Three Regency Romance novellas by Sarah M. Eden, Annette Lyon, and Heather B. MooreA MATCH FOR PRINCESS POMPOUS by Sarah M. EdenMatchmaker Adelaide Northrop may be embarking on her greatest challenge yet. Miss Odette Armistead has been dubbed “Princess Pompous” by Society’s elite, and Odette’s parents are desperate to see her married off to a respectable gentleman. When Adelaide first meets … When Adelaide first meets Odette, she is expecting a young lady who fits the pompous description. Instead, Adelaide discovers that Odette is far from conceited, but has chosen to wear a mask in a desperate attempt to hide her love for a gentleman who has been chosen for someone else. It seems that Adelaide has far more than matchmaking to accomplish.
CONFECTIONS AND PRETENSE by Annette Lyon
Anne Preston dreams of opening her own dessert shop some day and saves every spare penny she earns working at Gunter’s Tea Shop. She makes ice cream molds to perfection, bakes and decorates cakes, and hopes to one day be an independent shop owner. When an American man orders an ice, Anne is immediately taken with Davis Whitledge, but he is far above her station in life, so she tries to forget about his cordiality. Soon, she finds herself in a dangerous situation when confronted by two troublemakers, and Davis happens to be nearby. He sends the scoundrels on their way, but this only makes Anne more of a target. He doesn’t understand London ways, and his generosity has the potential to steal Anne’s dreams, or to make them soar.
LITTLE LONDON by Heather B. Moore
Ellen Humphreys has never had a Season, has never danced the waltz, and will likely never do so while confined to watching over her ill mother at their country estate. Therefore, Ellen creates her own Little London, and imagines all the gentleman she’d dance with and all of the friendships she’d have with other young ladies, if only she were allowed to have a Season. When Quinn Edwards, the Marquess of Kenworth, comes upon her quite by happenstance while Ellen is imagining herself in a London ballroom, she is mortified about her playacting. But a chain of events is set off from this one meeting that has Ellen questioning if her reputation would ever survive a Season or another encounter with the marquess.
Books in the Timeless Regency Collections:
AUTUMN MASQUERADE
A MIDWINTER BALL
SPRING IN HYDE PARK
SUMMER HOUSE PARTY
A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS
A SEASON IN LONDON
FALLING FOR A DUKE
A NIGHT IN GROSVENOR SQUARE
ROAD TO GRETNA GREEN
more
A Night in Grosvenor Square (2018) is an EXCELLENT collection of novellas by Sarah M. Eden, Annette Lyon, and Heather B. Moore. This anthology is part of the Timeless Regency Collection published by Mirror Press, and was just released on January 23, 2018. This book is available in all forms including eBook, and is 320 pages in length. This collection reads as a stand-alone; it is not necessary to read any of the other books in the Timeless Regency Collection series to understand the stories in this anthology. With a full-time job and an exceptionally precocious five-year old at home, this novella series took me less than 24 hours to devour!!! I received a copy of A Night in Grosvenor Square in eBook form from the publisher to review. In no way has this influenced my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. I give this novella collection 5 STARS. This collection is a Clean Historical Romance series.
“A Match for Princess Pompous” is an EXCELLENT novella. I loved every second of this story. The plot line is highly engaging, the characters are well crafted, and the ending is endearing. When this story ended, I wanted more!
Imagine Mary Poppins as a matchmaker in Bath, England in 1810, and you’ll sort of get an idea of what this story is about. Adelaide Northrop, a well-known and highly sought-after matchmaker, swoops into the upper-crust families of England in order to help them secure advantageous matches for their children. What I like most is that Mrs. Northrop is more interested in securing happy futures for the children, rather than bending to the whims of the greedy, socially-minded, arrogant parents. Mrs. Northrop is like a mentalist — she expertly reads any room she walks into and ascertains her clients’ secrets in mere days. Her current task is to secure a match for Princess Pompous herself, Miss Odette Armistead. Odette has gone out of her way to seem aloof and standoffish much to the disdain of Society. BUT, things are not as they seem and Mrs. Northrop is determined to unravel the mystery as to why Odette is choosing to act so contrary to her actual temperament.
“Confections and Pretense” is a sweet story that had a couple of real tense moments I didn’t expect. Anne is the main character, and she works at Gunter’s Tea Shop making beautiful ice creams and cakes and other confections. She is amazingly talented, and she dreams big of one day moving to America and starting a sweets shop of her own. Anne meets Davis, a very handsome, wealthy, and admirable American man. Anne ends up in a little trouble and Davis heroically comes to her aid.
I really enjoyed this story. Of the characters, I felt for Anne the most. She is 31, completely alone, and poor. But she dreams big and labors hard in the hopes that one day she will achieve her dream. Anne really niggled her way into my heart. She felt small and invisible, but she has so much strength and presence. I was rooting for Anne the entire story, and really wanted her to get her happily ever after. Davis is an excellent hero. He is handsome, vulnerable, and always willing to save the damsel in distress. I really liked how almost immediately he felt compelled to protect Anne. I found that trait to be exceptionally endearing because it reminded me of my sweet husband.
