The Bride Behind the Curtain: Regency Makeover Part I by Darcie Wilde

From the publisher: Adele Endicott has always been considered too plump and too awkward for the fashionable world. But the girl has a discerning eye for fashion, filling notebooks with designs for beautiful dresses. She also has an eye for the dashing son of French expatriates, James Beauclaire. With a little help from her friends, and a talented modiste's assistant, Adele's gowns take society by storm and she begins a secret flirtation with James, who finds himself torn between family loyalties and true love. But as all Adele’s impossible dreams begin to come true, can she resist the temptations of a world suddenly throwing itself at her feet?

A fluffy little Regency novella, as lightweight as a meringue and as easy to devour.

I didn’t like that the heroine had to lose weight in order to complete her transformation from dumpling to darling, but I did like that for once it was the older sister who was plain, shy, and insecure, rather than the younger sister. I also love the opening line: “Our story begins, as the best often do, in a library.”

Both the hero and the heroine were likable enough, and the author has a deft humorous touch. “What was Marcus doing out there? Probably looming. Marcus looming was a famously disconcerting sight. ‘You’re trying to intimidate me,’ Lady Helene went on, confirming Adele’s suspicions of looming behavior.” (p. 11 of the digital advance reader copy)

There is nothing particularly noteworthy about The Bride Behind the Curtain, but I needed a quick diverting read and it filled that need.

I read a digital advance reader copy of The Bride Behind the Curtain. It will be published on March 15 and will be available as an ebook through the Galesburg Public Library.