This was a decent story and I somewhat enjoyed both the hero and the heroine. This was a quick and easy read. However, nothing really stood out making it a great book.

The book is light read. The usual HEA historical romance.

Mary is mistaken for a lady of ton. Lord Blackwell is intrigued by her and wants to know her better. The banter between them is good.

A simpering romance for the ages! What a twist Once Upon a Maiden Lane offers! I enjoy reading fresh new stories with plots that are rare or unheard of in this genre of fiction. I love adding unique books to my faves shelf and this book has made it. I highly recommend anyone who enjoys romance to give this story a try. It's fresh, unique and oh so lovable.

This was such a sweet novella!! I adored the hero and heroine and I really wished they could have gotten a full length novel. Elizabeth Hoyt does a great job of bringing these characters to life and injecting them with personality. I loved the banter and how much I was able to connect with the story. Plus, we get to see Val, Bridget, and their baby!!!!

Now that I’ve read all the stories in Maiden Lane series I’ve decided to tackle the novellas. This is a short telling of romance of one of the Mary’s from the orphanage.

I really enjoyed the accidental meeting between Mary Whitsun and Lord Henry Blackwell and from that point on this story moves fast. The chemistry is wonderful and palpable between the two.

If you like a little mystery and danger in your romance novels, I am sure you’ll enjoy this novella which ends with a sweet and satisfying happily ever after.

Melanie for b2b

The series is getting closer and closer to the end and while I am sadder than I can say to see it ending, I am enjoying these little stories wrapping up the series for the supporting characters that have grown up on the pages of the books from the first to this fourteenth story. Hoyt manages to always entertain no matter the seriousness of the subject or the craziness of whatever is happening to her characters. Mary Whitsun was an orphan we first met when she was a young girl helping out at the orphanage run by the heroine in the very first novel in the series, and we have watched her grow up through each story. She is now the nanny for that woman, minding her two children and is perfectly happy with her position in life, until Henry Collins comes into her life and throws everything into chaos. Henry never thought to come across the long lost woman he was once affianced to in a bookstore, living life as a servant, but when he finds himself craving her and longing to make her his, he is even more surprised the lengths he will go to in order to make her his in truth. As he leads Mary into Society he slowly works to make her fall in love with him, like he has already fallen for her, but when an awful truth is revealed, will that love be strong enough to endure and keep them together or will the obligations that Henry has always bowed to keep him separated from the woman that has come to mean life or death to him? I loved seeing Mary find love, even if she had to go through some serious changes in order to find it. While she certainly had to jump through a few changes to become “acceptable” to society in order to marry Henry, the changes I mean are more internal in that she finally had to come to understand that a man’s station isn’t what makes him worthy of her or not and once she did she made him prove his worth to her. She maintained her true nature despite the frivolousness of the society she was being thrust into, and in the end found happiness not because of money but because of the love of her family, friends, and her man. Henry has his moments of true idiocy, but his moments of enlightenment luckily outweighed those allowing him to smarten up in time to keep from losing Mary for all time. Mary and Henry had a lot of challenges personally, socially, and emotionally, but working together they were able to overcome all odds and find happiness which is the most important part of any life and what makes a life truly well-lived. There is only one book left in the series and while I am dying to know what happens next I find myself reluctant to close the final page on the series that has become one of my favorite historicals in a long time. Luckily, I know Elizabeth will have something up her sleeve and coming to us very soon, so while I say goodnight to Maiden Lane, I will never say goodbye to Elizabeth Hoyt or her amazing imagination.

Mary Whitsun (all the girls were named Mary) grew up in a Maiden Lane orphanage, the Home for Unfortunate Infants and Foundling Children. She was found on the steps with no identification and no clues to who left her.

Viscount Blackwell, Henry Collins, mistakes Mary for his fiancé when he meets her in a bookstore. She is not Joanna, but Lady Joanna Albright did have a twin. The twins were kidnapped as babies, but Cecilia was never recovered. Henry was originally betrothed to Cecilia, but the betrothal was shifted to Joanna as the remaining twin. Henry informs the family of his discovery, and after a slight investigation, the family accepts her as the lost twin, she does after all look exactly like Joanna. A romantic, Cinderella story with appearances from some of our favorite Maiden Lane characters. Recommended.

