Even the Worthington least likely to wed may find her perfect match . . . Marriage has worked out quite nicely for her older sisters, yet Lady Augusta Vivers is certain it would end her studies in languages and geography, and stop her from travelling. But when her mother thwarts her plan to attend the only university in Europe that accepts women—in Italy—she is forced to agree to one London … to one London Season. Spending her time at parties proves an empty diversion—until she encounters the well-traveled Lord Phineas Carter-Wood. Still, Europe awaits . . .
Phineas has studied architecture all over the world, yet Augusta is his most intriguing discovery yet. How can he resist a woman who loves maps and far-off lands? But her longing for all things foreign hinders any hope of courtship. When he learns her cousins have offered a trip to Europe, he secretly arranges to join their party. For he is determined to show Augusta that a real union is a thrilling adventure of its own. And when their journey is beset by dangerous obstacles, he gets far more opportunity than he bargained for . . .
Praise for Ella Quinn’s The Marquis and I
“Romance builds in this satisfying, memorable read, perfect for fans of Grace Burrowes and Tessa Dare.”
—Booklist
“A surprising Regency romance that combines intelligence and intrigue for satisfying results.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Full of payoffs for longtime readers while welcoming the new.”
—Publishers Weekly
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This was a well-written, entertaining historical romance. Lady Augusta Vivers wants to travel and get an education before settling down, marrying and having children. Lord Phineas Carter-Wood has studied all over the world, but has been called back to England by his brother. He is intrigued by Augusta and when she explains her desire to travel and attend university he arranges to join the traveling group. August is interested in Phineas, but is determined to get the education she seeks. The way the relationship developed between these two was wonderful. They really got to know each other, slowly, and built a strong friendship along the way. The book often made me smile and laugh. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more books by this author.
Smart women can be intimidating to most men.
One smart man named Phineas is infatuated with one smart woman named Augusta. Augusta’s goal is to go to the university in Italy and forget about marriage. Phineas is one determined man. When her family arranges for her to go to Europe and the university in Italy, Phineas is going, too. At times more of a grand tour than the interaction of Phinneas and Augusta, but an interesting story of an independent woman.
Given a copy by Netgalley for an honest review.
I love Ella Quinn books, but this one fell flat for me. I began to get bored about half-way through the book. Nothing happens. Augusta and Phinn spend lots of time together, but there’s no heat between them. The fact that there hasn’t even been a kiss at the 84% mark just had me not caring what happens at the end. Augusta’s intelligence is repeated over and over and yet, she doesn’t figure out that Phinn loves her. I skimmed so many pages and it didn’t make a difference. The writing is well done and the historical facts interesting at the beginning of their European journey, but after chapter after chapter of travels just got tedious. I would have given the book 2 stars for the romance, but all the historical details bumped it up to 3 stars.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review and was not obligated to leave a review. (
Believe In Me, by Ella Quinn, was originally published in February of 2019. Believe is book 6 in Ms Quinn’s series The Worthingtons. I found this story to be about a square peg fitting into a round hole, how people are different no matter how you try to mold them into cookie-cutter images. Lady Augusta Vivers in the one in every family who reads too much, doesn’t play sports, is destined to work in a dusty museum basement. Left to her own devices, and supported by her family, Augusta is guaranteed admission to Mensa. She’s that darn smart. I like her but…she’s not sociable, easy to talk to for normal people, doesn’t suffer fools…just tunes them out. I couldn’t get close to her.
Lord Phineas “Phinn” Carter-Wood is a world traveler, collector, and student of architecture. He’s more relatable, as a person. His character knows how to be sociable, he just doesn’t want to try anymore. He’s being pressured to wed, as is Augusta. These 2 square pegs find each other & that’s good, they only match up with each other. No one else would take them on without stifling the spark that makes them unique. In our world of book characters there’s always someone for everyone. Their HEA is nice, it had to be, there wasn’t any other way for these 2 to be happy at all.
#EllaQuinn #BelieveInMe #TheWorthingtons #ZebraBooks #historicalromance
I’ve enjoyed other books in the series by this author, and while Lady Augusta and Phin was a fun pair to read about I didn’t feel the romance took center stage. That said, I did liked the fact that they travel part of the continent, giving us another glimpse of life besides England at the time.
Normally it wouldn’t bother me but for some reason the fact that we get to revisit the lives of ALL characters from previous books in the series did prevent me from fully enjoying this story. There were times that I thought there were too many characters at one place and it was hard for me to keep track of them all. I also felt the pace of the whole was way too slow with too much historical detail, sometimes even more than what I thought necessary for the story to move forward.
This is a friends to lovers, slow burn, slow pace romance that I’m sure others will enjoy more than I did.
** I received this book at no cost to me and I volunteered to read it; this is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher **
Lady Augusta is an original. A member of a large, loving family she has their unusual support for a woman who has a desire to do something other than marry. She is exceptionally bright and wishes to attend university, which is extremely rare for a British woman in her day.
