Be calm, she thought. Be gracious. Be twenty-two. Lady Olivia Fanton is eager to prove she’s no longer a child. However, just as she thinks she’s found a suitable match in suave Mr. Manning, charismatic Captain Jem Ford walks back into her life, bringing with him all the embarrassment of her infatuation four years before! She’s determined to appear mature, distant, friendly. But dare she hope … friendly. But dare she hope he’ll notice her as the lady she’s become?
The Chadcombe Marriages miniseries
Book 1 — Waltzing with the Earl
Book 2 — The Captain’s Disgraced Lady
Book 3 — The Makings of a Lady
“I love this book and that I cannot recommend this enough, this is a must read … Outstanding!” — RT Book Reviews on The Captain’s Disgraced Lady
“Cannot express how highly I can recommend this book … a must read” — Goodreads on The Captain’s Disgraced Lady
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The Makings of a Lady is the third book in award winning author Catherine Tinley’s The Chadcombe Marriages Trilogy and what a fabulous book it is. After reading the first two books in this series, I was very much looking forward to reading Lady Olivia’s story. I was even more surprised and excited when I heard her hero was going to be Captain Jem Ford! I honestly didn’t expect that and am delighted how it turned out!
Olivia Fanton is the younger and only sister of the two heroes from the previous books. We met Captain Jem Ford in the previous book, The Captain’s Disgraced Lady. Both Olivia and Jem were still young when they first met and although they both had unspoken feelings towards each other, Jem decided it was best to go away to make something of himself as he was not worthy of an earl’s daughter. This book starts up four years later with Jem’s return. Olivia who is now 22 and was hurt when Jem left is now trying to overcome her past feelings for Jem and dealing with a new beau who recently appeared. Jem and Olivia are wonderful characters and as with the previous stories, Catherine Tinley does an amazing job of pulling you into the story and her characters captivate you into wanting to know them. The secondary characters are entertaining and the story this time around kept me on the edge of my seat more than once. This was just a wonderful story that I highly recommend. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Ms. Tinley’s writing and definitely am looking forward to reading from her in the future!
Lady Olivia Fanton is eager to prove she is no longer a child and that she has gotten over her silly schoolgirl infatuation with Jem Ford. Jem and his sister Lizzie are due to visit and Olivia is determined to prove that she has moved on, but that would be so much easier if she had a suitor and as her family has retired to the country for her sister in law’s confinement, suitors are few and far between.
But the morning Jem is due to arrive, it seems Olivia’s prayers for a suitor will be realized, when she meets the handsome and dashing Mr. George Manning, who just happens to be a guest of her dear friend and neighbor, the Foxley’s. He steals a kiss and leaves her reeling.
Jem Ford loved Olivia from almost the moment they met years ago. She helped him heal after Waterloo and was his dearest friend. But as a lowly ensign with no fortune or prospects, he had nothing to offer her and unknowingly broke her heart when he left for a post Australia, hoping to improve his standing. But a twist of fate has returned him to England and Olivia. He is now a gentleman of means having inherited an estate from a distant cousin. He is eager to see Olivia again, but nervous as well – will she still care for him?
This was a very sweet story and fans of Jane Austen will appreciate Ms. Tinley’s writing style. The story has several surprises, more than one kidnapping, a couple of kisses (no love scenes at all – so if you are Regency purist – this book is for you!), a nasty villain, a lot of secondary characters and finally a HEA. Personally, I found the story to be a little predictable and the miscommunications between Olivia and Jem dragged on way too long, but it is well written and stays on point despite the numerous secondary characters. This is the third book in the series, but I didn’t read the previous books and had no problems following the saga in this story.
*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that was provided to me by the publisher*
The Makings of a Lady gave me two things I love: a historical romance and a somewhat “friends to more” romance.
Lady Olivia has always had feelings for Jem Ford. The book opens with her hoping for a marriage proposal from him, but she doesn’t get that. She gets the news that he is leaving for Australia. Her hopes are dashed. However, she doesn’t marry in the years that pass, and she feels unsettled. She is too old to be considered a girl, yet in those times, she was also not allowed to be a woman. Her brothers have families, and she has no nothing in her life to challenge her. This is why I liked Olivia…she wanted to be her own person, not just someone’s niece, aunt, sister-in-law, or sister. She wanted her own identity. What an independent thinking woman well ahead of her time.
She won’t be bored for long because Jem has returned, and all her feelings for him return as well. But, she is different, more mature. She decides she will be friendly to him, but she won’t ever let her true feelings show, especially now that she has a man that may be the right one for her, Mr. Manning. She can try to convince herself of that. Things get complicated as Jem has always harbored feelings for her, and he left to make something of his life, maybe even to make himself worthy for her.
The romance is sweet and told from both points of view, so readers get a little insight into what the other is thinking, even if Olivia and Jem are clueless….which made things a bit frustrating with all their miscommunications.
I highly recommend reading this book and the series if you love historical novels with strong women and men who are gallant heroes and a bit of humor thrown in.