Meeting Her Match by Jen Turano (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What is blooming in your neighborhood?  My hydrangeas and lilies look lovely in my yard. My purple clematis is growing on my house right now too.  We’ve had such a rainy summer that some plants are not doing as well as others.  These three flowers are doing fine with the rain.

Camilla Pierpoint and her paid companion Lottie are nearly kidnapped by highwaymen and mistake a man who tried to save them as one of the highwaymen.  When the dust settles Camilla discovers that Mr. Owen Chesterfield has traveled to seek her help as a matchmaker for his beloved sister, Luella.  Luella is a “ragamuffin” who has found herself a social outcast and shunned by the man she loves.  Camilla is a member of the elite New York City “400,” and Owen hopes that she will help Luella to rehabilitate her social standing.  Camilla decides to help as she loves a challenge and wants a change of scenery to thwart would be kidnappers.  Will Luella be rehabilitated?  Will Camilla discover who is trying to kidnap her?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I love the cover of this novel.  I really like when covers show an entire person including their face.  Her purple gown is striking and beautiful. It really made me want to pick this book up!

·       This is Book 3 in The Matchmakers series.  I’ve read Book 2, but not Book 1.  They work well as standalone novels, although I do still want to read the first book. There is a good excerpt of Book 1 at the end of this novel.  Characters such as Camilla appear in the other books.

·       I love the Gilded Age setting of this novel.  It helped to fill my void waiting for another season of the show, The Gilded Age.

·       The West Virginia setting for part of the novel was unique and fun.

·       Speaking of fun, this novel was a lot of fun.  It had me laughing out loud at several points.  The story drew me in immediately with the action-packed kidnapping in the first chapter.  The action soon turned into humor as Camilla and Owen have their misunderstanding.  The madcap comedy reminded me of some of my favorite screwball comedies from the 1930s or favorite romcoms from the last thirty years.  The banter between the characters was great.

·       The characters were three dimensional and interesting including both the leads and the secondary characters.  I enjoyed all of them, especially the leads Camilla and Owen, but also Meemaw and Luella as well.

·       Even the animals were great characters and hilarious.  Esmeralda the pig has a grand entrance to the story, and I also enjoyed El Cid the cat squaring off against the pig.

·       This novel is a clean read with romantic kissing only.

·       Owen went to school for engineering!  I always love finding engineers in fiction.

·       I just love stories with matchmakers in them.  I am not sure why, but I think it’s fun when a matchmaker is trying to bring a couple together, and inadvertently finds love for herself.  Maybe it all goes back to my love of Emma by Jane Austen.

·       This book had a lot of fun tropes including a fake engagement, forced proximity, and enemies to lovers.

·       Great first line, “Being chased by highwaymen was certainly cause for concern, as was the idea she was in imminent danger of losing her seat because riding sidesaddle, and while dressed in the most fashionable of riding habits, was not exactly conducive to escaping from a most dire situation.

·       Life is still super busy and stressful for me lately and reading this novel was a great escape.  It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed spending time with these characters.

Overall, Meeting Her Match by Jen Turano was a fun historical romantic comedy that I greatly enjoyed reading.  It has wonderful characters, banter, and a fun story line.  I highly recommend this novel.

This book is coming out today!!

Book Source:  Review copy from Bethany House and NetGalley as part of the AustenprosePR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Miss Camilla Pierpont, a renowned matchmaker and influential member of the New York Four Hundred, has vowed never to marry after suffering a devastating heartbreak during her debut years ago. However, when she is nearly abducted along the Hudson River, she finds herself rescued by an annoyingly outspoken, albeit fascinating, gentleman who challenges her in a manner she wasn't expecting.

After learning that Camilla Pierpont has enjoyed success with taking wayward young ladies in hand, Mr. Owen Chesterfield travels to the Hudson River Valley determined to convince Camilla to sponsor his sister, who is in desperate need of social rehabilitation.

Knowing her life is in danger, Camilla agrees to Owen's proposition and travels with him to West Virginia, finding herself charmed by the less-than-formal attitude of his small hometown, as well as by Owen himself. But danger waits in the shadows, disrupting what she knows would be the most spectacular match she's ever made--her own.

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. Readers can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and X, and at JenTurano.com.