Official Synopsis
Lady Anne Deveril doesn’t spook easily. A woman of lofty social standing known for her glacial beauty and starchy opinions, she’s the unofficial leader of her small group of equestriennes. Since her mother’s devastating plunge into mourning six years ago, Anne voluntarily renounced any fanciful notions of love and marriage. And yet, when fate puts Anne back into the entirely too enticing path of Mr. Felix Hartford, she’s tempted to run…right into his arms.
No one understands why Lady Anne withdrew into the shadows of society, Hart least of all. The youthful torch he once held for her has long since cooled. Or so he keeps telling himself. But now Anne needs a favor to help a friend. Hart will play along with her little ruse—on the condition that Anne attend a holiday house party at his grandfather’s country estate. No more mourning clothes. No more barriers. Only the two of them, unrequited feelings at last laid bare.
Finally free to gallop out on her own, Anne makes the tantalizing discovery that beneath the roguish exterior of her not-so-white knight is a man with hidden depths, scorching passions—and a tender heart.
My Thoughts
Mimi Matthews certainly knows how to tell a good story with engaging characters. While The Lily of Ludgate Hill is not my favorite of the Belles of London series, I thoroughly enjoyed Lady Anne and her loyalty to her grieving mother. She's a spunky heroine, but one who also knows her own mind regardless of how she might appear to people on the outside. Yes, she's been dressing in mourning back for years in respect to her father's memory. No, she hasn't settled down to a suitable match. Yes, she gives every appearance of being cowed by her mother. But not everything is as it appears as Felix Hartford discovers soon enough.
I'm not always on board with stories where the male lead is prone to arrogance, but for Felix, like Anne, he also is not all that he seems. The reader comes to know this about him soon enough, but it takes a bit of time for Anne to learn that she can't judge him by his outward behavior, but rather by the things he does in secret. Think of Sir Percy from The Scarlet Pimpernel where he behaves one way in public and another in private and you might have a slight idea. Of course, he's no Percy, but in his own way, Felix is quite heroic.
Their relationship is quite rocky, fraught with miscommunication and assumptions, and that might be one reason why I didn't necessarily love this book. But they do get things straightened out in the end and I believe they will be a truly charming couple. Both of them just needed to do a bit of growing up before their relationship could even begin to work.
Another reason for my liking and not loving The Lily of Ludgate Hill is that it starts up about 3/4 of the way into the previous book The Belle of Belgrave Square, which I absolutely ADORED! So that just felt strange, retelling from a different perspective the end of a previous book. Once we moved into a newer timeline with different events, I enjoyed the story more, but that beginning was a little slow-paced for my liking simply because I didn't really care at that point.
I also didn't care for all the new age mysticism and seances and spirit guides that Anne's mother believes in. Spirit guides tend to be something people play with and don't realize what they actually are. In this case, Dimitri is presented as being a figment of Anne's mother's imagination, but he could just as easily have been something else. Don't open that door.
I am hopeful for the 4th and final installation, The Muse of Maiden Lane since it follows the story of Stella, the fourth young lady in this group of friends, whose hair is completely gray and who may be falling in love with a gentleman in a wheelchair. I would love that story arc if that's what happens!
Kudos to Mimi Matthews for continuing with her clean fiction trend. You've got some passionate kisses here, but nothing else, and that's how I do tend to like it, fiery but careful with how much is shown. The Lily of Ludgate Hill is a quick and easy read and a charming way to pass some spare time. If you love clean romance and Victorian fiction then this one is probably for you!
