An Exciting New Voice in Regency RomanceLady Georgina Hawthorne has worked tirelessly to seal her place as the Incomparable for her debut season. At her first London ball, she hopes to snag the attention of an earl.With money and business connections, but without impeccable bloodlines, Colin McCrae is invited everywhere but accepted nowhere. When he first encounters the fashionable Lady Georgina, … fashionable Lady Georgina, he’s irritated by his attraction to a woman who concerns herself only with status and appearance.
What Colin doesn’t know is that Georgina’s desperate social aspirations are driven by the shameful secret she harbors. Association with Colin McCrae is not part of Georgina’s plan, but as their paths continue to cross, they both must decide if the realization of their dreams is worth the sacrifices they must make.
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Lady Georgina Hawthorne has spent years planning her debut season, during which she feels a strong need to make the match of the season. She has also spent years cultivating her look, her personality, and the way she is perceived to others, including her own family. She’s certain that her hard work will get her a duke, or at least an earl. Certainly not a mere gentleman like Colin McCrae, who keeps showing up everywhere she goes. What she doesn’t know is that he’s involved in his own game of manipulation, instigated by another, and would rather not see or talk to Georgina any more than she wants to see or talk to him. However, once he sees a tiny glimpse of the real Georgina behind the facade, he begins to think there’s more to her than the spoiled, selfish demeanor she puts on. When he discovers her shameful secret, the one she’s buried since childhood behind that practiced face, he thinks he might be able to help her…but what will it cost them both?
I’ve been going back and forth with how I felt about this book in my mind for a few days now. I think it had some good points, but not quite enough to make it really enjoyable. It was weirdly not so focused on the romance as some pure romance novels are, and yet the attempt at still making the romance front and center made it feel repetitive. There was so much more going on than the building relationship, to a point where many say there wasn’t much romance at all, which is totally fine with me–I like a slow build or a romance that’s in the background. But the MCs would still think about each other before or after each encounter with thoughts like,”Why am I thinking about him/her at all?” and “I keep forgetting I want nothing to do with him/her,” which I guess are supposed to be the insertion of romance. Just made me roll my eyes.
Colin was a really nice guy, smart and thoughtful. It bothered me, though, that the first full chunk of his story was showing how he helped Ryland (male MC from the previous book) manipulate poor Miranda (female MC from the previous book). It just reminded me of why that story bugged me, plus had me forgetting a lot early on that Colin was the MC, not Ryland. As for Georgina, she’s the main reason I read this book. After the last one, which was only okay for me, I probably wouldn’t have continued the series, except that the synopsis for this one really intrigued me, hinting at a secret that was the reason she acted the way she does. I wanted to know what it was. And that part of the story was good, I thought. She was really a lot more real than she appeared, and I loved seeing the shift in her life when things started to change. Her relationship with her sister was a bright spot for me too.
I don’t know if I can quite explain adequately why I felt the way I did about this book. It was okay, but somehow didn’t have much charm to it for me. Many others feel differently, though, so click the link below if you are interested and want to see what others thought. As for me, I won’t be continuing this series.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I really did not like Georgina in the previous stories and she does not start out as a very likable character in this book, either. However, I found her story very interesting, even during the parts of the book where I did not agree with the way she was treating people. Colin, however, was an extremely likable hero and I really enjoyed seeing Georgina through his eyes.
Georgina had a reason for the way she acted and the things she did. She had a plan and was absolutely devoted to seeing that plan through. However, she didn’t count on a certain Scotsman invading her life and her heart and seeing beyond the image that she showed the ton.
I’m happy that it had not been too long ago that I read book one in this series, because this book overlaps with that one, only from Colin and Georgina’s point of view.
(4.5 stars)
Wow. If this and the last book I read by Kristi Ann Hunter are any indication, Kristi writes books with a lot of depth, complexity, and detail that provide incredibly good character development and really great stories. These two books I’ve read have been quite good and I sincerely look forward to reading more of what she has written!
I loved how much character development takes place in this book, especially for Georgina. I am a big fan of regency novels that include complex difficulties not normally thought about—like Georgina’s secret (which I cannot enumerate on here or I will spoil it). I have never considered what a trial such a thing would have been two hundred years ago! In addition to Georgina’s secret, I loved that the love story involves a man of considerably lower station than the woman. I quite enjoy reading about this kind of perspective and involving somewhat lower classes as important figures, rather than only stories from the perspective of those climbing the social ladder.
