A Proper Charade by Esther Hatch, 224 pages. Covenant Communications, 2020. $15.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ESSENTIAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
While a lady by birth, 20-year-old Patience is determined to show her brother that she is more than a lady of leisure. So, of course, the only practical course of action is to pretend to be a maid and serve for a month in another household without the knowledge of her mother and brother. Then Patience will know what the real world is like.
Patience’s story is probably the most enjoyable book I’ve read all year. Yes, I knew from the start how it would end, but I appreciate reading a cheesy romance where the two main characters don’t have to hate each other at the beginning before they fall in love. While I waited for the moment Patience’s plan would inevitably fall apart, the scene was not as painful and exaggerated as is often the case in books like this. I liked that Patience and her love interest had to change, but the changes were not radical nor impossible in the time frame.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

t has been a while since I read a ‘regency romance’ which had only romance and no mystery or additional plotline. I read quite a few in college and then reached a saturation point. It has been a decade since then, but I never binged like that again. I have seen quite a few available but never really got around to requesting it. This, somehow, luckily slipped through the cracks.

We meet our Un-ladylike Lady Patience. She is tired of her brother insisting that she has it easy. To prove her stamina, she decides to impersonate a maid in the household of the man who her brother served under. Once she gets her foot in the door, she finds herself involved in more plots than just hers. There is nothing surprising about the way the story unfolds, but the characters are truly lovable. The romance felt natural and expected and I shed a few tears for them as well. The sibling relationships as well as the (initially) flaky mother are all shown in a very genuine light. There are misunderstandings, secrets as well as more impersonations. Quite a few of the scenes made me chuckle out loud. Overall, I had fun reading this book! I do not want to describe our leading duo in more detail because the gradual increments with which we get to know them was more than half the pleasure.

Esther Hatch has quickly become one of my favorite authors! You will be drawn right in with this story. The chemistry between Anthony & Patience is undeniable as they are continually putting each other through the most outrageous charades. Their quiet moments together will give you all the heart swooning you need and more. When their charades come crashing in, you will be left hoping everything can somehow work out. You'll also learn more about Lord Bryant and surprisingly have compassion and a hope that we'll soon be hearing a love story for him. I couldn't put this book down and told my friend to buy it immediately too. Definitely a story I look forward to reading again and again.

Beautifully executed novel! One you can fall in love with as you read. In the beginning, the main character comes off as silly and ignorant. By the end she is endearing and thoughtful! I loved the book. There was so much more to it that met the eye originally!

I received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review. These opinions are my own.

I enjoy all of Esther Hatch’s writing, but A Proper Charade is my new favorite. Two things really stuck out to me in this novel.

First, this book is hysterical. In order to avoid spoilers, I can’t go into detail, but there are multiple scenes that had me laughing out loud. I generally am not a fan of comedic writing, but Hatch weaved the comedy throughout seamlessly and made it feel organic.

Second, this book had tension. A lot of tension. Writing a romance with this much tension while keeping it clean and “PG” is nearly impossible and rarely accomplished successfully. Hatch nailed it.

Hatch is a master of her craft in this fantastic romance full of romantic tension and laugh-out-loud moments. A must-read for regency romance fans.

This was such a funny story! Patience was such a fun and spunky regency heroine and Anthony was the perfect balance with his planning and serious nature. I love how this story was unique is Patience posing as a maid in order to prove to her brother that she is not stuck up. As someone who grew up with older brothers, I understand her feelings on this! And I love how Anthony broke his normal proper routine throughout the book and realized he needed that bit of fun in his life while Patience needed the more serious side too. The perfect villain was also written in this novel, Miss Morgan, and I love how her part in this story ended. Overall, this GORGEOUS cover holds an even more beautiful story within its pages. I think Esther hatch is quickly pulling ahead as one of my favorite new regency authors.

Thank you NetGalley and Covenant Communications for the eARC!

"A Proper Charade" is a romance set in the mid-1800s in England. The historical setting was a loose backdrop for the action as it's improbable that the events in the story would ever have happened in reality. Still, it's a fun, sweet romance. Lady Patience isn't spoiled but she's never been required to do much for herself or others. Her very serious brother, now a Duke after the death of their father, wishes that she had a way to learn to appreciate how much the servants and others do for her. She doesn't want to be ungrateful or thought poorly of by her brother, so she's determined to become a servant in the house of the general that her brother served under. The son of the general notices her manners and asks her to pretend to be a lady that he's interested in to prompt the parents of the lady that he's courting to accept his suit.

The tone of the story is lightly humorous due to silly mistakes Patience makes while learning to be a servant and her generally lighthearted view of life. The hero is somewhat oblivious to social cues, which gets him in trouble when trying to win the lady of his choice and also means he doesn't question why Patience has the manners of a lady even though he notices them. He helps her to learn some of the servant jobs and also appreciates how she brings joy into his household. As they spend time together and come to appreciate each other, they become friends that help each other and build each other up. Due to the difference in their rank, their growing love is more one of yearning than lust.

The characters were likable, and I cared about what happened to them. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this to fans of sweet romances.

I am a big historical romance fan, so I was excited to pick up Esther Hatch's new book, A Proper Charade.

In it, we meet Lady Patience Kendrick, who is young and about to enter society. Her older brother has accused her of being flighty and making more work for the servants, just sort of floating along. She wants to prove him wrong, so she goes to her brother's former commanding officer, a General Woodsworth, and secures a position as a maid in the house without any experience or letter of recommendation. She also proves quickly that she has no idea how to be a maid, but the staff keep her on anyway, and make excuses for her. (They were all so nice!)

