It is 1768 after all and why does she need a man's name to
be on a lease anyway? The lovely and very determined
Claire
Mayhew is fuming. All she wants to do is get her coffee
and
bakery shop going and she has the funds to pay the lease.
She just does not have a man in her life and definitely
doesn't want one. She will just have to find another way
to get Mr. Cyrus Ryland's signature on the lease.
Claire has a simple plan. It involves sneaking into his
study during a fancy ball Mr. Ryland is holding, copying
his signature and be gone before anyone notices. He is so
rich and owns so many properties, he is sure not to notice
this small lease.
Like other best laid plans, things don't go quite as
expected. Mr. Ryland's house is huge and Claire certainly
didn't expect to meet the man himself. As things change
after midnight, Claire makes a dash to escape, but Claire
can't get thoughts of Cyrus out of her head, despite all
the
work in getting her business running.
This same chance and provocative meeting in his study has
left Cyrus desiring to learn more about this intelligent
and
unknown beauty. Left with only a brown leather shoe, he
has
Bow Street runners covering all of London searching for a
thief who hadn't taken anything. Then one day, he follows
a
friend into a coffee shop....
While the search may be over, the challenges are not.
Does
Cyrus' interest in Claire put her in harm's way? Can she
maintain her independence? Will he risk scandal and injury
to his own family members to protect her?
THE LADY MEETS HER MATCH is the second book in Gina
Conkle's
Midnight Meetings series. This Georgian era series
involves
circles of friends made up of commoners and nobles where
events at midnight might change the paths of people whose
paths in life bring them in contact with each other. THE
LADY MEETS HER MATCH definitely has set a high standard
for
hopefully many more books to come in this series by this
very talented writer!
THE LADY MEETS HER MATCH is captivating right from the
first
page and I fully relished how the unusualness of the
initial
meeting between Claire and Cyrus facilitates a rare chance
for the characters to be so open and even a little bit
provocative with each other that they could not have done
under any other circumstances. I also am impressed with
how
seamlessly Conkle is able to bring to life through the
various interactions between characters the manners,
morals,
attire and attitudes and class differences between the
rising fortunes of the merchant class to that of the
reigning aristocrats.
Claire is a lively character who is clever, a good friend
and businesswoman, a kind heart, and an overriding desire
to
live her life on her own terms. For his part, Cyrus is a
great Prince Charming who is a commoner who has used his
brawn and brain to get to the top, yet retains his concern
for others. While the title says THE LADY MEETS HER
MATCH,
it is more Cyrus who is changed when the shoe is not made
out of glass and things take a turn after midnight.
As the dialogue sparkles between them and the other well
crafted secondary characters, you will just want to read
on
well past midnight to find out how things will transpire
for
this perfectly paired, yet unlikely couple. If you like
historical romance with a bit of sweet and sauce, then THE
LADY MEETS HER MATCH is a savoury and refreshing treat I
can
happily recommend for you to enjoy!
LOCATING HER IS ONLY HALF THE BATTLE
Cyrus Ryland didn't become England's wealthiest bachelor
by
being a pushover, but the mysterious beauty he discovers
sneaking around at his grand ball enflames his curiosity.
When the clock chimes midnight and she's nowhere to be
found, Cyrus vows to scour all of London to uncover who
she
is. Little does he know that not only does Claire Mayhew
not
want to be found, but she wants nothing to do with him at
all...
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