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Available 4.15.24


Daring In a Blue Dress

Daring In a Blue Dress, June 2016
Matchmaker in Wonderland #3
by Katie MacAlister

Signet
Featuring: Alden Ainslie; Mercy Starling
336 pages
ISBN: 110199066X
EAN: 9781101990667
Kindle: B015DLUS8O
Paperback / e-Book
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"A whimsical and romantic tale with a dash of mystery!"

Fresh Fiction Review

Daring In a Blue Dress
Katie MacAlister

Reviewed by Miranda Owen
Posted August 10, 2016

Romance | Romance Contemporary

DARING IN A BLUE DRESS is book 3 in Katie MacAlister's Matchmaker in Wonderland series. As an academic with nothing substantive to show for his education, making a success of the recently purchased Bestwood Hall offers Alden Ainslie an opportunity to prove himself. When he has to deal with medieval performers landing on his doorstep, a live-in dowager who starts getting territorial, and a house that drives him batty, Mercy Starling's arrival is a ray of sunshine. I love stories in which the hero and heroine have a lot in common and Mercy and Alden bond over their bookish natures and things get hot and heavy in no time.

Mercy Starling may be my favorite Katie MacAlister heroine. While Mercy and Alden have a love of learning in common, Mercy is a mellowing influence on Alden and approaches things from a much different perspective than he does. Even though Bestwood belongs to Alden, I enjoyed how he and Mercy act like partners and a generally united front against the craziness that ensues in DARING IN A BLUE DRESS. When secret passageways are discovered and things take a slightly sinister turn, Mercy jokes that she and Alden become an unlikely Nancy Drew and Ned Nickerson. The chemistry between Mercy and Alden is pitch perfect, and Alden's romantic notes he leaves for Mercy gives their romance a touch of charm. The medieval reenactments, the Hairy Tit Conservancy, and Alden's fervent belief that Bestwood Hall is alive and actively thwarting his restoration efforts balance the lurking danger that becomes more apparent as the story progresses.

DARING IN A BLUE DRESS is a whimsical and romantic tale with unexpected yet delightful bits of mystery thrown in. This was a book I was sorry to see come to an end. Katie MacAlister has outdone herself with DARING IN A BLUE DRESS in creating a story that is big on laughs and quirky characters. Mercy's one-liners and brilliant rejoinders to the fawning and ever-present Lisa are fantastic. I look forward to the next installment in this sparkling series by Katie MacAlister.

Learn more about Daring In a Blue Dress

SUMMARY

Chivalry is far from dead in the third novel in the “gut-wrenchingly funny”* Matchmaker in Wonderland Romance series.

Stranded in England without money or a ticket home, Mercy Starling takes a job working for a medieval reenactment company. After all, who wouldn’t want to pretend to live in the past, wield swords and long bows, and dress up in armor? And the best part of her summer job is Bestwood Hall...or rather, its intriguing new owner.

The painfully shy Alden Ainslie is overwhelmed by the medieval reenactors who invade the Tudor house he’s renovating, but he’s drawn to the bubbly Mercy. And he valiantly joins in the fun, dodging not just arrows, lances, and the odd sword thrust, but also some pretty suspicious—and potentially deadly—attacks on himself. Someone wants him to give up on the house. But Alden is desperate to prove himself—and win the heart of his lady fair...

*Open Book Society


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