Readalikes/Similar Authors:
Julia London – Secrets of Hadley Green series; Sabrina Jeffries – Hellions of Halstead Hall novels; Susan Johnson’s Russian Trilogy and St. John series; Bertrice Small’s Friarsgate Inheritance; Kat Martin’s Heart to Heart trilogy; Eloisa James’ Wildes of Lindow Castle; Gina Conkle’s Midnight Meetings novels; Sarah MacLean’s Scandal and Scoundrel series.

Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

A well written novella. It takes some of the tropes of the genre and subverts them which is appreciated.

I think most, if not all, romance readers grew up in love with fairy tales. Those stories that awaken us to the magic of love. The kind of love that makes everything else fade away. Where good wins out and our heroine and hero live happily ever after. As I’ve grown older, I still want those kinds of stories, just a little more grown up version with characters and plots that are written much more in depth than those favorites of my youth. This Maiden Lane novella has that Cinderella twist to it but it’s so much more. This one is filled with sexy and sweet moments and a few twists and surprises too.

Mary Whitsun, maidservant to Lady Temperance Claire, is a little distrustful when she notices an attractive, aristocratic gentleman watching her in the bookstore. And when said gentleman approaches her insisting she’s his fiancé, she’s certain he’s toying with her and flees. But the next day, that same gentleman, Henry Collins, Viscount Blackwell, accompanied by the Dowager Marchioness of Durnham and the Countess of Angrove, arrive at her home. They announce that Mary is the spitting image of Lady Joanna Allbright. Could Mary be Joanna’s twin, Cecilia, who was kidnapped as an infant and never seen again? Mary thought the whole idea absurd, but evidently the dowager, marchioness, and viscount did not. They immediately made plans to prepare Mary for her introduction to society, and as first born twin, to become Viscount Blackwell’s wife.
And so over the next few weeks, Mary found herself thrust into a whirlwind of activities. Dancing lessons, dress fittings, lessons in etiquette. All the training Mary would need to enter society. All the proprieties that were never even thought about when she was a maidservant mattered a great deal now. Mary felt much like Alice must have felt after falling down the rabbit hole. Lord Blackwell was the only thing that kept her from utter panic. During those weeks they’d gotten to know some about each other. Mary discovered he wasn’t the rake she’d first thought him to be. He was handsome, thoughtful, and noble. And he had faith in her. Henry was taken with Mary as well. He’d not been keen on marrying Joanna, a betrothal arranged at birth. Joanna was sweet and silly, and was more like a sister to Henry. But Mary was different. She had fire. She matched his wit and interests. They didn’t just enjoy each other’s company, they were quite attracted too. And when they kissed, the sensations were overwhelming. Mary was starting to believe she was in a fairy tale come true. But just as Mary’s new life was starting to take shape, it seems someone still wants Lady Cecilia Allbright to disappear.

For a novella, this story packs a punch. I loved that the story moved at a fast pace yet Henry and Mary’s budding relationship never felt rushed. I adored their “getting to know you” game because it revealed so much to me about them. Mary had accepted her circumstances of her birth and felt rather overwhelmed in her new circumstances. Even dressed in finery, she still felt like Mary. Not Lady Cecilia. Plus, the feelings she was having for Henry were new and exciting. I loved watching her let down her guard more and more with him and even actually flirting. She enjoyed Henry’s attentions and, after years of taking care of herself, it was lovely to have someone want to take care of her. Henry was a true charmer. I loved him from the start. I liked watching his character grow. His father was the one pushing the marriage, but Henry cared more for Mary’s happiness than for appeasing his father. I cheered when Henry finally stood up to him. Henry learned a lot about the way of the world too. He’d never considered how others lived until he saw both sides of Mary’s life.
The mystery and danger really added to the story too. Did someone want to kill Mary or were they after Henry? Who would want to kill them and why? There were several possibilities and Miss Hoyt kept me guessing till the very end.
This Maiden Lane series never gets old. Miss Hoyt has a real talent for bringing in old favorites from previous books but still delivering a fresh, unique story. There’s nothing predictable or formulaic about it. I can’t wait to see what surprises she has in store next.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advanced Readers Copy of this book.
reviewed by Amy for Buried Under Romance

