As a book reviewer, I received a copy of this book for free from the publisher or author to facilitate this review. I received no other compensation, and all opinions are always 100% my own.
Penelope “Nell” Trewlove was raised in an orphanage, although she has distant vague memories of her mother. However, the Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies is no normal school. It trains its young women in self-defense, espionage, lock picking, and how its graduates can disrupt the patriarchal strictures of the Victorian period–all while dressing and speaking in a manner designed to fit into the best of society. Nell, now one of the teachers there, is beautiful, a skilled seamstress, and also walks with a limp from a childhood accident.
When Miles Quincey, the fearless and committed young editor introduced to us in Rules for Ruin (linked to my review), begins asking questions about the Academy, Nell is dispatched to downplay and divert. She has another reason for traveling to London. A young woman was en route to the orphanage from a workhouse, and she has gone missing. Nell is determined to find and bring her home. Meanwhile, Miles is searching for a reporter of his who is missing, presumed murdered.
During their first meeting, the two verbally spar yet are curiously attracted to each other. Nell is feisty and independent, and her future dreams only include the Academy. But when a kitten runs under her skirt and gets tangled in the metal framework of her crinoline, Miles has to extract it–and the result leaves them both compromised. There’s nothing for it but marriage, after they’ve known each other all of a day. It’s Miles who insists on the marriage for the sake of his own reputation, when Nell would much rather risk things.
The Marriage Method is book two in the Crinoline Academy series (books can be read separately) and it’s another enjoyable read, combining historical fiction, mystery/suspense, and a slow-burn romance. Nell and Miles are appealing characters, and I enjoyed learning a little more about Victorian London as they venture amongst both high and low class in search of answers. Highly recommended.
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