The first irresistible installment in New York Times bestselling author Jennifer McQuiston's Seduction Diaries series proves that some secrets are too delicious to hide. Pretty and popular, Miss Clare Westmore knows exactly what (or rather, who) she wants: the next Duke of Harrington. But when she twists her ankle on the eve of the Season's most touted event, Clare is left standing in the wallflower line watching her best friend dance away with her duke. Dr. Daniel Merial is tempted to deliver more than a diagnosis to London's most unlikely wallflower, but he doesn't have time for distractions, even one so delectable. Besides, she's clearly got her sights on more promising prey. So why can't he stop thinking about her? All Clare wants to do is return to the dance floor. But as her former friends try to knock her permanently out of place, she realizes with horror she is falling for her doctor instead of her duke. When her ankle finally heals and she faces her old life again, will she throw herself back into the game? Or will her time in the wallflower line have given her a glimpse of who she was really meant to be?
Diary of an Accidental Wallflower was so cute! Instead of being about a true wallflower, spinster, or oddball, Clare is a debutante who knows how to play the game. She’s working hard to land herself the future duke of Harrington. At least until she badly sprains her ankle trying to avoid him seeing her be less than fashionable. Clare is less than thrilled when the handsome doctor, Daniel, tells her she’ll have to stay off her feet for a month. In a month everything can change with the fickle ton, including her chance of bagging a titled husband.
At times, Diary of an Accidental Wallflower reminded me of a Regency Mean Girls. Clare’s frenemy, Sophie, waltzes with her duke while Clare sits off to the side with her injury. Then she starts rumors about her supposed friend in her absence, making her return a bit awkward. That darn Sophie also tries to set up Clare for scandal! Clare has her moments too, primarily in the beginning when she treats Daniel quite poorly just because he’s of the lower class and has no money to his name. But obviously, she realizes that those things are superficial and it’s the character of a person that matters.
I absolute love family secrets, and there is a family secret in Diary of an Accidental Wallflower! At first, it starts as that rumor Sophie started, but in this case, that rumor has some truth to it. And I absolutely loved the truth when it came out! It’s not quite as scandalous as I had hoped, because….well, let’s just say that one more degree of closeness would have been truly shocking! But it still left me with a bit of a smirk, because that could have turned out all bad if not for Sophie’s vicious meddling.
Diary of an Accidental Wallflower was just a lot of fun to read. I adored Clare’s siblings, especially Lucy! It was also interesting to read about Daniel’s medical experiments. Science has come a long way since then! There’s even a feisty old lady in the mix, who made me tear up (and laugh out loud) in the end!
