Felicity doesn’t want to get married after a lifetime of being neglected by her parents, but when a mysterious matchmaker throws her together with the visiting Atticus, they end up changing each other’s lives.
This is the second book in the Society of Swans series, which revolves around a group of friends who receive letters from an anonymous matchmaker called Lady Swan. I haven’t read the first book, but this works well as a standalone.
I wanted to read this book because I was intrigued by the pairing of an outspoken, fiery heroine and an anxious, withdrawn hero. On that front, the author really delivered, and I loved how the pair meshed together, enhancing each other’s best qualities and shoring up where the other is weak. This is a fairly low angst, quiet romance, but there was enough going on in the slow budding of the relationship and Felicity’s grappling with the effects of her neglectful parents to keep me engaged throughout.
However, the style of writing just did not work for me. The author often glosses over what’s actually being said by characters, summarizing scenes between Felicity and Atticus or between other characters without actually writing out the dialogue. It left me feeling robbed of really getting to know all the little quirks and witty banter and sparking chemistry that’s a hallmark of the romance genre. To have it happen repeatedly just made me feel like I couldn’t get inside the story at all.
I also wished we got more of an understanding of Atticus’s social anxiety. We explore how Felicity’s background has contributed to the person she is and how she acts, but that just made me wonder more about Atticus. I thought the consequences of being so anxious in a society that places such weight in one’s charm and conversation was worth discussing more in depth, especially as it’s one of Atticus’s defining traits.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
