To Charm a Lady

Title: To Charm a Lady

Series: The Cartwells #2

Author: Joanna Barker

Source: Library

My Review:

To Charm a Lady is the second book in The Cartwells duology. They don't have to be read in order, but you will enjoy them more if you do read them in order.

The first book is Marigold's story, and this book is Cora (Marigold's best friend) and Oliver's (Marigold's brother) story. 

Cora's mother is a force to be reckoned with and she has firm ideas as to Cora's future husband. As a matter of fact, she has told Cora exactly whom she is to marry. So, when Cora gets the opportunity to go to a house party without her mother chaperoning, she is excited about searching for a love match. However, when Oliver shows up to the party, Cora accidentally injuries the one her mother wants her to impress.

Oliver is happy to see his sister's best friend, and immediately embarks on the adventure of helping Cora find a love match. Cora does not always appreciate his interference, but his methods do work.

The best laid plans often go array, such is the case of this story. I adored this story. It is charming, sweet, and satisfying. I appreciated that Cora wanted to marry for love, an unpopular opinion of the time, and that she wanted to get out from under her mother's thumb. I loved her friendship with Oliver, and enjoyed seeing Oliver's character growth as the story progressed.

I highly recommend this one.

★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads):  

Cora Atherton wants nothing more than to finally fall in love—real love, not the unrequited sort. When she is invited to attend a house party without her disapproving, overbearing mother, Cora leaps at the chance, desperate to make a match of her own. That is, until she finds that Oliver Cartwell is also attending the party. Oliver, the boy she has loved since she was a girl and the man she is determined to forget.

A house party in the country is just what Oliver needs to distract himself from the shadows of his past. When he discovers that Cora, his sister’s best friend, is in need of a little matchmaking, he resolves to help her in her search for a husband. He quickly learns that no man is good enough for her, least of all himself. Why, then, does he find himself fighting his attraction to gentle, beautiful Cora at every step?

As the two draw closer together, Cora is forced to confront the feelings that have tortured her for years. With her future on the line and a deadline fast approaching, can she trust that flirtatious Oliver has changed for the better—or will he leave her heart in pieces once again?