Book Review: A Proper Charade by Esther Hatch

 

Book Description:

Lady Patience Kendrick was born to a life of privilege, and with the London Season looming, she finds herself facing unprecedented pressure to adhere to the rules of society. Unfortunately, the free-spirited young woman is anything but proper. Patience's elder brother, a former military man, bemoans his sister's antics but when he accuses her of incurable frivolity, it is simply more than she can bear. Determined to prove her brother wrong, Patience undertakes a drastic experiment: she will disguise herself as a maid and demonstrate her ability to work as hard as anyone.
Taken on as household staff by her brother's former general, Patience soon learns that willingness and ability are two very different things. While her plan sounded promising in theory, the reality is that she is out of her depth and the irresistibly charming son of the house isn't helping matters. Patience soon finds herself embroiled in a charade far more complicated than she imagined. With both her pride and her heart at stake, she is determined to prove her brother wrong even as her plans spiral delightfully out of control.

Rorie's Review:

Sigh. (This is the good kind of sigh, by the way.) That's what I did when the story ended. But also kind of a sad sigh because the story was over. So yeah, it was a good one. 

I think I would really enjoy being friends with Patience. She's quirky, very open, friendly and really, kind of hilarious. Posing as a maid for a month when she has no idea how to do any of the required tasks was insane, yes, but I give her kudos for figuring out a way to fix her "incurable frivolity" by learning how to work. All of her initial encounters with Anthony made me laugh out loud. She was already in way over her head as it was, and then he had to go and drag her into yet another scheme. 

I usually don't mention the cover of books, but I really love this one. Her dress is absolutely gorgeous! I really enjoyed this story and highly recommend it.

Tarah's Review: 

This was just a great book to read over the holiday weekend. I will admit that I may have stayed up really late to finish reading this book. I may have used the excuse that I was freezing and couldn't sleep so I may as well be reading, but let's face it, I would have stayed up and finished it regardless.

I really liked Anthony and all his lists. They made me smile and made him more real because of his little quirks. I felt for him and the situation Patience put him in by trying to be his maid, but it really did make for an entertaining read.

I'm glad that Patience's family troubles were worked out, and I'd love to see her brother Nicholas get his own book. I would gladly read it. He needs a good person to make him a little more light-hearted, but he doesn't need someone silly like Patience.

Anyway, it was a quick enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to more books from this author.

Title: A Proper Charade
Author: Esther Hatch
Publisher: Covenant Communications, Inc.
Published: May 2020
ISBN: 1524412317
Source: All opinions expressed are my own. 

Purchase: Amazon Deseret Book