A sweet romance (with a few love scenes) about a young woman raised in an orphanage who finds herself experiencing not just a change in status, but the love of an aristocrat too. Mary Whitsun grew up under Lady Caire and her family's generous hands (see several other of the Maiden Lane series for more about them) and as a servant now in the Caire household, she is content. A chance meeting in a bookshop changes everything when she's found to have the look of a twin girl who was kidnapped at birth and presumed dead. It also means, if she is that girl, that she's betrothed to Henry, Lord Blackwell, the man who found her at the bookshop. Henry may be a Lord but he shows a surprising sensitivity and care for her feelings as she copes with this sudden change in her life. However, someone isn't so thrilled with the appearance of a new heir, and that person wreaks a bit of havoc before they are found out. The ending isn't quite what one expects, but is lovely just the same. It's an enjoyable read and as always, lovely to see some of the Maiden Lane characters again.

Review has been posted at Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Kobo.

Elizabeth Hoyt writes some of the most beautiful historical romances. If you are a newbie where historical romances are concerned I'd definitely suggest starting with Elizabeth Hoyt's Maiden Lane series. Once Upon a Maiden Lane is the second to last novella in the long running Maiden Lane series. I'm sad to see it end but it will always remain one of the best historical romance series I've ever read.

This is the story of Mary and Henry. Mary Whitsun works as a servant in St.Giles. She was an orphan found on the doorstep but she was raised by the Makepeace family. Now Mary is all grown up. I loved Mary. She was a smart lady with her head on her shoulders. She was intelligent and not afraid to speak her mind. In a society where women were treated so delicately Mary was strong.

When Mary finds out that she could be Lady Joanna's long lost sister her world flips upside down. Now she's the daughter of an aristocrat and she has herself a fiance. Henry, Viscount Blackwell is intrigued by Mary from the moment he sees her. She is unlike any woman he's met before and the more he gets to know her the more he wants her. Henry was a responsible man who took his duties seriously. He wanted to make his family happy even if it meant sacrificing his own happiness in the process.

Mary and Henry are to have an arranged marriage and they were great together. There is a twist in the plot as nothing less can be expected of Elizabeth Hoyt but there is no unnecessary drama or angst. As always is the case with novellas I was left wanting more but overall Once Upon a Maiden Lane was very satisfactory. A perfect feel good novella.

*Note: A copy of this book was provided by the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. We thank them

Even here in Atlanta, it was beginning to look (and certainly feel) a lot like Christmas this weekend. Not only do lots of houses in the neighborhood have their lights up, but it was downright cold! It put me in the mood to read more holiday stories. So when I finished Once Upon a Maiden Lane and discovered there was a second Maiden Lane holiday novella this year, I picked that up, too, so I could review them together. And here they are!

Both of these stories, like Sophie Barnes’ lovely Honorable Scoundrels series, take place over the Christmas holidays, so the story is short and so is the amount of time available for it to happen. Not that in both cases it wouldn’t have been great if they’d been just a bit longer, because there is plenty to explore.

The stories take two tried-and-true tropes and use them in interesting ways.

Once Upon a Maiden Lane is kind of a Cinderella story, except that Mary Whitsun does not feel remotely put upon in her position as nursemaid to the Caire children. But it is still a rags to riches story, where Mary is suddenly believed to be a lost daughter of the aristocracy, and must adapt to a vast change in circumstances.

Once Upon a Christmas Eve works with a completely different trope, that of the weather-stranded traveler and a romance that must be completed before the weather clears and the traveler is on his (in this case) way. It also has the added fillip of a “rake reformed” hero.

