Series: The Dressmakers, #4
Traits & Tropes: barrister hero; starched hero; sick comfort; class difference; spinster heroine; enemies to lovers
Publication Date: 12.29.15
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London, England, 1835
Heat Level: 3
Rating: 4/5
Narration Rating: 5/5
Lady Clara Fairfax has grown weary of the marriage proposals she continues to receive nearly each week because these men don’t truly know her, they only appreciate her looks and the fact that she is fashionable. Longing to be more than a pretty armpiece, Clara spends more and more time at her favorite charity, where she learns that a young boy has gone missing. Clara knows the only man who could possibly help her is the obnoxious, overly intelligent barrister, Oliver Radford.
Oliver may be third in line to a dukedom, but he has never moved within aristocratic society. He’s met Clara before and remembers exactly who she is, but she has no place in his future plans. Unfortunately for him, Clara defies even the most logical of thoughts and he soon finds himself on the verge of marriage whilst trying to keep his wits about him in what is surely one of the oddest pairings London has yet seen.
These two made such a unique pairing and their story was the most romantically unromantic I think I’ve ever read. Oliver’s intelligence put him on a different level than most people and clearly made it challenging for him to have relationships, especially since he was often met with contempt by others. I definitely thought Clara would be an unlikable spoiled brat at first, but Chase did a great job of showing how stifled Clara was by her life and how desperately she longed for something meaningful. Clara understood Oliver and how his mind worked and was able to help him navigate the world as he was able to also help challenge her and give her something beyond the stifling world she lived in. The storytelling was at times a bit jerky and difficult to keep up with whilst listening to the audio and trying to multitask. Nonetheless, the chemistry between Clara and Oliver was definitely there and I loved how they fought for each other, in their own ways, and Clara helped rein in Oliver’s grand plans to come up with reasonable compromises. Their banter was at times a bit difficult to follow but I loved it anyway. My only complaint is that I would’ve liked them to be a bit more explicit in their confession of their feelings for one another, though I suppose that probably wouldn’t have fit these two personalities that well. I did absolutely love that Clara said she fell in love with Oliver’s mind, not just his body or anything else and he was clearly taken with her intelligence as well. Oliver was incredibly relatable with his necessity to plan and his difficulty with social graces and I really wound up loving him and Clara together.
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/3553493710
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3915751418
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