When newspaper editor Miles Quincey starts questioning the intentions of the Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies the academy sends one of their brightest graduates Penelope “Nell” Trewlove to quell his interest. What’s supposed to be an easy task gets complicated when Nell arrives in London at the same time one of Miles’ reporters gets murdered. When Miles and Nell get caught in a compromising situation they agree to an arrangement that will save their reputations while enabling them to investigate the story that lead to a man’s death.

When I’m in a historical romance mood, I immediately think of Mimi Matthews. Her novels are romances, but more importantly she really seems to research and know the period she is writing about lending her novels a lean towards historical fiction rather than romance. The Crinoline Academy touches on the subjugation of women in this period of history. The Academy where Nell resides does a bit more then enable women to launch into society, they are also training these women on how to ‘distract, disrupt, and discredit men in power who would seek to harm the advancement of women’. It’s during this time that women are starting to fight for their rights, and I love that Mimi Matthews has chosen this time in history to set her stories.

Nell is a bit of a fish out of water. She’s never left the academy in large part due to her disability. She was injured as a child and walks with a cane. She tires easily, but doesn’t let her fragility stop her from pursuing the leads that draw her into danger. Miles rose in station through hard work and takes his job and place in life very seriously. When he and Nell get caught in a compromising position he offers her marriage, but it’s not until they are investigating the murder that the two of them really get to know each other. It’s during those moments that the story really becomes interesting and the chemistry takes center page. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

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