BOOK REVIEW: The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews

I really enjoy Mimi Matthews’ historical romances. Her characters have depth. The plots are compelling. And she is able to ramp up the sexual tension while the novels remain “closed door.”

While waiting for her new series to launch, I reached back to an older series, Parish Orphans of Devon. Book one of the series is The Matrimonial Advertisement.

Lady Helena Reynolds is in desperate straits. Her brother, an earl, is presumed dead. The title went to her uncle, but her brother left all his wealth to her. Naturally, her uncle thinks she should sign it over to him. To persuade her, he resorts to violence and the threat of locking her away in an institution for the insane. Battered and terrified, she escapes by fleeing London to answer an advertisement for a wife.

Justin Thornhill is tired of being alone in his isolated, rundown, seaside estate in Devon. An ex-soldier with physical and mental scars, he can’t imagine wooing a wife. At the suggestion of his secretary, he resorts to placing a matrimonial ad. To his surprise, the woman who answers is a beautiful, cultured lady. He knows she’s keeping secrets, but so is he. And he wants her.

Their marriage of convenience is anything but convenient when Helena’s uncle sends his henchman to retrieve her, with the argument that she is not mentally competent to consent to marriage. Helena and Justin return to London, risking it all to free her from her uncle’s control. But once Helena is safe, willl she still need Justin?

Although the “trapped in an insane asylum” trope is one of my least favorites, it is utilized well in this novel. The protagonists (and the secondary characters) are engaging. The chemistry is believable. And I’m eager to read the rest of the series.