Miss Adeline Hayes is the perfect lady’s companion: pleasant, conversational, and unceasingly proper. But when her closest friend, Charity Edgeworth, breaks off her arranged marriage without explanation, even Adeline’s superior skills are put to the test. Charity’s father banishes the two young women to the country, sending Adeline with a charge to find Charity a husband—or suffer dire … consequences.
As Adeline takes on the role of reluctant matchmaker, she discovers more than one obstacle in her path. Not only does Charity prefer escaping in books to socializing, but Adeline soon finds her own attentions distracted by the standoffish—and irritatingly handsome—Mr. Evan Whitfield. Amidst an eventful foxhunt and the unexpected arrival of Charity’s former betrothed, Adeline simply doesn’t have time for a battle of wits with Evan. But the two are continually drawn together until Adeline begins to question her tightly guarded convictions about love and marriage.
However, when secrets are revealed and truths made known, Adeline must face her most fearsome obstacle yet: herself.
more
This is such a wonderful book. I think it’s one of the first I’ve read where the protagonist actually feels like the antagonist – and that’s okay! 🙂 I love Adeline. She’s one of my new favorite heroines.
Miss Adeline’s Match challenges the tropes of what a heroine should be and pushes you to examine friendship and forgiveness more deeply. What does it mean to “deserve” love? Joanna Barker weaves a satisfyingly rich story of fragile friendships and budding romance that are tested by life’s frailty.
It was a little too “Jane Austen” for me for most the book. The ending, I feel was rushed. I wanted to know how a couple characters resolved their conflicts, but that was entirely skipped over.
Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with the story. However, it is still a good read and it’s a quick one to read between books.
Maybe it’s the quarantine getting to me, or maybe it’s because I’ve read A LOT of books during this period of isolation, but I just didn’t enjoy the story line I had hoped I would.
Maybe I’ll try reading it again sometime and see if my opinion changes. Heaven knows this pandemic is messing around with everyone’s minds as it is.
“I cannot believe she dared show her face here tonight.” That hook!
Miss Adeline’s March is well-written and very entertaining. I think the best part of it was the double story of Adeline, through first person, and Charity, through Adeline’s POV. It’s definitely reminiscent of Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte
Ms. Barker’s books are filled with delicious characters that you will remember long after reading “the end.” Great character arcs with a satisfying ending. Another win for Barker.
Adeline Hayes is a companion who must always appear perfect and act properly. She is put in a tough spot between her employer, her family, and her best friend.
Evan Whitfield comes off as brooding and standoffish, but he is hiding a deep hurt from his past and only wants to be a better and more worthy person.
Adeline and Evan both feel drawn to help people and that draws them together. Evan is older and already learned from his mistakes, while Adeline still has a lot of growing up to do. Adeline reminded me of Jane Austen’s well-intentioned Emma who tried matchmaking but always ended up making things worse. Evan has Mr. Darcy’s brooding down, but he seems friendlier.
Adeline’s best friend Charity is running from a broken engagement. I found the story-line between her and Henley very interesting and wondered if there was more to the story than she overheard. I also don’t know why she shared all her secrets with Adeline but it took her so long to tell her the one involving Henley.
Joanna Barker writes very realistic characters which means at times I’m not always happy with them. Addie makes a number of really poor choices. There are legitimate reasons why she made these decisions, but they were still wrong. Barker’s books are also interesting and non-predictable. It always seemed like the worst timing when I had to put the book down to get something done.
Some of my favorite quotes:
“My heart belonged to no one, and I intended to keep it that way.”
“How little I felt then, caught up in my own world, in things that were not so very important.”
“There was nothing like a child’s honesty to keep one humble.”
“If I find a person who can move beyond the more frivolous topics of conversation, I find it worth my time to know them better.”
Dang that was a well written regency proper romance. I loved it. Stayed up way too late to finish but it was worth it! What a great ending:} The book was so well rounded. The development of the story was excellent. This had some great characters. It felt a little Elizabeth and Darcy esque:} Adeline was complex and I loved reading her story. The author did a great job with Evan, deep and brooding with all the right reasons. With this book Barker has gone to my top author list. This has no religion and is very chaste with a friggen amazing kiss that is worth the wait.
