Bonded by books and united by a purpose, The Mayfair Literary League has taken on a new mission—For Better or Worse. The bachelors of London won’t know what hit them when these bookish ladies set their sights on the men in their lives who don’t see them for who they truly are—yet.
When a simple favor becomes very complicated…
After years abroad, Lady Eliza Chadwick returns to London to claim her future. Only one man will do—her brother’s longtime best friend. But how can she hope to draw his notice when her own mother didn’t find her worthy of love? However, her new friends in The Mayfair Literary League and their not-so-secret agenda of making a bold move to catch a man’s attention might give her the confidence to change her future.
Philip Carstairs, the Duke of Trentworth, never felt the need to follow in his perfect brother’s footsteps until unexpectedly inheriting the title. Now he’s determined to honor the family name, beginning with marrying into the family that his brother intended to.
His resolve is shaken when his best friend’s younger sister, now a beautiful and elegant lady, asks him for a favor. After all, what harm could come from granting her simple request of paying her attention at a ball or two?
Eliza is delighted by the success of her mission, especially when she and Philip share a heated kiss. Her hopes rise that a simple favor will result in their happily ever after. But Philip’s determination to honor his brother’s memory just might ruin everything.
Join the ladies of the league as they pursue their HEAs!
A Matter of Convenience, Book 1
A Pretend Betrothal, Book 2
A Mistaken Identity, Book 3
A Simple Favor, Book 4
Review:
Another sweet story in the Mayfair Literary League series! (Well, mostly sweet…until you get to the epilogue… 😉 )
Eliza might be my favorite heroine of the series yet! I loved how, after years of being lonely and feeling as if she didn’t really belong anywhere she managed to find her people in the League and to throw herself so completely into their causes. She was already a big reader, but seeing her becoming so committed to assisting in their charity work and setting herself up to participate so quickly in the *other* agenda item was jut wonderful.
And of course, the “simple favors” she asked of Philip, her older brother’s good friend, were just genius. A teensy bit deceptive? Sure. But did they get the job done? You bet!
Poor Philip–he spent so much time in the perfect (or so it seemed to him) shadow of his older brother and father that he was floundering more than a little when the dukedom was thrust upon his shoulders. I ached for him as he tried to make himself do as he believed they would have wanted, planning to marry into the family of his brother’s fiancée. Readers can see that he truly wants to do right by them, but we also see how much Eliza is coming to mean to him and it seems like Ms Williams is setting him up in an impossible position. How will our hero and heroine ever get to their HEA?
Of course they do, and thank goodness! The epilogue does a tad bit more heavy lifting than it probably should (besides the sexy times, we get some quick explanations of how certain other characters ultimately end up satisfied as well) but I didn’t really mind that much. Add Eliza’s brother to the list of characters I’m hoping will find their own HEAs in this series, right after Frances and the widow (or is she?) Rebecca…
Rating: 4 stars / A-
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.