimi Matthews. I adored the Blue Castle of it all!
About the Book
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…
The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews (Belles of London, book 2) | Berkley, Oct 2022 | paperback, 432 pages
This review refers to both a purchased paperback and a library audiobook. All opinions expressed are my own.
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