Wow! Miss Adeline’s Match by Joanna Barker was simply a thrilling and delightful experience. From the title to that gorgeous cover, till its last chapter, everything fits just so perfectly! I loved many things: the fact that all details are placed where they are for a reason, the superb author’s writing style, the beautiful descriptions, character development, her portrayal of her MC’s feelings (Adeline’s and Charity’s and of course, Mr. Evan Whitfield’s), and story arcs that are all knit together by the end. Seriously, the last two chapters were my favorite, but all in all, I enjoyed this book immensely. I can pretty much say that I’ve found a new favorite author 😀
I loved how Joanna developed Adeline’s character. Even though the story was from her point of view, so often she was acting a charade, that the reader was slowing learning about as she was learning about herself.
Often when you have a book written in first person the personalities of the other characters is over shadowed by the emotions and thoughts of the main characters. I didn’t get that feeling in this book. Even though you’re reading from Adeline’s point of view, the other characters clearly have their own tone and voice. It added depth to not just the characters, but the whole plot.
I love Joanna’s stories, the story lines are always unique and unpredictable. They fall under what I like to call realistic fairy tales. They have all the magic of a romance, while being wholly realistic about human nature and failings. The hero and heroine are people you can relate to and root for.
There was a point where I wanted to shout, “Duh, Adeline! The answer is staring you right in the face”… and I loved it! I had gotten so entrenched in the story and the characters that I was attempting to have a persuasive conversations with fictional characters. Having that kind of pull over a reader is some awesome writing my friends.
From the distinctive, creative cover to the setting in Regency England, this novel quickly pulled me in. With the addition of vividly-drawn, endearing characters and a fascinating plot, I was hooked. Joanna Barker is very talented at creating characters that come alive on the page. I had no trouble envisioning them in my mind, and her descriptions of the different scenes were exceptional. Who could resist the brooding, outwardly reserved but inwardly kind-hearted Evan, and the lovely, well-meaning, but often misguided Adeline? I loved seeing their relationship grow amidst the banter and their encounters. Charity was also an interesting character, who unfortunately had to put up with Adeline’s imprudent matchmaking attempts. Adeline, of course, makes a mess of it all, and has to eventually face the consequences.
This is a well-written story with great emotional depth. I enjoyed the character growth and development as the story progressed, and the tender message of forgiveness of self and others. I am definitely looking forward to reading more from this author in the future.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Adeline Hayes has been best friends with Charity Edgeworth since childhood. She is now Charity’s lady’s companion and is providing financial support to her ailing father and older sister with her earnings as a lady’s companion. When Charity suddenly breaks her engagement without explanation, her father banishes both she and Adeline to her aunt’s home far from London and society.
While in the country home of her aunt and uncle, the Beckett’s, she meets Evan Whitfield, who is, at first, a disagreeable man, but as Adeline gets to know him better, feelings began to simmer between them. Addie is determined to help Charity to forget about her former betrothed by finding her another marriage proposal. What she doesn’t realize is how much Charity still loves George. When Addie tried to control the circumstances and players, she finds herself in great trouble and without friends. Will she be able to mend the broken relationships or will she be alone in her misery?
I was given an arc copy of this book by NetGalley and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The story was well developed, as well as the characters. There is a happy ending an lessons to be learned. The story is clean without foul language and descriptive sex scenes and the emotion is palpable and makes for an enjoyable read. I willingly offer my honest review.
Such an original story! Loved the characters, their real and flawed personalities, and the slow-burning romance that kept me turning pages! A favorite for sure.
Ahh! Sooo good. I loved all the characters in this story. The layered personalities and lessons learned for each of them. What a great story of friendship and forgiveness! Joanna Barker is quickly becoming a top favorite author!!
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books for review from publishers, publicists,
and/or authors, including Netgalley. I am not required to write positive
reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this
in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
I’m not a big fan of first person narration. I want to know what both the hero and heroine are thinking. However, in this book the unknown about Evan Whitfield made his character. Yes, there were times I was dying to know what he was thinking, but most the time I liked the mystery behind his brooding nature. He was a puzzle that I wanted to figure out. I enjoyed when we got little glimpses into who he truly was. Adeline tries so hard to help all those around her, but she doesn’t always go about it in the best way. There were times I was frustrated with her choices and other times I was so pleased with her character. I still had a few questions or things I wish had been addressed more, but overall I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down.
This story hooked me right away and kept me turning the pages into the night. I liked the characters had some depth. Though some made mistakes we get to see the motives and the repercussions and the process to do better. I thought the dialogue was great and had some good inspiration to them. Especially, with Adeline’s friend to her. The h left me frustrated so often and I wondered how’d it end. I sometimes felt like taking a break from the book becuase she was killing me! However, the story and writing was so good I had to keep going. I think the author did great in her ending of the story. The h had a bit of a Mr. Darcy. The writng was kept appropriately within the time period, I think.