Series:
School for Spinsters (Book 1)
Violet Edwards is painfully shy with a terrible stutter.
Despite her mother's threats to send her away, she has plans of her own to win
a husband. She enrolls herself in the infamous School for Spinsters, where she
hopes to be transformed from a wallflower into a breathtaking debutante.
The only problem is that the headmistress hired a
gorgeous, notorious rake to give her lessons.
To the rest of the London ton, Damian Everett, the Earl
of Scarsdale, is a charming gentleman seeking a wife. But his father's mountain
of debts have left him with no choice but to wed an heiress. When he's offered
a generous stipend to help a shy wallflower, he can't refuse. All he has to do
is provoke Violet Edwards into finding her backbone.
As their lessons turn sensual, Damian is captivated by
Violet...and he's falling hard. But how can he turn his back on his family for
the wallflower he wants to love?
Good enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story. Violet has spent
the last three seasons as a wallflower due to her shyness and terrible stutter.
She is mocked and bullied by members of the ton, even her mother. When Violet's
mother plans to send her to her grandmother - a woman who believes she can beat
the stuttering out of her - she enrolls herself in the School for Young Ladies,
aka the School for Spinsters. Violet impressed me with her determination and ability
to go after what she wanted, even if she lacked confidence in public.
Damian, the Earl of Scarsdale, is handsome and popular
with a reputation as a rake. He put his rakish activities behind him when he
learned that his father, the marquess, had put the family into massive debt
with his gambling. Refusing to accept responsibility for his actions, the
marquess pressures Damian into courting the Season's wealthiest debutante, Lady
Persephone. She may be popular but is also cruel, selfish, and manipulative, keeping
Damian dangling after her while she flirts with multiple other men. Damian
detests her but will sacrifice himself to save his family. He will put up with
a lot from Persephone, but he pushes back when he witnesses her treatment of
Violet.
I liked the instructors at the school. Lady Harding and
Cedric realize that helping Violet will not be easy and that she has to be all
in for it to work. After setting Violet a challenge and seeing her meet it,
they agreed to help her. They also realize that she will have to hit bottom
before she can move up and settle on finding a way to break her down. After
witnessing a confrontation between Violet and Damian, they hire him to break her
down by making her angry at him. When Violet is angry, her stuttering lessens,
and she loses her shyness.
I enjoyed the lessons that Violet and Damian shared.
After the first couple, Damian realized he liked Violet and wanted to help her
for her sake, not just because he was paid to do so. It was fun to see him
tease her and rile her up. Though Violet began by disliking Damian, believing he
was just like Persephone, she soon discovered he was nothing like her. I liked
how Damian could see the real Violet underneath the shyness and stuttering and felt
he could be himself when he was with her. It wasn't long before sparks of
attraction flared between them, even though nothing could come of them. Damian
needs Persephone's dowry, and Violet knows she has nothing to offer him. But
the more time they spend together, the harder it is for Damian to accept what
he needs to do.
I loved seeing Violet gain confidence through lessons and
Damian's attention. The masquerade ball was terrific, and I enjoyed seeing how
Violet did when no one knew who she was. That confidence came in handy later when
Persephone pulled another of her cruel tricks, not knowing it would showcase
one of Violet's strengths. I waited for Damian to see the light and realize
that sacrificing himself wouldn't make things better for his family, and I almost
gave up hope because of Persephone's antics. Fortunately, he came through in
the end and realized their love was more important than the money.
The book does not end with their marriage but continues
for a little while after, as Damian tries to repair the family finances. There
were problems with an investment he made thanks to skullduggery from an unscrupulous
man, but with some help, that problem was overcome. I also liked how Violet
discovered something fishy about the family's financial troubles. By the end of
the book, things look much brighter for the happy couple. My only
disappointment was that Persephone and her father didn't pay for their actions.
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