TITLE: The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Release Date: October 26, 2021
Format: e-book (352 pages)
Genre: Historical Romance
Blurb: As a master of disguise, Thomasina Wynchester can be a polite young lady—or a bawdy old man. Anything to solve the case. Her latest assignment unveils a top-secret military cipher covering up an enigma that goes back centuries. But when Tommy’s beautiful new client turns out to be the highborn lady she’s secretly smitten with, more than her mission is at stake…
Bluestocking Miss Philippa York doesn’t believe in love. Her cold heart didn’t pitter-patter when she was betrothed to a duke, nor did it break when he married someone else. All Philippa desires is to rescue her priceless manuscript and decode its clues to unmask a villain. She hates that she needs a man’s help—so she’s delighted to discover the clever, charming baron at her side is in fact a woman. Her cold heart… did it just pitter-patter.
Bravo Erica Ridley! What a fun story. I don’t know what I was expecting but this was a bold narrative featuring a non-conventional couple which I really enjoyed.
Phillipa was in conflict with her parents, who were pushing for her to marry and particularly a high born member of the ton. She wanted to marry for companionship but her parents were more concerned with social connections.
What I loved about Phillipa was that she was secure in her status as a single person and she had a great group of girlfriends. I loved her interaction with the Baron aka Tommy aka master of disguises because she wasn’t judgey like her parents and the rest of the ton. Their relationship was a great example of companionship. They challenged each other and they accepted each other. The author did a really good job of not being preachy but presenting a believable queer romance in the regency period. I thought this was an excellent regency romance.
