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.
Can a Christmastide kiss lead to love?
Frances Melbourne strives to overcome her shyness but fears she will soon be facing life as a spinster since the one chance she had for love slipped through her fingers. Making matters worse, her well-meaning father increases her dowry. Unwelcome suitors approach her at every turn and make planning a Christmas charity ball nearly impossible.
Thomas Sinclair left Her Majesty’s Navy wiser but not richer. After his heart is caught by the daughter of a wealthy man at a house party, he knows the only chance of winning her hand–and her father’s approval–is to seek his fortune in America.
He returns home for Christmas to tell Frances what’s in his heart and ask if she’ll wait for him. Yet how can he convince her that he truly cares for her and not her fortune? And when he learns of a dark side to the charity she’s working so hard to help, he fears the truth will end his chance to make her his.
Frances gathers her courage to make a bold move by sharing a Christmas kiss with Thomas. He’s everything she’s longed for but his news about the charity throws her careful plans in disarray, along with her heart.
Review:
Another super sweet (and festive!) addition to The Mayfair Literary League series!
If you’ve read A Mistaken Identity , you might have been wondering when–or maybe even if!–Frances would get her own HEA. (If you haven’t read it, Frances is still harboring tons of guilt over what happened there and gives us enough info to figure out what we need to know.) Well, the wait is over! She’s making an attempt to overcome her crippling shyness by volunteering to organize the League’s charity Christmas ball, and on top of that, Thomas Sinclair is back from the States for the holiday. This Christmas could make all of her dreams come true, or it could end in disaster…
I really enjoyed watching Frances come into her own here, and absolutely adored that she was the first one to make a move! She didn’t even officially declare to the group that she was taking part in the For Better or Worse protocol, instead doing it all by herself. There was an awful lot of mis- and non-communication going on between Frances and Thomas throughout the story, but for the most part it made sense for their characters and didn’t bother me as much as it might have.
Thomas’s side quest to find Peter’s family, figure out how the little boy from London got lost in NYC, and make sure that what happened to him never happened to anyone else was a really solid part of the plot. I loved that the resolution of that mission was made him realize that he didn’t have to do everything on his own and paved the way for his HEA with Frances.
And that epilogue–perfection <3
I’m still oh-so-patiently waiting for maybe-not-a-widow Rebecca’s story–fingers crossed it’s next!
Rating: 4 stars / B+
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.