How to Be a Wallflower by Eloisa James Series: Would Be Wallflowers #1
Published by HarperCollins on March 29, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Medieval, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency, Fiction / Women
Pages: 384
Format: ARC
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From New York Times bestseller Eloisa James, a new Regency-set novel in which a heiress with the goal of being a wallflower engages a rugged American in a scorchingly sensual, witty wager that tests whether clothing does indeed make the man—or the wallflower! A perfect companion story to Eloisa's My American Duchess.
Miss Cleopatra Lewis is about to be launched in society by her aristocratic grandfather. But since she has no intention of marrying, she visits a costume emporium specifically to order unflattering dresses guaranteed to put off any prospective suitors.
Powerful and charismatic Jacob Astor Addison is in London, acquiring businesses to add to his theatrical holdings in America—as well as buying an emerald for a young lady back in Boston. He’s furious when a she-devil masquerading as an English lady steals Quimby’s Costume Emporium from under his nose.
Jake strikes a devil’s bargain, offering to design her “wallflower wardrobe” and giving Cleo the chance to design his. Cleo can’t resist the fun of clothing the rough-hewn American in feathers and flowers. And somehow in the middle of their lively competition, Jake becomes her closest friend.
It isn’t until Cleo becomes the toast of all society that Jake realizes she’s stolen his fiercely guarded heart. But unlike the noblemen at her feet, he doesn’t belong in her refined and cultured world.
Caught between the demands of honor and desire, Jake would give up everything to be with the woman he loves—if she’ll have him!
Its been a hot minute since I read an Eloisa James. For several years, she was my favorite Regency mass market author. And this first book in her new series reminds me of why I loved her.
Great characters, lots of gentle humor, excellent historical details and interesting stories. Plus the romance is there in spades.
How to Be a Wallflower (yet again, another title that has little relationship to the actual plot) has a businesswoman with ties to the aristocracy (Cleo) and a brash American businessman (Jake) that also has an American royalty type legacy. Two big personalities, and one business goal, force these two together into an unlikely friendship.
Jake is instantly enthralled with Cleo, but in a way that conflicts with what he has convinced himself he is looking for in a wife. She is not quiet, biddable, or a wallflower. Cleo is a smart, self-assured woman who also has no wish to marry. However, as she works to establish a relationship with her grandfather, she agrees to attend Society events. She says she wants to attend as a wallflower, however, even though that idea quickly flies out the window (again, making the title misleading at best).
At first Jake and Cleo are adversarial, then partners in a ridiculous wager/agreement that starts to take root as a friendship. I felt the pacing of the romance, starting with friendship, was really nice even when both were obviously attracted to each other.
Kisses follow. The two make out a lot throughout the book, before eventually becoming intimate. The intimacy is on page and although fairly vanilla, its still too much for readers who want kisses only. There is a fair amount of mentions of adultery and drug use that, although not explicit, may not be everyone’s cup of tea. There is also one assault scene.
The last quarter was a bit more challenging for me in a book that otherwise was an easy, fun read. James raises the emotional stakes (or at least applies the formula to do so) in a miscommunication type scenario, and although thankfully doesn’t belabor the misunderstanding, I found fell a little flat for two characters who had previously been very frank and up front. I knew a misunderstanding was going to happen, because the way she teases it in the lead up, and frankly I found it annoying. I also didn’t understand one scene in the book, which I also think was meant to raise the stakes (an assault), but didn’t work for me.
Other than those pieces, I really enjoyed this book and would love to read the next in the series, which I think is set up in this book albeit pretty discreetly.
Historical elements are woven through the story, and I liked some of the contrast between Americans and the British. Clothing was a big feature of the story, for those who love some of those details, but I also enjoyed some of the “escapes” the characters made to Green Park or to Covent Garden.
I would recommend this to fans of Eloisa James or Regency Readers looking for a friends to lovers type story.
*A review copy was provided by Netgalley. No other compensation was provided.