I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED “Little London”! It has everything I need in a clean romance. There is Ellen, the beautiful but isolated heroine who dreams of one day dancing with her prince. There is Quinn, a handsome marquis longing for freedom from Society’s expectations and husband-hunting women. There are mothers bent on dictating every step their children take, which is exceptionally frustrating! And, there is a clandestine meeting between Ellen and Quinn that really sets this story off on the right track. “Little London” is a magical reading experience. I rooted for Quinn and Ellen the entire time. There were a couple of sticky moments I wasn’t sure how the couple would maneuver through, but all things eventually work themselves out. Of the three stories, this story’s ending was the most satisfying, and I closed the book with a very BIG smile on my face. I love happily ever afters, and this short story delivers a happily ever after for Ellen and Quinn that does not disappoint.
Overall, A Night in Grosvenor Square is an excellent anthology of Regency-era novellas. The writing is very good in all three stories, the story lines are highly engaging and fast paced, and the characters are totally endearing. I am sad my time in this book is over. The end came way too fast! I highly recommend this collection as it may be one of the best anthologies I have ever read! Pick up a copy of this book today. You will not be disappointed.
With a lot of sadness and illness in my life lately I needed a quick read that would pep me up. I needed a story that I could finish with a smile on my face instead of tears in my eyes. I enjoyed reading Falling for a Duke so much that I decided to pick up another volume in the Timeless Regency Collection, A Night in Grosvenor Square.
Like all of the books in the series, A Night in Grosvenor Square includes three short stories by three different authors. I was especially excited to pick up this volume because all three authors are original authors to the series, plus one is one of my new favorite authors, Heather B. Moore. What is charming about this collection is that each story features a scene that occurs in Grosvenor Square in London sometime in the early 1800’s.
A Match for Princess Pompous is a story of a widowed matchmaker in 1810 named Adelaide. Instead of being concerned with her own love life, Adelaide chooses to focus on helping other women find their true love and the more challenging the case the better.
No case is more challenging than that of Odette Armistead, otherwise known as Princess Pompous. Odette has a reputation in London for being one of the most disheartening maidens, but what no one knows is that she has purposely acquired this title. The truth is that her, and the man that she loves, Jack Hewitt, planned this for the Season, so that once it was over, they hoped, they could tell their disagreeable parents, and finally be together.
Their plan is faulty from the start, and really falls apart when Odette cannot fool the matchmaker! When I first started reading I had an ideas about where the story would take me and, though predictable at times, I liked how it all turned out. I must admit that I grew a little bored with the story of Odette and Jack, and the predictability, and actually would’ve loved to have seen more from Mr. Lexington (Jack’s best friend) and the shy Ms. Summerfield, but I also understand this is a short story, emphasis on short. I did enjoy the story and found it over charming. This is the first time I’ve read any of Sarah M. Eden’s work but I really liked her writing style and how she brought her characters, and this time period of London and Society, to life.
Confections and Pretense felt a lot like a Cinderella story to me. Anne Preston has lived a hard knock life. She has no family, lives in a boardinghouse in London in 1825, is thirty-one, considered an “old maid,” with no hopes of ever getting married. She is lucky enough to work at Gunter’s Tea Shop, an ice cream shop that is in a nicer London neighborhood, serving members of the ton. Anne pours everything she has into her job, slowly saving every cent, so that she can hopefully one day open her own ice cream shop in America.
Anne is a daydreamer, so when she meets a distinguished, older American man, her imagination runs wild, especially after he rescues her from what could’ve been a very bad situation. Little does the charming American, Davis Whitledge, know but he actually put Anne in an even worse predicament than either of them could’ve ever imagined; a matter of life and death.
Out of all of the stories, I would have to say that Confections and Pretense was my favorite. The plot did not lead where I thought it would and the ending actually gave me goosebumps with its twist ending. My heart felt for sweet Anne and her plight and I found myself rooting not only for her to find love with Mr. Whitledge but also to find a way out of her “societal rules,” and able to pursue he dreams. Annette Lyon is also a new author to me, but I love her style of writing, and want to find books from her to read.
Little London was the story that I had anticipated by Heather B. Moore and was surprised it wasn’t my favorite. It is the sweet story of Ellen Humphreys and Quinn Edwards, and their chance encounter in a small meadow near Harpshire Village, a small town on the outskirts of London, in 1826. Ellen is a country girl and Quinn is the Marquess of Kenworth, a title that he does not wish to bestow, but has grudgingly held since his father’s passing a few years back. After Quinn and Ellen’s parley in the meadow, they each know, due to their unequal status in Society, that they can never be together. As the story unfolds, events transpire, and characters come into play, and makes each of them both second guess everything they know.
Little London has its predictability (as most love stories in this series do) but it was an engaging read. What I loved the most was the epilogue at the end of the book. I hate when certain stories end and you’re left to wonder where the characters ended up. With Little London, you do not have to worry! Heather B. Moore always does a wonderful job of character development, and this short story does not disappoint.
Just like the other books in the Timeless Regency Collection the stories are short, sweet, with little twists and turns and drama mixed in here and there. I enjoyed my time in early 1800’s London and I’m sure you will too.
