Desperate Daughters: A Bluestocking Belles Collection with Friends

Very good stories by different authors. They managed to relate each story to the others quite well.

Desperate Daughters is a collection of charming stories about a family of remarkable women. A very young Dowager Countess Seahaven and her stepdaughters have worked together to make ends meet since the earl died. When her cousin offer to let them have her townhouse in York for the Season, they decide to pool their resources and talents to give the youngest three marriageable girls a season and a chance to find good husbands. It’s a lot of work and a lot of fun.

Lady Dorothea’s Curate by Caroline Warfield
While working at the hotel in Harrogate, Doro helps to run a soup kitchen with Ben Clarke, a young curate. They have come to like each other, then Doro goes home for Christmas and doesn’t return. They meet again when the Season begins in York. Maybe fate has brought them together and given a chance to find love.

Concerto by Mary Lancaster
Lady Barbara love music and earns money giving music lessons. Jack Sutton is a well-known composer and musician who is tuning her client’s piano when they meet. Barbara and Jack’s story is a beautiful romance with a dash of mystery and danger.

The Butler and the Bluestocking by Rue Allyn
Lady Elizabeth is a scholar, researcher, and author. Her interest is in antiquities. Malcolm K. Marr, an Edinburgh professor, has the same interests. When Bess finds him in the library of her cousin’s (his godmother) home and mistakes him for a burglar, he saves his hide and gives himself the chance to get to know her by claiming to be the butler. He isn’t a very good one. This is a fun story. The chemistry between these two is strong from the start. What will happen when secrets are revealed.

The Four-to-One Fancy by Elizabeth Ellen Carter
Twins Ivy and Iris vow to marry brothers so that they can stay close to each other. Captain John Bentley, the new Viscount Tyrell, and Captain James Bentley, his cousin have come to Yorkshire to inspect his new estate with the hope they can establish a racing park and breeding stables. They meet Ivy and Iris, whom they can tell apart by the way, and immediately lose their hearts to the lovely girls. Not brothers, but cousins will do nicely. Delightful story.

Lord Cuckoo Comes Home by Jude Knight
Chloe and Doro are half-sisters, so she is included in their plans for the Season. She is quite pretty, but believes she is too curvy to attract a suitor. Dom Finchley is half-brother to the new Duke of Haverford and the Marquess of Pevenwood. Dom rescues Chloe and Rosario, her monkey, from a rather chaotic lecture. The rest of the story is a cute adventure with a happy ending.

I’ll Always be Yours by Ella Quinn
When Diplomat Lord Sextus Trevor returned to London, her is met by his siblings and whisked away to York. It seems his father, Duke of Sommerset, intends to marry him off for a piece of property. His siblings intend to help Sextus thwart the Duke’s plan. In York, he meets Harriet Staunton. He is immediately taken with her and determines she will be the perfect wife for a diplomat, him. This one has love at first sight, wonderful characters, a bested duke, and a happy ending. I would not want to be Lord Septimus

Lady Twisden’s Picture by Alina K. Field
Lady Honoria Twisden, Patience’s aunt, has come to York for peace and painting. When her stepson Wes brings home Major August Kellborn, the peace is disturbed, in several ways. Contrary to what Gus expected, Honoria is not a dottering old stepmother, but a lovely young widow. Gus and Honoria are perfect for each other and can find love, if they can get Wes out of the way. Full of humor and enjoyable.

A Duke for Josefina by Meara Platt
Lady Josefina is a botanist and an expert in herbal medicinals. When she meets Gareth, Duke of Bourne at the apothecary, he asks and she agrees to try to help with a cure for his sister who has not completely healed from an injury. Josefina is a delight. She wins over his sister, his guard dogs, and Gareth. This one is a happily ever after all round.

A Countess to Remember by Sherry Ewing
Patience has done everything she could to give her stepdaughters a chance for good marriages. She succeeded, beyond expectation. Might it be her turn now? Richard, Viscount Cranfield, has accompanied his sister to York for the Season. He is impressed by Patience. Richard and Patience, the rake and the sweet dowager, fall for each other almost immediately. This is the perfect ending for a set of lovely stories.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book.