With Harlequin Mills and Boon’s historical romance line you never know exactly what you’re going to get. The line publishes books set in many different eras, ranging from sweet to steamy. The Makings of a Lady is a more traditional take on the Regency romance, which I think the cover helps to portray.
The book opens four years before the main story. The heroine thinks the hero has asked to see her so he can propose; he has actually come to tell her he is moving to Australia (without her).
We pick up in in the “future”, with the hero’s return and a lot more obstacles in the couple’s path to happiness.
My favourite thing about this book is the way author Catherine Tinley writes her settings. She knows her landscapes and her nature, and the story isn’t just set in “England”, the historical romance character, but England, as it is.
Readers who come into this one might be surprised by the different pace, and some people might be frustrated by the heroine’s naïveté, but there is plenty to like here.

~~Review by Evelyn~~

Lady Olivia Fenton was just 18 when dashing army officer Jem Ford and his sister Lizzie came to stay with them while Jem recovered from a wartime injury. Olivia fell madly in love with Jem, but since she was sure that he only saw her as a friend, she never told him. When he returned to service, he went to Australia without having confessed to Olivia that he was also in love with her. When he returns four years later, he mistakenly believes that Olivia has fallen for another man, George Manning. Not wanting to interfere, he lets Olivia continue to believe that they are only friends. How long can they continue to mislead each other?

This is a sweet little story about miscommunication. It is character driven and the main characters are well-written and very likeable. Their complex histories are interesting and believable. The secondary characters are also well-written and add depth to the story.

The mostly predictable plot gets a bit bogged down at the beginning. There is very little happening other than Olivia and Jem going over and over in their heads about how much in love they are with the other, but since this love is never openly expressed, their relationship failed to draw me in. It wasn’t until a major, frightening event takes place that I started to care about Olivia and Jem and what happened to them. I wish this event had taken place earlier in the story. I needed a “hook”.

The pace of the second half of the book was much more satisfying. New storylines were introduced that took the characters in unexpected directions, and there were a few surprises.

THE MAKINGS OF A LADY is the third book in the series, but it can easily be read as a standalone novel. I have not read either of the other books, but I did not feel that I had missed anything. The author paints a complete picture of the characters and their histories.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

While attending RWA this summer, I watched as Catherine Tinley won the RITA for Historical Romance: Short for Waltzing with the Earl. I was over the moon with her win, because she writes for Harlequin Historical, probably my favorite line in the Harlequin universe and the one of the few go-to places where I can still find “history” in my historical romance reading. So when I saw The Makings of a Lady, part of the same series, posted on NetGalley, I one-clicked the heck out of that baby.


Lady Olivia Fanton lives in the country, is the youngest of three and, darnit, she’s not a child anymore! Four years ago, our hero, Captain Jem Ford, a colleague of her brother’s, recuperated at their family estate following his injury at Waterloo. Jem and Olivia developed a friendship and the start of deeper feelings, but then the Army shipped him off for a four-year stint of service in Australia – leaving Olivia with a broken heart. Now Jem is back in England and visiting once more – but she will guard her heart this time! Adding further complications is the dashing Mr. George Manning, who is visiting their neighbors. He’s charming and flirtatious – the type of smooth operator who would turn a country girl’s head.

Basically this smells of a love triangle, but it really isn’t. Any reader with two brain cells to rub together realizes early on that Jem is our hero and that leaves us wanting in some sort of conflict to spur the story onward. And that’s the rub – the lack of compelling conflict. Basically the conflict is two characters (Olivia and Jem) who cannot talk to each other. She was a young 18 when he left for Australia, maybe he wasn’t developing feelings for her, she’s his BFF’s little sister and “way above” him in station – blah, blah, blah. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Seriously, the first 40% of this is a total drag. I’ve had more fun watching paint dry. Then the author introduces a kidnapping and the pace picks up a bit – but readers are still stuck with two characters incapable to just talking to each other, a very young heroine in the vein of Jane Austen’s Emma (without the matchmaking, but just as naive and kind of annoying), and The World’s Most Obvious Villain Ever.

Tone and stylistically this very much reminded me of a Traditional Regency, so readers should expect just-kisses and no bedroom gymnastics. Which, honestly, is more than fine with me – but dang, I need some conflict. A spark. Something other than two characters who are too reserved and tongue-tied that they can’t simply talk to each other. This is also part of a series, and while I never felt “lost” (not having read the other books), there’s a ton of secondary characters standing around crowding the page count.

None of this worked for me and, frankly, that makes me kind of sad.

Grade: D+

Historical, entertaining, and lighthearted!

The Makings of a Lady is predominantly set at the Chadcombe estate in Surrey during 1819 and features the elegant, confident Lady Olivia who may unexpectedly find herself in need of her very own real-life, dashing hero, along with the charming, successful Captain Jem who may finally decide it's time to stay home and settle down. 

The prose is amusing and authentic. The characters are engaging, fun, passionate, and in some cases devious. And the plot is a witty, mysterious mix of Regency customs and traditions, scoundrel behaviour, family drama, desire, humorous hijinks, mishaps, yearning, and romance.

Overall, The Makings of a Lady is an engaging, easy, enjoyable read that's perfect for fans of the historical romance genre. And even though it's the third book in The Chadcombe Marriages series, it can certainly be read as a standalone.

I feel like this was just... meh. Just okay. I was able to skim this one - it was rather repetitive in expressing the protagonists’ feelings. I’ve not read many Harlequin titles, so I don’t know if that’s typical of the publishers or not. Probably wouldn’t race to read another title by the author. 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 here.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.