Mary Whitsun, the heroine of Once Upon a Maiden Lane, has been a secondary character throughout the entire Maiden Lane series. As a consequence, long-time readers will be happy to see her as the heroine of her own story at last. Because she has been part of the “cast” of the series from the beginning, many of the series’ previous HEA couples make at least a brief appearance in this story. However, the story works well on its own for those who are not steeped in the backstory.

In the isolation of a country-house holiday celebration, there are fewer long-term denizens of the Maiden Lane series in Once Upon a Christmas Eve, so this one definitely stands on its own for new readers looking for a taste of Maiden Lane.

One of the things that both stories have in common is that both of the heroines are very aware, and remind the reader, that women’s choices were completely subscribed and utterly restricted. Mary, when confronted by Viscount Blackwell in the bookstore, feels trapped, and with good reason. If an aristocrat takes an interest in her, she has no recourse. If he chooses to pursue her, no one will aid her in turning him away. If he rapes her, only she will suffer any consequences whatsoever, from loss of her position to potential pregnancy. Everyone will believe that she seduced him, no matter how she protests. She has no social capital and he has it all.

Sarah St. John, the heroine of Once Upon a Christmas Eve, has suffered from just such a situation. Even though she is herself a member of the aristocracy, once upon a time she was merely a young woman in her first season exploring her first stirrings of romance. When a man took advantage of her innocence, he claimed that she seduced him, and she was the one blamed and ostracized, even though he was known to be an experienced rake. It’s always the woman’s fault, even when it isn’t.

Both of these rocky beginnings get turned on their heads in delightful ways. Viscount Blackwell is not pursuing Mary with nefarious motives – he truly believes that she’s the lost twin of his fiance, and should be returned to the family that has never given up on her.

The Viscount D’Arque, while he really is the rake that he appears to be, isn’t JUST the rake that he appears to be. He’s reached the point where he is looking for something more, and Sarah St. John turns out to be just what he has been missing. In their hesitant and initially unintentional courtship, Sarah is able to reclaim her lost self, and finally listen to what she herself wants instead of what society tells her.

Escape Rating B+ for both Once Upon a Maiden Lane and Once Upon a Christmas Eve.

I particularly wish that Once Upon a Maiden Lane had been a longer book. The romance worked in the time available, but Mary’s life goes through an incredible amount of upheaval in a very short period of time. A longer story would have given readers the chance to experience that change with her, which would have made a fun story even better.

Once Upon a Christmas Eve was just right. While Viscount D’Arque played the standard “rake redeemed” hero, he was certainly a fine example of the breed and the reader is able to see a lot of his confusion and change and why Sarah both sparks him and falls for him. He was never as irredeemable as he appeared. That Sarah was able to step away from her past and claim the future she wanted all along made this a lovely story. This is one where I would have liked more, but that need doesn’t feel quite as necessary as it does for Once Upon a Maiden Lane.

These novellas seem to be the conclusion of the long-running Maiden Lane series. And they are a lovely way to celebrate the season, tie up the loose ends and make sure that everyone has found their HEA.

This novella is one of the last Maiden Lane books, I’m sad to say. The heroine is Mary Whitsun, who if you’ve read the series you’ll remember her from the very first book as a foundling baby left on a doorstep. And if you haven’t read the series, you won’t be lost.

I really liked this one, and I loved the characters. But I always do with this author.

Mary is a nursery maid to Lady Caire, heroine from Wicked Intentions. She’s using her day off to browse her favorite book shop.

Lord Blackwell sees his fiancee in a book shop dressed as a maid and asks her why she’s playing dress-up? But it isn’t his fiancee, it’s Mary. Who happens to look just like his fiancee. Oh boy.

Everyone knows the story of Lady Joanna and Lady Cecelia, twins who were kidnapped as infants, but only Lady Joanna was found. Her missing twin has been presumed dead. Until the day a viscount sees a girl in a book shop.

As luck would have it, Lady Cecelia was the elder twin, so she was betrothed at birth. Once she was lost, her sister was bumped into her place. Henry and Joanna have grown up together knowing they’d wed, however neither one of them loved the other more than a brother/sister type love. Finding Mary changes everything.

