RITA Award WinnerShe wants to escape her present . . .When Clara Mayfield helps her sister elope, she’s prepared for the scandal to seal her fate as a spinster. What she doesn’t expect is to find herself engaged to the vile Baron Rutherford as a means of salvaging her family’s reputation. Determined not to be chained to a man she loathes, Clara slips out of Essex and sheds her identity: she … of Essex and sheds her identity: she becomes Helen, maid at the Earl of Ashworth’s country estate. After all, below stairs is the last place anyone would think to look for an heiress . . .
He wants to forget his past . . .
William, Lord Ashworth, is attempting to rebuild his life after the devastating accident that claimed the lives of his entire family, save his beloved sister and niece. Haunted by memories of what was and determined to live up to the title he never expected to inherit, William doesn’t have time for love. What he needs is a noble and accomplished wife, one who can further the Ashworth line and keep the family name untarnished . . .
Together, can they find the perfect future?
From their first encounter, the attraction between them is undeniable. But Clara knows William is falling for Helen, a woman who doesn’t even exist. The question is, if she reveals the truth about her identity, can she trust the broken William to forgive her lie and stand by her side when scandal—and the baron—inevitably follow her to his door?
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Clara was just the right balance of sass, wit, and respectability. With her natural kindness and charm, she was also really easy to like! And even though she hid her real identity, her personal integrity showed time and time again through a multitude of empathetic decisions. Frankly, I was proud of her and her choices.
He may have become an earl through tragedy, yet William was very affable and down to earth. However, it was his unusual open-mindedness with his staff that I really adored! He treated them like family and stood up for them when they needed him most. He wasn’t a typical dandy, but someone with depth and feelings that helped me understand him better.
William and Clara’s romance left me feeling happy! It may have been a mixture of sweetness, some push-and-pull, and undeniable attraction, yet I found myself swept away with each sentence. It wasn’t always a bed of roses, especially considering the supposed station difference and the teensy white lie, but darned if I didn’t enjoy the chase!
Tremayne’s story is a lovely historical debut with passionate characters and a wonderful romance! I can’t wait to see what’s in store next!
First book in The Reluctant Brides series. If the next ones are as wonderful as this one, it will be a great series. The characters and the story are well developed with humor, secrets and blossoming love.
I like to read about strong compassionate women The romance was good.
Clara, learning her fiancé is an abusive brute, arranges with her maid’s help to escape the night before the wedding. She becomes a housemaid in Lord Ashworth’s home. Struggling to disguise her roots, befriending and rescuing a small child, learning to perform the exhausting work of a servant, as well as catching the attention of William makes Helen’s story an original read. Well researched, believable, and enjoyable book! 5 stars
I am not one for historical romance usually, but his book held my attending. Well thought out characters and descriptive (but not to the point of exhausting) scene building. Can’t wait for another good read from this author.
I literally can’t stop thinking about these characters! I fell in love with each one and their individual journeys, not to mention how they weave together in such a masterful way. I couldn’t put this book down, and I’m not normally a historic romance reader. Tremayne is a masterful magician; a brilliant, intellectual storyteller. Read this book!
I can’t believe this is a debut book for Marie Tremayne! It grips your attention from page one and just keeps getting better – even on subsequent reads. Clara Mayfield, a privileged younger daughter in a nouveau riche family helps her sister to elope, then finds herself in the position of having to marry a title to rescue and solidify her family’s social status. She’s willing to acquiesce to this fate until the man who demands her hand in marriage is the horrid and cruel Baron Rutherford. Desperate to save her sanity and her self, she determines that she, Clara, must disappear. Thus, on the eve of her wedding, she leaves London and her identity behind and becomes Helen, a maid in a country estate owned by the reclusive Earl of Ashworth.
Skillfully woven, this story highlights the servant class relationships downstairs and their interaction with those they serve. Despite her best, albeit sometimes bumbling attempts to blend in, Helen does not fit in either space thus creating animosity with co-workers while utterly fascinating the reclusive earl. Lady in Waiting has just the right amount of suspense and drama and humor and plenty of butterflies-in-the-stomach romance that leaves you waiting eagerly for the next book in the series!
This book was a nicely written debut and I can’t wait for the next in the series!
This was a really cute story! I loved the ending, but I spent a large chunk of this book going “WHAT ARE YOU THINKING!?!?!” Clara made a series of dangerous and impulsive choices, and while I was really glad how it worked out, I wanted to shake her for being such a nitwit when it came to protecting her character. On the other hand, I really enjoyed her character’s commitment to her friends and family and her resilient spirit. BUT If it wasn’t a novel, she never would have had a happy ending. So I give this one a 5 for entertainment, and a 2 for believable reality. I would definitely read the rest of the series!
Just finished,and it is a wonderful story, and Megan and Devlin are wonderful characters.
Maybe 3.5
This book started out at a gallop, then slowed to a trot and finally ended with a sprint to the finish.
Clara Mayfield is desperate, after helping her sister elope and dragging her family into scandal, she has finishing the season with no prospects until the vile Baron Rutherford asks for her hand. Clara would rather be a spinster than marry the Baron, but her nouveau riche parents long to be accepted by the ton and will not listen to her protests, leaving her no choice but to run away.
With the help of her maid she finds a position in the home of the reclusive William Halstead, the Earl of Ashworth. William has sequestered himself away in the county since the death of his father, older brother and brother in law. He suffers from flashbacks and panic attacks since the accident that claimed his loved ones and has no desire to be part of society. But when he meets Clara, while saving her life, he feels alive for the first time in almost two years. He walks away from her and is shocked and disappointed when she is at his home applying for a position in his under staffed household. At first he refuses to hire her, but finally agrees to a probationary period, he asks her name and she tells him her name is Helen.
For me the story really slowed down at this point, there is not a lot of interaction with Clara/Helen and William, it is mostly Helen the housemaid trying to fit in with the “below stairs” employees and her relationship with his niece, Rosa. While the scenes with William are sparse and fleeting, there is an undeniable attraction between them, but they never spent enough time together for me to believe there was any real connection between them.
The story progresses slowly and there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but when the author begins to wrap up the story, it gains a second wind and takes off like a rocket. And when Clara’s past finally catches up with her, will William be able to forgive her deceit?
I thought this was a decent debut, the writing is a bit on the wordy side and the relationship between William and Clara could have used a bit more development, there were also some inconsistencies and one glaring title error (which is not that bad considering there were several titled characters in the book). But overall, the story was good and I think with time this author will be a strong voice in the HR genre.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an Uncorrected eARC provided to me by Edelweiss and the publisher*