Miss Lattimore's Letter
Books | Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency
3.4
Suzanne Allain
The woman who never made a match of her own is making matches for everyone else in this hilarious Regency era comedy of manners. Sophronia Lattimore had her romantic dreams destroyed years ago and is resigned to her role as chaperone for her cousin. Still, she cannot sit idly by when she becomes aware that a gentleman is about to propose to the wrong woman. She sends him an anonymous letter that is soon the talk of the town, particularly when her advice proves to be correct. Her identity is discovered and Sophie, formerly a wallflower, becomes sought after for her “expert” matchmaking skills. One person who seeks her out is the eligible and attractive Sir Edmund Winslow. As Sophie assists Sir Edmund in his pursuit of a wife, she wishes she could recommend herself as his bride. However, she vows to remain uninvolved while aiding him in his search (especially since the gentleman surely does not return her affections). But when her long-lost love and Sir Edmund both seem to be interested in courting her, Sophie can’t figure out if she’s headed for another broken heart or for the altar. How can she be expected to help other people sort out their romantic lives when her own is such a disaster?
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More Details:
Author
Suzanne Allain
Pages
272
Publisher
Penguin
Published Date
2021-08-10
ISBN
0593197429 9780593197424
Community ReviewsSee all
"Finished January 9th"
Nikki Nienhaus
"Far too superficial of a rommance. Over 200 pages and I know so little of Sophie or indeed anyone around her. What is her personality. What does she like to do - does she like to ride or embroider or dance, is she into philosophy or romance novels, does she have a wide array of interests or is there one specific thing she is very keen of. What of her childhood. How did she loose her parents. What was their relationship like. Does she have any fond memories from her childhood, anything she misses in particular from her former home. And what of friends from her childhood. I dont know any of these things about her. A reader cannot truly be invested in a protagonist if they know so little of her beyond the superficialities. The same can be said for the other characters in the book.<br/><br/>Although the dialogue was entertaining, there was far too much narration of 'they said this, and she replied with that, and he said such'. That's a lot of telling. And what is it with the changing povs? Often it wasn't clear who's pov it was. Sometimes I felt that this was an attempt at an omniescient narrator. But that could not have worked in this book - you can not change pov at will. It feels as if there are no rules. While I am all for putting creativity first, you must give some rules to your own creativity. Defining povs is one of the first things that must be decided when writing a book.<br/><br/>And changing povs at will simply did not work here. Especially as any thoughts from the point of view of anyone other than Sophie portrayed characters as unlikable. This is not because they were unlikable characters, but rather because their povs had little substance and so made them appear like two dimensional cartoons. There was so little insight into feelings and and the reasons for them. <br/><br/>I suppose I am being harsh. But it just surprises me that Mr Malcoms list was so well praised when, Suzanne Allain's writing seems to have many crucial faults. I have not read Mr Malcoms List as of yet as the concept did not attract me as much as the idea of a matchmaker whose efforts have gone wrong. But i do think that there is potential in these characters. There was real chemistry between some of these couples. Its just that the story needs to be so much more well developed.<br/><br/>This is not meant to be discouraging, though it is critical. I am not writer, nor can I imagine sitting down to write a novel. But this is my honest opinion and I wanted to share it."
Beatriz Sousa