I loved Henry and Mary together. I really enjoyed the way they flirted, the way they treated each other, and the chemistry between them. I wish this book had been longer just because I loved them so much.

However…

This novella has a wonderful first two thirds or so, and then the pacing changes and something out of the blue happens, and something else happens and then I was at the end of the story. Seriously, it was that fast. It isn’t that I didn’t like what happened, but it was just so quick and sort of random.

If you guys want I’ll spoil it in the comments, but as far as my review, it kept it from being a 5 star book. That being said, I did love the book, I loved the characters, and I think if you haven’t picked up a Maiden Lane book, this would be a fun and quick one to start with, even though it’s the last.

***ARC courtesy of Forever Yours via netgalley

I really enjoyed the last Maiden Lane novel, but noticeably absent was any sense of closure for the many characters and storylines the series covered over 12 installments. This novella does that a little. We get to catch up a little with the Makepeace families, the Caires, and the other couples who are now getting their Happy Ever Afters, but they’re all crammed in around the romance of Mary Whitsun.

You’ll remember Mary as one of the orphans Temperance took a shine to at the Foundling Home she ran with her brother Winter Makepeace. This goes all the way back to the first book, Wicked Intentions, so it’s a big fat shout out to the series’ beginnings. Mary now serves as the nanny to Temperance (now Lady Caire’s) two children. She is a servant, but also in a way, part of the family.

Anyway, a handsome Viscount spots her in a bookstore and recognizes her uncanny resemblance to his intended. He believes she is the long lost twin of Lady Joanna and makes it his mission to prove it. You see, he is actually supposed to marry the oldest daughter in the family and he considers Joanna more of a sister than a potential lover.

Basically, the story follows Mary’s journey into society and her romance with Lord Blackwell.

I don’t want to give too much of the plot away, since it is a novella and is on the short side. I will say that I found it lacking in the depth or pull I usually find in an Elizabeth Hoyt story. Maybe it was because of the length or the kind of insta-love happening. Maybe it was because I felt no connection with Mary or her intended. (It was probably that.)

The story wasn’t bad, it was just kind of meh, which made me sad because I was hoping for one more Maiden Lane hurrah. One more novella is set to come out next month, so maybe that one may tickle my fancy a bit more.

The cameos of most of the couple couples are brief, but they’re well represented. If it is the goodbye you need for these books, this is likely to be your source. For me, I could’ve skipped it and still been happy.

Rating: B-/C+

A charming story that takes a peek at a favorite series side character's journey to happily ever after. This historical romance with a rags to riches/cinderella-ish plot feels like a genuine fairy tale with a twist..

3.5/5
Once Upon a Maiden Lane is a novella from the Maiden Lane series. Like most historical romance series, each book can be read as a standalone (which I did because I definitely did not have time to read the first TWELVE books in the series lol).

Overall I really enjoyed this novella, it was fun and super short (like under 100 pages short). Initially I was intrigued by the premise, which I thought was executed well. I’ve been really into historical fictions lately, and this one was such a fun book to read. I typically fly through historical fiction, and this was no exception, I read it in one sitting and couldn’t put it down until the end.

What I always love from Hoyt:
1) The fable that opens each chapter (even in novellas)
2) No matter the number of pages it always feels like a full length novel
3) Always adding in a beloved past couple(s)

In Once Upon a Maiden Lane we get a rags to riches fairytale when Henry Blackwell spots maidservant, Mary Whitsun, who he believes is his fiance, in a bookstore. He soon discovers it is her exact lookalike, Lady Joanna' s missing twin, Cecilia!

Mary Is whisked away to learn how to live in High Society and to also become a Countess by marrying Henry. Cecelia/Mary is unsure of her new life except for one thing, she is eager to wed Henry. Will the fact that she doesn't feel she fits in ruin her chance at happiness? It is hard to say with all the twists and turns along the way.

This is a great story but you really have to begin reading it with the thought that this is meant to be a fairytale. It would seem to farfetched and over-the-top to enjoy it otherwise. I really liked it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this short read. I had always wondered what happened to nnor little Mary from the early books. I'm glad she got her happily ever after.