It is a truth universally acknowledged that an arrogant bachelor insistent on a wife who meets the strictest of requirements–deserves his comeuppance.
The Honourable Mr. Jeremy Malcolm is searching for a wife, but not just any wife. As the target of matchmaking mothers and desperate debutantes, he’s determined to avoid the fortune hunters and find a near-perfect woman, one who will meet the qualifications on his well-crafted list. But after years of searching, he’s beginning to despair of ever finding this paragon. Until Selina Dalton arrives in town.
Selina, a vicar’s daughter of limited means and a stranger to high society, is thrilled when her friend Julia Thistlewaite invites her to London, until she learns it’s all part of a plot to exact revenge on Mr. Malcolm. Selina is reluctant to participate in Julia’s scheme, especially after meeting the irresistible Mr. Malcolm, who appears to be very different from the arrogant scoundrel of Julia’s description.
But when Mr. Malcolm begins judging Selina against his unattainable standards, Selina decides that she has some qualifications of her own. And if he is to meet them he must reveal the real man behind…Mr. Malcolm’s List.
Release Date: Jul 28, 2020
Heat Level: Warm/Sensual
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $9.99
Mr. Malcolm’s List by Suzanne Allain seems to be targeting the crowd of regency romance readers who enjoy Jane Austen or Georgette Heyer – which is exactly my taste, but I found something was lacking in this book. It was my first book by Suzanne Allain and it was fairly short, I read it in two days, it was a very easy and fun read but there was not much substance to the story or much character development.
The story is the classic rich man is looking for the perfect wife trope, along comes a poor but beautiful girl who puts him in his place. Jeremy Malcolm is very wealthy and is trying to sift through the fortune hunters and the meddling mama’s of the ton and find the perfect woman who checks off every characteristic on his list. He is slowly starting to lose hope in his search, which was unavoidable – I mean no one could really live up to his list.
Meanwhile, Selina Dalton has been in touch with her friend Julia, who was burned by Jeremy in the past and decides to use her friend to enact some revenge. Selina eagerly accepts Julia’s invitation to London, but once she learns about her friend’s scheme she is less enthused – especially when she realizes how handsome Jeremy is.
I think you can predict how the story will end from my brief description above. I am usually a sucker for these types of stories and while this book was fun and easy to read, it just lacked some development. There just was not much real depth to any of the characters, and I did not find myself really invested in any of their lives.
I was also not really a fan of the way Allain wrote the conversations; it did not seem to be very reflective of the time period. This would normally bother me a lot, but I have not read a lot of historical romances in a while and so the conversations just seemed like all of the other contemporary books that I have been reading. It wasn’t until I would remind myself of the time period that I was like “wait a minute…why are they talking like this?”
Overall, I would say this book is just fine. It is a quick and light read but nothing special and nothing you will likely stick out in your memory for any reason.
~ Harshita
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