Do not buy, borrow if possible.
This was a fast read and enjoyable book.
The Timeless Romance collections are my favorite way to escape! I just read the stories one right after the other. It’s like having a box of See’s Candy chocolates all to yourself… I enjoyed each of the stories- the characters that come to life so quickly, the amazing Regency setting, the satisfying plots that can be devoured quickly. Once again, each story is unique even though they share the theme of Grosvenor Square, and it was fun to see how they each tied it in. I loved the knowing matchmaker in Sarah Eden’s story and hope to see her in some future novellas! In Annette Lyon’s story we learn more about the famous Gunter’s Tea shop and the history was fascinating. I liked that there was an American that flouted the strictures of the ton when he befriended Anne. The last story by Heather B. Moore was my favorite since I felt like it had the most romance 😉 Ellen’s imagination was endearing and the way she and Quinn met was so lovely. It was fun seeing how they reconnected amid her embarrassment and his attraction and the way Quinn’s brother helped their relationship progress.
(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)
The first story is a bit unique in that Mrs. Northrop is a key figure, but not the heroine. I love how she is able to untangle the problems facing the young lovers and even help additional couples. She reminds me somewhat of Miss Pearl in the Power of the Matchmaker series or even Mary Poppins. 5 stars
The second story is my least favorite. The romance feels rushed and the brutality and violence is surprising given the genre and target audience in these collections. Consequently, it makes the ending forced and way too quick for believability. There are also some plot holes that are not resolved – such as how does the character who has just been brutally beaten attempt to run when their feet are tied? 3 stars
Little London is my favorite of the three. Although it borders on insta-love, it still feels believable. I absolutely love Robert’s character and hope the author considers writing his own story someday. There are some inconsistencies with the use of titles, but I like the characters enough to overlook the author’s mistakes. 5 stars
Romance – PG, kissing
Language – PG / clean
Violence – a character is attacked and beaten up in Story 2.
Overall rating – 4 stars
A Match for Princess Pompous by Sarah M. Eden
Loved this Matchmaker story. I wish I could have hired her for my daughters! Sometimes we need a helping hand to make our dreams reality, that was definitely the case for this H and h.
Confections and Pretense by Annette Lyon
Liked this one a lot. H and h aren’t upperclass in this one. H is an American who was raised by his sister who took in laundry and any other job she could find to keep him in school so he could get ahead. The h was an English lady who had been born in good circumstances but was reduced to labor due to the deaths of all the males of her family. She is working at Gunter’s connection shop and they meet when she serves him. Not your typical Cinderella story.
Little London by Heather B. Moore
If Confections and Pretense was Cinderella-ish, this one is more like Sleeping Beauty. Ellen lives in her family’s country estate with her reclusive mother who refuses to allow Ellen to go anywhere. She takes refuge in imagination, spending afternoons in a meadow near her house. One afternoon while attending a “ball” in her meadow, a gentleman appears in her “ballroom”… I liked this one a lot, too
A Match for Princess Pompous by Sarah M. Eden – 4 stars Jack and Odette have devised a plan to get through the London season. A matchmaker comes along to either destroy that plan or deploy a better one. Both Jack and Odette are sweet and likable main characters who truly love each other. This is a feel-good romance without a lot of angst.
Confections and Pretense by Annette Lyon – 3.5 stars Davis and Anne are a well-to-do American and a lower class English woman who meet by chance. They are overtaken by events quickly and must decide if they’ll spend the future together. The ending was a little far-fetched for me.
Little London by Heather B. Moore – 4 stars Lord Edwards and Ellen meet as Ellen dances alone in a meadow. Their encounter is almost magical and seemingly not quite real. Then they meet again in a posh ballroom at Grosvenor Square. This is the first I’ve read by Heather B. Moore and I’m impressed with her writing. Fortunately, I already have several of her books so I hope they prove as entertaining as this one.
I received an advance review copy of this book.
I love the Timeless Regency Collections! I’m always excited when a new one comes out, but this one had me even more excited than usual. I love all three of these authors! I couldn’t wait to see what they had in store for me!
A Match for Princess Pompous by Sarah M. Eden – I love Mrs. Northrop! It is fun to watch her in action! I loved her desire to help people find true happiness. And I wanted Jack and Odette to find happiness! They were such great characters! Their devotion to each other was so sweet. I also really liked Terrance.
Confections and Pretense by Annette Lyon – This Regency novella was a little different. It was a nice change to have a hard working heroine, who still holds on to her dreams. And Davis, our hero, is American. I really liked both Anne and Davis and their inherent goodness. It was interesting to see some of the differences between what was acceptable in England vs. America, and how that influenced what happened. I loved the ending!
Little London by Heather B. Moore – I loved this novella! Ellen is a breath of fresh air. I can just picture her dancing in her meadow. It provided the perfect backdrop for a very romantic meet. I loved the role Quinn’s brother played in everything. And there is the sweetest epilogue!!
I received a complimentary copy of the book, which I voluntarily reviewed. I have given my honest opinion.