The Belle of Belgrave Square by Mimi Matthews - Julia Wychwood is enduring another season in London. She is from a wealthy and respected family and has a generous dowry, but she is uncomfortable in ballrooms and dining halls, and would far rather be riding her horse or reading a novel. While her friends are out of town, she makes the acquaintance of Captain Jasper Blunt, a military hero looking for a wealthy wife. His gruff manner and wartime scars, along with the rumours of his haunted estate in Yorkshire and illegitimate children, have scared off most of the eligible young ladies. Julia is surprised to find that he can converse easily with her about books but still tells him that she doesn't think they would suit.
Jasper is captivated by Julia though, and compelled to come to her rescue in a couple of social situations, and they strike up a friendship. He is determined to pursue her, even going to talk to her father, but is rebuffed. However, when he learns of the cruel treatment Julia receives at home, and that she is weak and ill after her parents subject her to bloodletting, he comes to her aid and is shocked when Julia proposes to him a marriage of convenience if he will take her to Yorkshire.
Their friendship and the arrangement they agree to has the potential to grow into so much more, but Julia's trust in him is tested time and again as she finds out more about him and his secrets.
This story is based on the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast and the similarities are easy to spot. Jasper is a brooding hero full of contradictions and with many layers of secrets, and he struggles with how and when to share any of them with his new bride. Julia is a romantic soul with a kind heart, who has been dominated by her parents and her anxiety in social situations, but she begins to come alive once she has a home and some freedom. The development of their relationship is sweet and satisfying, and I liked the balance of the fairy tale trope with enough realism to make it work.
From the publisher:
A London heiress rides out to the wilds of the English countryside to honor a marriage of convenience with a mysterious and reclusive stranger.
Tall, dark, and dour, the notorious Captain Jasper Blunt was once hailed a military hero, but tales abound of his bastard children and his haunted estate in Yorkshire. What he requires now is a rich wife to ornament his isolated ruin, and he has his sights set on the enchanting Julia Wychwood.
For Julia, an incurable romantic cursed with a crippling social anxiety, navigating a London ballroom is absolute torture. The only time Julia feels any degree of confidence is when she's on her horse. Unfortunately, a young lady can't spend the whole of her life in the saddle, so Julia makes an impetuous decision to take her future by the reins―she proposes to Captain Blunt.
In exchange for her dowry and her hand, Jasper must promise to grant her freedom to do as she pleases. To ride―and to read―as much as she likes without masculine interference. He readily agrees to her conditions, with one provision of his own; Julia is forbidden from going into the tower rooms of his estate and snooping around his affairs. But the more she learns of the beastly former hero, the more intrigued she becomes . . .
By the same author: A Holiday By Gaslight, The Work of Art, The Matrimonial Advertisment, Fair As A Star, The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter
This is a book featuring a character with a secret identity (#35), by an author whose first and last name start with the same letter (#40) for The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge.
#the52bookclub #the52bookclub2026
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