Georgina is a character that took me a long time to get to like. Even when I knew her secret and why she acted the way she did, I just had a hard time liking her. She definitely had the broadest character arc in the story and it was really neat to watch how Kristi crafted this selfish woman into someone everyone could love (or, I should say, helped her shed her false layers to show the person she actually is underneath). I just couldn’t see how Georgina could change, what would possibly motivate her to do so. But she ends up being someone I could not only tolerate but like quite well. I love how much she actually cares for the select few that have been allowed to break through her thick facade and be close to her. Her level is loyalty and dedication is admirable.
Colin is much more patient than I think I ever would have been. I would have given up on Georgina almost as soon as I’d gotten to know her. But he is a better person that me, I think. I liked that he experienced a fair amount of his own inner turmoil and character development, that it wasn’t just Georgina who changed so much.
The first half or so of this book occurs at the same time the last half or so of book one occurs. It was enjoyable reading the same events from Georgina’s perspective and seeing more depth in the whole situation. I look forward to the others in the series.
Side note: as a big Jane Austen fan, I also love that “Pride and Prejudice” is reference and debated in this book. Those few sentences made my geeky bookish heart very happy.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Read by Charlotte Anne Dore: this isn’t my favorite reader. I wasn’t a fan of the accents. Also, the reading feels too affected rather than free. Too much emphasis on perfect diction makes it a little unrealistic in speech for me. Even the highest classes, the most proper and educated, don’t clip the “T” and “D” precisely on the ends of their words. Also, some words were said weird to me. For example, for the word “clientele,” she pronounced it “klee-ehn-till.” I was also annoyed with the way she kept saying Marquis (“mar-quess” instead of “mar-kee”). Apparently she was technically correct, but I’m curious how a Frenchwoman would actually say it.
This is an extremely funny historical romance!
I love reading books by this author. She is one of my go-to writers when I need something lighthearted and good for a laugh. This book definitely delivered on the laughter side. At the same time there was a side that caused me to think whenever Lady Georgina’s difficulty came into play.
I had gotten into the story quite aways before it became apparent that she had an actual problem that she was working to hide. Until then she just made me angry with her seemingly self centered attitude. Many times early on I just wanted to shake her and tell her that the world didn’t revolve around her.
I loved getting to see how the Hawthorne family was doing. It was nice seeing the final part of the previous book from a different character’s perspective. Since the two books overlapped there really wasn’t any lapse in the family progression. We did get a very nice look at the family dynamics and how the siblings relate to with each other, especially Georgina, the younger daughter.
I just wish I had had time to read it sooner. The plus side of that is that the rest of the series is already written.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All of the opinions expressed are my own.
Disclaimer: *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion – which I’ve done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*
I was really nervous about reading An Elegant Facade. I didn’t like Georgina in the previous books, so I was afraid I wouldn’t like her in this one. However, Hunter did a great job of making me actually sympathize with Georgina.
A miracle in itself.
An Elegant Facade overlaps a bit with A Noble Masquerade, which I liked. It allowed me to see moments when Georgina was especially snobby from her point of view, and I began to understand why she acts the way she does. The method was genius on Hunter’s part, even if she did mention in her acknowledgements that she wouldn’t recommend doing that because it about drove her crazy.
I managed to develop a grudging respect for Georgina once I discovered her secret. She puts a lot of work into keeping it hidden, and I admit she’s smarter than I gave her credit for. And I enjoyed watching Colin put the pieces together. Then again, I enjoyed Colin period. Hunter did a great job with the interactions between Colin and Georgina as they begin to thaw toward each other. Even though this wasn’t my favorite book, I think I may have appreciated it the most because I saw all Hunter’s hard work and how it paid off.
For my review of the entire Hawthorne House series, check out my blog at https://justjenniferpurcell.com/2019/04/26/just-read-hawthorne-house-series/.
A different story idea good to the end with God
An Elegant Facade is a wonderful story of how lives can be affected by misdiagnosis or the unknown of certain conditions. This story has romance, society longings, trust, secrets, love lost and love found and so much more. I enjoy this author’s writing and the way the secret is revealed. I wanted to keep reading each page so I could find out what would happen next. A really good story that is hard to put down. I look forward to reading more by this author.
This was a beautiful story. It has an engaging plot, incredible characters, and a powerful message. I loved every moment of it. I highly recommend it! All of the stories in the Hawthorne House are wonderful.