To Spark a Match by Jen Turano (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Are you smooth in a social situation, or do you tend to get into mishaps?  The heroine of this story, Miss Adelaide Duveen tends to get into mishaps.  She starts the story by causing a scandal when she shows up with her dress accidentally tucked up showing her undergarments which are embroidered with her favorite animal, cats.  Adelaide has had five unsuccessful seasons, and it appears that she will remain a spinster with her cats and books.  One evening, she stumbles upon Gideon Abbott in the library at a party and realizes that there is something more afoot than just a regular party. Gideon is a former intelligence officer and is on a case.  Adelaide causes a distraction for him to be able to make his escape, but it further ruins her reputation.  Gideon uses his matchmaking friend Camilla to help Adelaide become fashionable again after this incident.  Will Adelaide’s become a diamond of the first water? 

To Spark a Match is Book 2 in the matchmakers series after A Beautiful Disguise.  A Beautiful Disguise is also a great book and I highly recommend it.  You first meet these characters in book one, but you can definitely also read To Spark a Match as a standalone novel.

I loved the humor in this novel.  It was fun to read the hijinks and witty banter throughout the novel.  There was also mystery and romance.  I really enjoyed the Adelaide and Gideon as characters and I loved their development as the story progressed. They had great chemistry and their personalities really complimented each other.   I loved Gideon’s job and Adelaide’s involvement in it.  It made for fun adventure and intrigue.  I mostly really loved that as the novel progressed, Adelaide learned to love herself just as she is.

The setting is Gilded Age New York.  I am watching the new season of The Gilded Age and loved the reference to Ward McAllister in the book (he’s a real life person who is a character on The Gilded age).

Favorite Quote:  “I believe my propensity for mishaps, my love of books, my lack of proficiency with most feminine arts, my enormous collection of cats, and my questionable fashion sense already sets me worlds apart from the crowd – and not in a favorable manor.”

Overall, To Spark a Match is a delightful novel with humor, mystery, and romance.  It’s a great read!

Book Source:  Review copy from Bethany House Publishing as a part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

QUICK FACTS

·       Title: To Spark a Match

·       Series: The Matchmakers (Book 2)

·       Author: Jen Turano

·       Genre: Historical Romance, Gilded Age Fiction, Inspirational Fiction

·       Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (November 14, 2023)

·       Length: (368) pages

·       Format: Trade Paperback, eBook, & Audiobook 

·       ISBN: 978-0764240218‎

·       Tour Dates: November 13 – 21, 2023

 

BOOK DESCRIPTION

After five unsuccessful Seasons on the marriage mart, Miss Adelaide Duveen has resigned herself to the notion that she's destined to remain a spinster forever--a rather dismal prospect, but one that will allow her to concentrate on her darling cats and books. However, when she inadvertently stumbles upon Mr. Gideon Abbott engaged in a clandestine activity during a dinner party, Adelaide finds herself thrust into a world of intrigue that resembles the plots in the spy novels she devours.

Former intelligence agent Gideon Abbott feels responsible for Adelaide after society threatens to banish her because of the distraction she caused to save his investigation. Hoping to return the favor, he turns to a good friend--and one of high society's leaders--to take Adelaide in hand and turn her fashionable. When danger surrounds them and Adelaide finds herself a target of the criminals in Gideon's case, the spark of love between them threatens to be quenched for good--along with their lives.

PRAISE FOR TO SPARK A MATCH

• “Turano charms with her offbeat characters, and she has a knack for funny, flirty dialogue…fans will find this irresistible.”— Publisher’s Weekly
• “Turano delivers a rousing second installment in her the Matchmakers historical inspirational romance series set in New York's Gilded Age. This is a delightful novel about individuality and unexpected love that balances humorous hijinks and the intrigue of criminal activity within the rare book world. It shimmers with spunk and stars a most admirable leading lady whose unapologetic acceptance of herself is what refreshingly captivates her hero's heart."— Booklist
• “This book is full of ups and downs, twists and turns, hilarious encounters, slow burn romance, bookish characters, cats and a dash of mystery! I highly recommend it, friends!”— Tasha, Clean Read Book Club

 

PURCHASE LINKS

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | PUBLISHER | BOOKSHOP | BOOKBUB |    GOODREADS

 

AUTHOR BIO

Named one of the funniest voices in inspirational romance by Booklist, Jen Turano is a USA Today bestselling author known for penning quirky historical romances set in the Gilded Age. Her books have earned Publishers Weekly and Booklist starred reviews, top picks from RT Book Reviews, and praise from Library Journal. She's been a finalist twice for the RT Reviewers' Choice Awards and had two of her books listed in the top 100 romances of the past decade from Booklist. She and her family live outside of Denver, Colorado.

 

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