What happens when two women race to spend their inheritance? An epic Grand Tour.Evelyn Tucker has finally graduated from finishing school, but dreads living with her widowed aunt. On the appointed day, Aunt Margaret comes to collect Evelyn, and Margaret informs her that they’re going on a Grand Tour to spend as much of the estate money they can before a distant cousin inherits all. When Henry … all. When Henry Gaiman discovers he’s inherited his distant uncle’s estate, he loathes the thought of returning to England since he’d rather continue with his archaeology dig in Egypt. Return he must, and there, he meets Evelyn, a woman who will change his world in more ways than one.
Historical Romance by Heather B. Moore:
Until Vienna (coming spring 2021)
Love is Come
An Ocean Away
A Fortunate Exile
A Season in London
Mail Order Bride
Heart of the Ocean
Power of the Matchmaker
Twelve Months
The Duke’s Brother
more
Evelyn’s story was easy to read and I finished it in one day. I was drawn into her love for history and where her journey was going to take her. Who knew it would be places she had never been and had only dreamed of visiting? How she ended up crossing paths with Henry was so interesting. Her Aunt Margaret just made me smile, she was so fun and endearing. Miss Worthen was an interesting character and I love how Moore makes each and every one memorable! This is just a book I loved, from the characters to the unusual setting of Egypt, this is one regency romance you will not forget! I received a copy of this book for free; all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Absolutely charming!!
A Secret Arrangement is so well developed that it is hard to believe it is a novella! It has all the ingredients for the perfect story: unexpected adventures, characters that you can’t help but be enamored by, dazzling imagery that truly transports you to the sands of Egypt, and the perfect balance of drama and lighthearted whimsy.
The shared love of history is a passion that binds me to both Henry and Evelyn, making this read all the more pleasurable. I cannot tell you enough how much I loved this story, and would love to have more stories from these characters in the future. A novella is way too short of a time to spend with these delightful people!
The perfect length, plus the enjoyable story, makes this another favorite of mine for this summer.
This is such a charming and cleverly written story. The characters are so likable and feel real. I loved it!
Secret Arrangement by Heather B. Moore
Story: 4 stars
The first time I read this story, as part of the collection, “ A Grand Tour,” I gave it 3 stars. I didn’t feel that I could connect with the characters.
Well, this second reading was different. (I suppose that we reviewers are not always as objective as we would like to be.) I particularly enjoyed the side characters. They felt real and had an important role to play; each in his/her own way.
I’ve upgraded this rating to 4 stars. I enjoyed the characters, the setting, the fake-engagement and the HEA. One of the main characters entirely changes personality so that the HEA can happen, but she had recently had her own difficulties resolved, so perhaps that explains it.
It was a sweet book, seemed to be well-researched, and didn’t have so much angst that it detracted from the romance. I truly enjoyed the second reading.
*poor, **ok, ***good, ****very good, *****something special
I originally read this novella a couple of years ago when it was included in A Grand Tour. Heather B. Moore is one of my all-time favorite authors and her stories never disappoint me.
Evelyn Tucker has just graduated from finishing school and expects to return to a drab existence living with her aunt and uncle, but when her aunt comes to pick her up she’s a different woman than the one who brought her to the school. Her uncle has recently died and her aunt is like a new woman, taking her on a Grand Tour using money from the estate.
Meanwhile, Henry Gaiman is on an archeological dig in Egypt when he finds out he’s inherited an estate from a distant uncle. He reluctantly goes to England to let his widowed aunt know she can continue living in her home, but has trouble tracking her down, and he ends up on the train with them. He’s immediately taken with the shy Evelyn who is very interested in his dig in Egypt. He comes up with a scheme to avoid Mrs. Lillian Worthen, the benefactress of his dig, which involves him spending a lot of time with Evelyn. Of course this leads to Evelyn and Henry falling in love.
I knew Henry and Evelyn would fall in love when they were talking on the train, but didn’t know the roundabout way they’d go about it. With Evelyn’s interest in history she was perfect for Henry. I enjoy reading Heather B. Moore’s books because she makes me feel as if I’m there. I felt that the characters were fully developed and the story flowed as if it were a novel.
I think it’s fun to be able to pick up a novella and finish the whole story in one afternoon. This is one of those. And I really enjoyed it.
I liked Evelyn. Her kind of renaming her middle name after Cleopatra because she loved Egypt was one of my favorite things. You don’t see many Regency era books or novellas where the ladies are enamored with Egyptology.
You don’t see any of the story through her perspective, but her Aunt Margaret was a great surprise. She wasn’t at all how Evelyn had thought she’d be. And it was fun that she didn’t bat an eye at the “arrangement” between Henry and Evelyn.
Henry was a good guy. I think he got a little stuck. Thus the arrangement. But he and Evelyn work together so well.
This is a fun novella. And a great way to spend an afternoon.
I was sent an e-copy of A Secret Arrangement as a gift from the author. All opinions are my own.
This was a great story. I really enjoyed the archaeological aspect as well as the romance. It was really interesting to see all the details about Egypt. Another great story from Heather Moore.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own.
This novella follows the “fake engagement” plot line and the book description gives a good analysis of the storyline.
It’s clear from the beginning that Henry and Evelyn are a good match for each other since they share similar interests. What I enjoyed was being able to sit back and see how they worked everything out. I also liked the secondary characters. They added depth to the story that is often neglected in other novellas.
Romance – PG / kissing
Language – PG / nothing offensive
My rating – 4 stars
Great story. I enjoyed seeing the excitement of seeing Egypt through Evelyn’s eyes. This was an interesting topic for the aunt to want to seemingly change her personality and want to spend all the estate money while she still has access. And to see the cousin to inherit that is more interested in archaeology. This also falls under the fake relationship trope which I had never thought of in this time period.
A good clean fake relationship arrangement genre both Henry and Evelyn love Egyptian history and spending time together. The fake arrangement is to keep a “cougar’s” advances at bay.
I would recommend this book.
I was very curious how this story would play out. I enjoyed seeing the feelings Henry and Evelyn develop over time.
Cultural novella
I enjoyed the quick romance! Added bonus of learning more about the Egyptian culture and archaeology.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
I enjoyed this novella as an unusual entry into the period romance genre. I enjoyed the trip from finishing school to Egypt and all the stops in between. Heather Moore writes interesting characters with fun dialog and knows the places her characters visit. Heather also seems to work well in the novella framework so I don’t feel like the story is skipping the meat of the dinner.
A different twist on an “arranged marriage,” with the excellent writing and fun dialogue you can always expect from Heather.
I enjoyed the characters and setting of (mostly) Egypt. My only complaint was that Henry’s very valid concerns of how his life on remote archeological digs would affect his having a wife were wrapped up a little too quickly and neatly at the end. But I rarely think novellas are long enough anyway!
Engaging and fun, I enjoyed reading this book that I received as an ARC, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick, clean read.
The short story captured my attention right away.I like the characters of Evelyn and Henry. They are so sweet together and I knew they were destined to be together. It was fun to have the story take place in Egypt and learn some of the Archaeology digs and facts. The book moved on a quick pace, but still had all of the detail needed to make it an entertaining read. I have read many books by Heather B. Moore and have never been disappointed.