4 stars-- Once Upon a Maiden Lane (Maiden Lane #12.5) by Elizabeth Hoyt

I needed a little romance this morning.

And Henry? Oh, Henry was ready to step up give me a little shiver.

Basically, Henry's spent his whole life knowing he'd marry a family friend--their parents arranged it. But, suddenly, he's found himself engaged to someone else. Someone who's feeling a little insecure about how little time they've had to learn one another.

He bent and murmured in her ear softly. Intimately. "Only a small time to learn your likes and dislikes. Your favorite foods. The thing that disgusts you the most." He paced around her, and she was reminded of how he'd stalked her in the sitting room. His voice came from over her left shoulder. "What authors you like to read. What you look like when you laugh from your belly. How your tears fall. If you like to stroll in the morning or if you'd rather laze abed. If the sound of an orchestra makes your heart sing or leaves you unmoved. How to make you smile and how to make you sob."

His breath was hot in her right ear, and Mary shivered, closing her eyes to keep herself calm.

"I want to learn all of you. I want you to know me in return. When I next kiss you, I want you to welcome  my lips like a lover instead of a stranger."

She inhaled sharply. This was like a waking dream, for this man, this fascinating, handsome aristocrat to speak to her so bluntly. 

So passionately.

"Do you want that as well? He was in front of her now.

"Yes," she said, opening her eyes to meet his gaze boldly. "Yes, I do."

Resist Elizabeth Hoyt? Surely not! When I saw Once Upon a Maiden Lane? I was all ohmigosh! I neeeeeeded it!

And, oh, it made me smile. And tear up a little, too.

The Gist: Mistaken identity! Well, not really. But kinda. But not. lol Henry is browsing a bookstore and spots his fiance except...it's not her. *confusion!* The plain but intriguing maid he's spotted, though, might hold the answers to a decades old mystery surrounding a stolen little girl. She might also be his real fiance. Oh dear. 

I loved Mary. She's solid and a little lost now that her life has been turned upside down and she's gone from maid to Lady. But she has such a heart. Innocent and witty. Fierce in her own ways. I felt so much for her for all she'd been through. And Henry. I adored him, too. I liked how he watched out for Mary when he could and all his handsome sexy bits. I enjoyed watching them get to know one another and how they tried to make the best of an uncomfortable situation.

It's a really quick novella of Mary learning how to be a Lady with the help of her new found family and her sexy new fiance. Goodness but a girl's life can change! There's a little danger and mystery and a bit of heat and steam. Some sweet romance and a heart warming happily ever after. 

All in all, a sweet novella that touched the heart and gave me a little more of the Maiden Lane series I so crave. It was a nice, light, heartwarming novella.

Miss Mary Whitsun is far too intelligent to fall for the rakish charms of a handsome aristocrat. But when the gentleman in question approaches her in a bookshop, mistaking her for his fiancée, Lady Johanna Albright, the flirtatious encounter only raises more questions. Could Mary, a servant raised in a St Giles orphanage, actually be Lady Joanna's long-lost twin sister? If so, Mary has been betrothed since birth—to the rakishly handsome artistocrat himself.

Henry Collins, Viscount Blackwell, is far too intrigued by Mary to let her go so easily. He's drawn to her sharp mind, indomitable spirit, and the fiery way in which she dismisses him—ladies simply don't dismiss Lord Blackwell. But as Mary makes her first hesitant steps into society, she can't help but wonder if she truly has a place in Henry's world—or in his heart.

Amazon | Goodreads | Hoyt on HCBS

*covers link to Amazon

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