Beyond that, the general's handsome son---who resides at the house---notices how pretty she is and asks her to help with a scheme to pose as a society lady he could be interested in. He's hoping to worry the parents of the woman he wants to marry into thinking he's lost interest. This little charade within a charade is a nice twist to the story and provides a lot of cute moments. The chemistry between the main couple is well-written and there are some very sweet moments. I loved the little quirks that our hero and heroine had and they added a nice depth to the story. I was turning pages long after midnight to see how Patience would be found out! My only complaint is how far-fetched the situation is and that something like that would never really happen. Once the reader gets past that and just reads for enjoyment, however, this romance is a fun way to spend the afternoon.

This author has a skill with writing wonderful characters. I loved all the details she was able to provide in such a little amount of time. My struggle with the book was focused on the premise of the story. It's a fun idea that a proper lady could work for a strict employer with zero experience, the romance thrown in made it go too far. I would have loved hearing of different adventures Patience might have gotten into but it felt too much. Would definitely read others by this author.

A Proper Charade brought a fun refreshing air to the regency era. A young lady who has been told she is too light-hearted and frivolous by her brother seeks to find a way for self-improvement. As she carries on with her own charade, she keeps her positive comportment and helps those around her. The characters in this story make me want to experience the romance and the adventures they entertain. With the lingering looks and pitter-patter of hearts this a sweet romance.



This story was entertaining and I loved reading another of Esther Hatch's works.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

Firstly, what a absolutely lush cover - congratulations to whoever was involved, it totally suits the book which doesn't happen that often

I really enjoyed this rather chaste historical romance which in itself these days is different to the more usual fare around these days

Loved the story. The main characters are rounded and usually the minor characters are very much in the background but they also were well developed. It would be interesting if the author wrote their stories too. I certainly would like to find out more about them.

A lovely read

I really found it hard to stay interested in this book. The plot was good but there wasn't enough in the actual book. It was so short that there was no time to get to know the characters and start to care about them.
I did love the concept, it was fun to watch Patience pretending to learn to be a lady when she already was one.
Great concept perhaps just needed a bit more sub plot.

Overall I enjoyed the story and the Esther Hatch's style of writing. There were a few points in the story that were in the 3 star rating for me. However, there were more strong points for me that I gave it a 4 star. I enjoyed the flow of the story. I found the h & H very likeable and was rooting for them. The underlying theme and message of the story was positive and encouraging but never preachy or overbearing. I thought the way the h & H grew as people was well done. I did not read a Proper Scandal but I think the series idea is creative and original. There were good supporting characters and a rake (that I really hope gets his own story since I suspect there is more to his story then how he's been painted). The romance was sweet and they brought out the best in each other. The idea for the book was fun. A few times in the story the execution of the idea of the h's "scandal" I had to disband belief more so than usual when one reads fiction. For example, I wondered how others accepted her lack of skills. I didn't feel why the h's plan changed for her returning home wasn't fully explained. I thought the ending was a fantastic way to end the story.

Patience is, as is illustrated multiple times, not the best name for Lady Kendrick, sister of a Duke. But as she informs Mr. Woodsworth, it serves as a reminder to others to have patience when she is around. Perhaps it is an apt name after all.

The story is captivating. While I never understood fully the reasons for a Duke - and an only son at that - serving in the army, the characters were otherwise believable and well written. Patience is a wonderful mixture of exasperating and charm, Anthony is stoic yet humorous, and Miss Morgan is... well I will leave you to discover that one for yourself.

The minor characters also felt well rounded. I would love to read more of their stories, but just enough was included to make them feel like fully developed people, rather than props to hold up the main characters.

An entertaining and at times, touching, read.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. This was a regency era historical fiction/romance that was clean with a slow burn romance. Patience, daughter of a Duke, becomes a maid to learn some skills and be useful only to fall in love with the son of her employer, Anthony. There are some great comdeic moments and the dialogue is witty and delightful. I read this in one sitting!!! Love this author!

#apropercharade #netgalley
I loved this book so much! Esther creates such a unique storyline you just can't help but keep reading and reading until the late night hours. I loved how she made the main character, Patience Kendrick with very little patience. Her brother throws words of anger at her, and she takes them as a challenge. She takes this challenge to the extreme and it's hilarious. The storyline couldn't be cuter and more unique. This is a book worth reading if you love romance and fun!

This was such a cute story. I initially had a hard time believing he would be quite so familiar with a servant. But, the romance was really cute and written so well that I easily suspended my disbelief where that was concerned. The witty conversations and fun story line just made me smile all the way through.

This was a quirky, fun historical clean-romance. I loved Patience and her wit. She was so funny and honest. The H and h were so cute together. I loved them at the fireplace. It’s a HEA.
This is my first book by this author and I can’t wait to read another one.
It was a well developed story with sweet chemistry. And, I will say that this is a somewhat light, fun story. I didn’t have any nail biting moments or dramatic eye rolling. I just really enjoyed it.

This was a NETGALLEY gift and opinions were my own. I’ve given an honest review.

I can always guarantee I will get a good laugh from one of Esther Hatch's books and I was not disappointed. One time I was laughing so much I had to share it with my family as they all thought I was crazy. Patience is such a fun character. I really loved her. Anthony was so serious and set in his plan. I'm grateful Patience could show him another way. I loved the side characters and hope we get to read Patience's brother's story.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought, initially, that the main character was too flighty for my taste -- but as time wears on Esther Hatch does a good job of adding more layers and depth to her, and by the end I really liked her. The hero also seems a little one dimensional at the beginning but grows throughout the book. I always appreciate a story where characters are allowed to evolve. Esther Hatch does a good job with that. This is a fun read!