Juliana Philippa's Reviews > The Love Match

4.5 stars Loved it!!

To pass the time, she turned to the mantel and examined the figurines placed there. The one nearest was a porcelain cow. Rather ugly, she thought, as she lifted it and turned it over in her hands.

“Searching for ghosts?”

She jumped, and the cow flew out of her hand.

Mr. Cross deftly caught it in midair and set it back on the mantel where it would be safe from her. “Still skittish, I see.”

Setting. 1818, Hampshire, England.

The Sisters of Scandal Series. Read Books 1-3 of the Sisters of Scandal series in one night and liked each one more than the next (after reading this one and the last, had to go back and bring down the rating of the first one to a 3.5). Note that they don't have to be read in order, though I would recommend it, since it goes sister by sister and the three sisters appear in all three books. This novella was made up of some of my favorite romance elements and I SO wish it had been a full novel!!! :-( Haven't been interested in reading Book 4 and I'm sticking to that for now, but read Book 5, The Improper Bride , as an ARC and absolutely ADORED it (and luckily, that one is a full novel, so are able to enjoy the story for that much longer!).

1. The Affair [3.5 stars] — Elizabeth, Lady Thornhill (beautiful widowed eldest sister) and Cale Cameron (bookseller and publisher)
2. The Wager [4 stars] — Anne Middleton (outspoken middle sister) and Michael Grey, new Earl of Thornhill (ex-traveler, now seemingly stuffy)
3. The Love Match [4.5 stars] — Olivia Middleton (shy bibliophile youngest sister) and William Cross (ladies' man and secret writer/poet)
4. The Mistake — haven't read
5. The Improper Bride [5+ stars] — Cassandra Davis (widowed housekeeper) and Henry Eldridge, Marquess of Riverton (really not a nice guy)

Miss Olivia Middleton, Our Heroine. I adored Olivia. She's a complete book nerd and basically your typical quiet, shy, wallflower-type HR heroine. Now that her two older sisters are married off, she's the sole focus of her mother's marital schemings and aspirations (unfortunately for her). Her Mom is definitely annoying, but makes for some funny scenes, and I also appreciated how over the course of the novella, we see her own will strengthening against that of her mother's. Wallflower heroines don't mean they're pushovers, and though Olivia is definitely cowed by her mother at the beginning, it was nice to see her start to stand-up for herself and you really see her sticking to her guns at the end, which was a very difficult situation, especially given the times. I also loved Olivia's social awkwardness and it also results in some laughable moments, when she says something that's not completely true just to make conversation and fill in the space, and then it comes back to bite her later on.

... she hadn��t known what to say, and, sometimes when she didn’t know what to say, she said anything she could think of just so people would stop staring at her in expectation of an answer. Even if what she said was untruthful.

She didn’t like people staring at her. She would much rather fade into the background.

Mr. William Cross, Our Hero. William was a fantastic hero and SUCH a great match for Olivia. Initially, we think he's a total flirt and ladies' man—which actually, let's be honest, he kind of is. But while his smooth way with words and suave techniques work on most all other women, he quickly finds out that's not the case with Olivia, and it's so cute to see how thrown off balance by that he is; he's almost stumped on how to interact with her. We also discover that there is way more to him than meets the eye, and this facade he puts on of being a charming rake actually hides a quick and creative mind.

Mr. Cross was silent. He leaned back in his chair, one leg stretched out. “It’s so easy with everyone else,” he muttered, sounding bemused. “With you, I keep saying the wrong things.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, uncertain of how to respond.

He laughed. “Don’t apologize.”

Other Lovely Things. The exchanges and dialogue between them are lovely; sometimes very funny and had me laughing out loud, other times very sweet and tender and completely sigh-worthy. The connection and chemistry between them was very good; Maxton really wrote a winning pair here, who fit and complement each other very, very well.

“You have ink on your cheek,” he noted softly.
She glanced at his dirty hands. “That’s your fault. I hope it washes off.”
“It should.” He stared at her as though trying to puzzle her out. “When I was first introduced to you last Season, I thought you were the picture of the wilting wallflower. But you’re not, are you?”
“I thought I was,” she said, nearly as puzzled as he was.
“But not with me?”
“Not with you,” she agreed.
“Probably because I’m so unimpressive.”
“Most likely,” she said.
And after a heartbeat, they smiled at the same time.

Olivia is supposed to be rather plain and she's shy, so I'm glad that Maxton followed the logic of that and didn't have William fall in love (or in lust) with her right off the bat—it would have seemed very disingenuous. Instead, they have a couple exchanges that throw her off kilter because she finds herself enjoying them, and throw him for a loop because they're different than any of his interactions with other women, and she's different than other women as well.

“Wait.” He held up his hand, halting her. They turned to face each other, and one of the horses snorted at the abrupt movement. “Why shouldn’t I desire you?”
“You’re, well…you. And I’m me. No one would expect you to look twice at me.”
“That’s the most foolish thing I’ve ever heard,” he said bluntly. “You don’t give yourself nearly enough credit.”
She tilted her head back to peer up at him from under the brim of her riding hat. “I know that being quiet and bookish doesn’t exactly make one sought after.”
“Being sought after and being desirable aren’t the same thing. Some people don’t know what to look for,” he said.
He was so vehement that her head jerked back slightly. Her eyes traced the sullen set of his jaw. “What do you see when you look at me?” she asked.
He opened his mouth. Hesitated. Then his lips curved in a wry smile. “I see an intelligent, passionate woman who’s too used to hiding what she really thinks. Although, with a mother like yours, I can’t say that I blame you.”
“Is that sincere? Or is it like your gray to silver?”
“It’s sincere.”
And she believed him. She didn’t know why, but she believed him.