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My preference tends to be for working class/middle class characters, and I love books with non-WASP characters. This had both!
It also had found family, a dressmaker, and the supernatural craze that followed the death of Prince Albert.

Such a fun “tail” with Evelyn being an equestrian 🐴

This year I‘ve been reading a lot of historical romances with one of the main characters being another nationality. I like the added layer of conflict this creates. And how it shows the characters rising above societal norms and pursuing their heart‘s desire.

I‘ll keep the other three books in the series on my TBR.

#WonderousWednesday

🐎👗🇮🇳

I think I‘ll love The Pirate King‘s Thief

Bree Wolf - Love‘s Second Chance and Happy Ever Regency series!

This book has been calling to me, like the title suggests! Very excited to be reading this equestrian story!!! 🐎

I really enjoyed this. I read the authors notes at the end where she gives info about how she based it on truth. The author rides dressage herself so it was great to have the riding be realistic. The strong leads were great. She even had glasses and it wasn't used as a "bit". I actually lived in one of the neighborhoods mentioned and knew some of the other places so that was fun too. I will read the others in the series. Closed door/low spice.

My current kindle read. I'm really enjoying this one so far.

Just meh for me. It had potential but didn‘t really do it for me. The narrators were good, but the story was just alright.🎧

This was kind of a slow and boring romance. But in its defense, I didn‘t realize it was a clean romance. It was a lot about horses and fashion, if that‘s your thing.

It was a bit different where they were all about spiritualism and having mediums at their parties. And it was a bit diverse where the guy was a tailor and Indian.

Diving into this one that looks fun and lighthearted which I need right now! Any other light and fun read #recommendations ?I'm asking all #littens for suggestions. 🤓 #bookhelp

Forbidden romance. Lovers from different social classes. She needs to find a husband, he's supposed to make her the most gorgeous riding habit ever.

Belles of London series book 1

#FabulousFebruary @Andrew65
#SeriesLove2023 @TheSpineView

This was a book that was real enough to be sad, but ended happily. I loved all the descriptions of fashion and horses.
Evie comes to London to find a husband and make a future for her sisters and has a daring plan to use her riding skills and her meeting with a daring fashion designer will change her ideas of how to build a better future.
4/5 stars, read if you enjoy historical romance and love fashion.

I picked this up because I heard it had lots of descriptions of fashion and fabric. It had some, but not to the level of detail I wanted (at least not so far). I was looking for Bernadette Banner, and this is… a historical romance. I feel like I should have liked the characters but I just wasn‘t interested in their romance. Not a bad book, but not for me.

I enjoyed this romance, it was just what I needed to get me out of my reading slump…Ahmad and Evie were just lovely to root for and I‘m looking forward to the next in this Belles of London series…Favorite Quote: “It‘s lately seemed to me that we ladies are dropped into a churning sea and forbidden from revealing that we know how to swim.”⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Evelyn entered the shop alone. She was at once assailed by the scent of fresh ink, paper and new leather bindings. A delicious fragrance. She breathed it in, feeling at once both excited and oddly at peace. For a reader, a bookshop was rather like a church.”

This was a fun romance, with likeable characters and a great cast of side characters (who I expect will have future books of their own). I liked that this wasnt your typical Victorian era romance where the girl gets the duke... instead, she falls in love with her Indian dressmaker. I only has a couple small issues. First, they resolved all their issues just a little too easily. Second was more of a "me" issue but I got bored with all of the ⬇️

(Author's note quoted above.)

I broke down. I bought it. It's very sweet.

Pros: Matthews packed this story full of female friendships, descriptions of beautiful gowns primarily from the perspective of the maker, ladies on sidesaddle, gentlemen introduced first by their horses, and a POC hero. I especially loved the horses and the focus on non-noble characters.