Her social graces are lacking, his finances are in ruin, but together they can solve both their problems. As long as they don’t fall in love.After years of escaping etiquette lessons in favor of the stables, Christine Devon’s grand debut in London is only weeks away, though her deportment lacks the sophisticated polish she needs to achieve her goals of a lofty marriage. Desperate to take her … marriage. Desperate to take her place in society, she needs someone to instruct her in proper behavior.
Thomas Gilbert, newly returned from Italy, is ready to begin his dream of founding a horse farm. But during his time away, the estate’s finances have dwindled to almost nothing. Unless he can find a way to save his family from ruin, he will be forced to sell his horses and give up his dreams entirely.
A chance meeting between them may solve both their problems. Christine gains a tutor in the finer arts of polite behavior, while Thomas is given access to the finest bloodlines in England. But as time passes, the arrangement is less about business, and more about love. Will they see it in time, or will Christine leave Thomas behind for the splendor of London’s ballrooms?
The Social Tutor is the first novel in a sweet Regency romance series. Each novel is a stand-alone romance but, read in order, are immensely satisfying. The novels in the series are:
Prequel Novella: Martha’s Patience
The Social Tutor
The Gentleman Physician
His Bluestocking Bride
The Earl and His Lady
Miss Devon’s Choice
…and Book Six coming in March 2019
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I enjoyed reading this book, a fun book.
I loved Christine’s head stong character. She made the book. I enjoyed reading it.
Very pleasant read and engaging.
3.5 stars
I love a regency romance that pushes the boundaries of expectations in these romance stories and offer something different. This book did exactly that and I really enjoyed listening to it.
Christine is spunky and opinionated and wants desperately for her story to be different from that of her sister, Julia, who had a very “unfortunate” single season. Christine doesn’t know what happened, only that their father was not pleased and she does not want to repeat the mistakes Julia made. However, she is quite awkward in social situations. Due to her mother’s premature death and Julia’s pulling away from her sister, Christine hasn’t been taught how to carry herself and have proper conversations in social circles and she especially doesn’t know how to flirt. She comes up with a daring scheme to have her neighbor, Thomas Gilbert, newly returned from Italy, teach her the proper ways to carry herself so she can have a successful season. Of course, this teaching must occur in secret, as neither party desires anyone else to know about it.
Thomas Gilbert and his family is so ideal. I loved that his parents were a love match, that his father includes his mother in affairs concerning the estate, and how good they are to their tenants. Thomas has some really good examples to live up to. Thomas is a pretty good character though I admit I wasn’t overly fond of him at first. He always seemed so kind and genuine with his parents and sisters, but whenever he was in one of his “teaching sessions” with Christine, he seemed cold and unfriendly. I know he thought the scheme hair-brained but he didn’t need to be distant.
Christine was really fun and her character development throughout the book was very well done. I really liked watching her change and grow and learn, while keeping the lovable parts of her character.
The first half of this book was a little slow moving for me, which is what keeps me from giving this a full four stars. The second half though is very interesting and I was completely pulled it, so curious how things would play out.
My heart aches for Julia and I desperately hope she has her own story that ends more happily because right now it’s just sad. I was glad when she finally opened up to Christine and tried to help her because it helped forge a bond between the sisters that they both needed. Rebecca is really cute and I hate to see what her father could do to her spirit. The girls’ father has got to be the most deplorable parent I’ve ever read. I never once softened toward him. Not once. But thank heavens for that Earl-whatever-his-name-was that helped Christine.
I do look forward to reading more in this series.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Read by Rachael Beresford. She’s really good! The accents are spot on and the reading done very well.
Wonderful characters. What do you do with an obsessive overbearing father who chooses to use you as an asset? Christine has to find her future
I loved Thomas’ and Christine’s story. Her father was atrocious and basically saw her as a commodity. However, because she is not quite socially up to par, she hires Thomas to teach her some social graces in exchange for use of access to her horse as a stud.
Ultimately of course they grow to be much more than business partners and many obstacles have to be overcome (her father) in order for them to make a match. But they do and their romance is delightful! Definitely love this author and plan to read the entirety of this series!
I loved the reality of the heroine father in this book. At a time in history when daughters were used as pawns in the social world he even goes well beyond the pale.
I love a good, clean romance. This book has it all plus an unpredictable ending. Good fun
I had to stop everything and keep reading. Didn’t want the father to get his way, but was very worried about what was going to happen. The interaction was well written and I felt was very possible for that era. I definitely think it is a book worth reading for anyone that loves a clean romantic book where you don’t know for sure what’s going to happen.
I have come to appreciate Ms Britton’s books having already read all but this first one and the last one. I was knowledgeable about the outcome of this book but not the background. I became very anxious to read this one after reading about them in the other books. Even though this is the first book in the series, it does not necessarily have to be read first to enjoy the others. After reading to the end of this one, now I am most anxious to read the last one. I loved how Christine and Thomas came to become ‘friends’ in a most unusual way. Quite clever of this author to put words to paper (or should I say ebook?) in such an imaginative way. I believe any who read this will be left smiling and happy at the end and also as desirous to continue reading this series. Well done Ms Britton!
I really enjoyed this book. It had a lot of fun, romantic moments. I was worried it wouldn’t have a happy ending, but the author pulled it off in the end!
I was able to listen to the audio book for this as well and it was fantastic. I had fun listening to it and I loved the narrator!
This was just an okay read for me. I liked Christine and her spunk but Thomas had a kind of ‘soft’ personality to me. Not my favorite Regency but I’d still recommend fans of the period read it.
I wish I liked it more. I really do. I, personally, found it quite dull.
I love a good regency romance novel, and I was excited about this. But I’m incredibly disappointed. It fell far too short of my expectation.
It seems like a great business deal for both Christine and Thomas but then there is attraction. It is not just a physical attraction, it is the kindness and goodness found in a person. Christine and her sisters suffer without the love and guidance of a loving mother; an unloving father is only interested in how his daughters’ well placed marriage can help his business dealing. I love the novels of the Regency Period; it was a different society at that time.
I love the character development and the vulnerabilities portrayed. The fun twists in plot were delightful. I ached, felt deeply, and cheered. It was more than a yummy ‘fluff ‘ book, definitely.
Good read
Boring. I didn’t bother to finish it.
Sweet story, not sure it is very realistic. Almost a fairy tale type story. Easy read.
So so. Nothing real special about it.
Couldn’t put down but typical ending.