I recently discovered Mimi Matthews when I read A Holiday by Gaslight. It was a short novella but I was really excited to delve into a longer novel of hers. The Matrimonial Advertisement is a enjoyable read. Solid 3 stars. I liked the main characters and the way their relationship develops. There were some funny lines. It could've been added half a star but it started to drag a little in the middle and the plot line about Giles seemed a bit too absurd for my tastes. I probably won't read the rest of the series. I didn't really like Jenny or Alex overly much to bother reading the next one and the two after that don't quite grab me. But I'll definitely keep my eye out for future Mimi Matthew releases.
I have pretty strict rules about the historical romances that I will read. Generally they need to be recommended by some trusted sources on Twitter. When I pick them myself I tend to get horrible books that I DNF. That's why I'm so excited about this book. I chose this one from the description on the book tour and I absolutely loved it!
Helena is on the run but she isn't flighty or impetuous. Her escape from her family has been well planned. She needs to get married in order to wrest control of her inheritance from her relatives. She is unable to control it herself because she is a woman so she is in desperate need of a husband.
Justin returned from being a prisoner of war in India and in an act of pure spite, managed to seize control of the largest house from its impoverished gentleman owner. Now he is hated by the community and just wants to be left alone. His secretary and a lawyer friend though have advertised for a bride for him. He's ignored them up to now when his friend in London sent him a woman who is obviously in trouble.
I loved that these were both sensible, no-nonsense people. There was a real threat that Helena was running from based on newspaper accounts of the time. This was a great way to get actual historical issues into the story.
This book felt comfortable from the opening pages. I was pulled directly into the story. This is the type of historical romance that I love and I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.
Giveaway
During the Blog Tour we will be giving away a signed copy of The Matrimonial Advertisement! To enter, please enter via the Gleam form below.
Giveaway Rules
– Giveaway ends at 11:59pm EST on September 18th. You must be 18 or older to enter. – Giveaway is open to US residents only. – Only one entry per household. – All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion. – Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.