Lord Phinn is a second son, and he too is a scholar. He has traveled the world to study cultures and architecture for several years and is feeling pressure from his family to finally settle down.
These two people meet at social gatherings, both with different plans for their lives, but begin a lovely friendship. As their relationship grows into so much more, they may have changed their minds, but will either change their plans?
This is a sweet, quirky romance with a host of colorful characters and interesting story lines. The internal monologues of both the H and h were a major part of the tale, each debating the facts before them v.s. their feelings, (and neither was too perceptive), as the old love is blind cliche was in full force.
I enjoyed the book, it’s perfect for a long afternoon.
Lady Augusta Vivers is determined to let nothing come between her and studying languages and geography, and perhaps attending university in Europe.
Lord Phineas Carter-Wood wants to travel, studying as he goes as well.
Neither wants to settle down.
What they take a long time to realize, however, is that both dreams are possible — if they go together. However, the pace of a romance is part of the story, so if two obviously attracted people settle down in the second chapter, we won’t have an adventure or love story. What is lovely about this tale is how serious both are about realizing their dreams but also, not stopping the one they love from having his or hers. How Phineas shows Augusta that she has more education than she realizes is just one of the sweetest things ever. He is a keeper. And so is she, and eventually, they realize that they do belong together. The journey from ballrooms to Europe, both the physical descriptions and the inner discovery, is a joy to read. (I received an advance copy from NetGalley. Opinions mine.)
He had never met a woman like her
Lady Augusta Viviers had made up her mind that she would study at the university in Padua, Italy, and that was final. When she informs her brother, the Earl of Worthington who is also her guardian, and her mother of the fact, the former is livid, the latter distraught. Her brother somewhat comes around, but her mother insists Augusta must marry and forget her silly notions of higher learning. Lord Phineas Carter-Woods’ brother, the Marquis of Dorchester, also wants Phineas to wed soon, to ensure that the title is secure. Phinn has no intention of getting married in the immediate future. But Helen, Phinn’s sister-in-law, is determined to help the family cause, and she introduces Augusta, a scholar, to Phinn, an architect. Helen knows they will be perfect for each other. They are, but how could they ever reconcile their futures, so at odds with married life? Would they even want to alter their plans?
The premise is not be the most original, but historical accuracy goes a long way in this sixth installment of The Worthingtons. As much as I love the series, the sheer number of characters is becoming a bit overwhelming. The series is looking more and more like a family saga than interconnected standalone novels. There are so many characters that it’s hard to remenber who’s what to whom. All the introductions and keeping up with everyone weigh down the narrative, and could easily discourage a new reader. If you feel it might be the case, do not worry too much about getting lost; simply concentrate on the main characters and you’ll do fine.
The romance between Augusta and Phinn progresses quite slowly, partly because they don’t want it to happen.They, too, realise they are ideally suited, but the timing is all wrong. The story itself could have easily been a novella, were it not for the fact that the author treats us to our own Regency Grand Tour, as we leisurely stroll about in Paris, Germany, Hungary, Austria, before reaching Italy. Ella Quinn has done more than her homework: her knowledge of European culture and history is most impressive and her descriptions vibrant. It does take a long time for the romance to unfold, but the road to the happily ever after is a delightfully educational one.
Augusta and Phinn are both very appealing characters, and I love that there was no unpleasantness of any sort; the romance is utterly charming. Ms. Quinn is her usual eloquent self, the dialogues are particularly witty, everything feels entirely genuine. In fact, in two instances, maybe even a tad too realistic. I was surprised that the “dangerous obstacles” of the book description consisted of little more than a rather bizarre episode towards the end. However, Phinn’s grand gesture was worth the time it took to reach the destination, and made it all worthwhile.
I give 3 1/2 stars
Polyglot Heroine 3.5*.
The heroine is a bluestocking (an educated, intelligent woman) but that fact is concealed from the ton lest she ruin her marriage prospects. Not sure why this would be the case as 1) she doesn’t want to marry this season as she wants to study in Padua (a university chosen because it once accepted a woman) and 2) she would never be happy with any man who didn’t embrace her intellect, so what would be the point of concealing it. There had obviously already been talk as Phinn’s sister-in-law had identified Augusta as a potential match for him based on her knowledge of languages and geography before she even took her place in Society, so her mother must have been extolling her daughter’s accomplishments even if no other gentleman appears to have known about it. Never having read any previous books by this author I did find the plethora of characters rather confusing and was often unsure which were friends and which were family, and if the latter how they they were related to the heroine. Perhaps a family tree or character list that the reader could refer back to would help. I also found the book overly long and felt it needed tightening or alternatively more action, to stop the readers attention from wandering. The author obviously has a lot of historical knowledge but at times the book read like a early C19th travel journal.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.