BOOK REVIEW: A Match Made in London by Michelle Willingham

A Match Made in London by Michelle Willingham is the first book in a new Regency Romance series, The School for Spinsters.

Mrs. Harding, a one-time abused wife but now determined widow, runs a school for ladies who fear they will never win husbands. They come to her wanting to know how to be beautiful and popular, but she teaches them self-reliance and self-confidence. At the same time, her good friend Mr. Gregor, who moves about easily in society while hiding his true self (he is gay), scopes out potential prospects for the young ladies.

Violet Edwards is desperately in need of the school. She has little dowry, an evil mother who insults her constantly, and, worst of all, a stutter. She has always wanted a husband but now she needs one. Her mother is sending her off to the country to live with and care for her grandmother, a nasty woman who once threatened to beat the stutter out of her. So Violet sneaks off to see Mrs. Harding.

Damian Everett, the Earl of Scarsdale, is in a bind. His father, the marquess, has gambled and drank away the family fortune. If Damian doesn’t wed an heiress (the narcissistic Lady Penelope), there will be no money to bring out his sisters. He despises Penelope, but he loves his sisters and sees no other way out.

Mrs. Harding and Mr.Gregor concoct a plan to stiffen Violet’s spine. Aside from singing lessons (to help with the stutter), dancing lessons, and new clothes, they hire Damian to provoke her. The hundred pounds he is offered won’t solve anything, but it will help keep some of the noisier creditors temporarily at bay. He reluctantly accepts.

What follows is a “My Fair Lady”- type transformation as Violet climbs out of her shell and learns to fight back. Damian, too, learns to take control of his own Fate. 

This is an entertaining start to this new moderately steamy series. The protagonists are delightful. Mrs. Harding and Mr. Gregor are intriguing. The villains are one-dimensional but serve the purpose, and at least one of them shows possibility for redemption – maybe in book two?