Mimi Matthews has once again written such a beautiful book. They just get better and better.

Evelyn Maltravers needs a riding habit to help make her entrance on Rotten Row memorable. She knows that in order to make any kind of impression on society it has to be from a position of power. Her strength lies in her riding and so that’s where she plans to make her debut. She just needs help with her clothing so that people will stop seeing her as a bluestocking. Enter Ahmad Malik, a half-Indian tailor who is saving to own his own shop and trying to build up his clientele. They both have a goal and together they form a partnership that is just sweet to watch unfold.

This story is so tender and full of romantic tension. The angst is not annoying or overly dramatic by any means. There are no misunderstandings or lying to the other to protect them. The pressure is from society and the views they try to push on Evie and Ahmad. I love how Ahmad is still a realist in the relationship and still wants to do what is right by Evie while she is a pragmatist. It just works so well. They both help make the other better in their partnership.

Also it’s really exciting to meet all of Evie’s friends. Each of them is charming in their own way. It’s hard to care for characters that aren’t the main character sometimes, but that is not the case here. I already can’t wait to read about Julia and Captain Blunt in The Belle of Belgrave Square next year!

The author's note at the end explains the real-life events that framed this story. I really loved reading about the Pretty Horsebreakers and Victorian Spiritualism. It makes this story even more loveable. This is the kind of book you want to read for comfort and just over and over again. It’s definitely my favorite of Matthews so far!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for sharing this ARC with me in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a treat from Mimi Matthews. I always enjoy her books. There's tenderness and romance galore, but this one had a solid depth to it that went beyond the love story. The theme of "identity" really resonated with me and I felt connected to both the heroine and hero as they searched for themselves during a time when women and people of color had such a limited voice. Her books are always so well-researched and this one felt no different.

The romance was closed door, but there are plenty of moments where the pining is so hot that the couple's longing glances and lingering touches feel like they are going to burn through the pages. The emotion brightens every single page and the ending was so worth every obstacle along the way. I also enjoyed meeting some of the new side characters too and can't wait to see where their stories are headed in the future.

I would definitely recommend historical romance lovers add this to their TBR! I was lucky enough to get an ARC from the publisher, but I'll definitely be reading the story again when it officially comes out in early 2022.

This is the third book I've read by Mimi Matthews, and it's cemented her as one of my favorite historical romance authors. I love the effortless prose, smoldering tension, and vivid setting and supporting characters in this book and truly cannot wait for the next in the series! I will be talking about Matthews' work a great deal with patrons and on the podcast, and I am very excited to suggest this and several from the backlist to our fiction librarian!

Many, many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Mimi Matthews is one of my favorite authors. Her newest book, Siren of Sussex is another achievement in her catalog of books.
The book is impeccably researched and Mimi's great knowledge of horsemanship is evident all through the book.
The detailed accurate descriptions of Victorian clothing, especially gowns were phenomenal. It made me wish I could see the gowns instead of having them described to me.
The informative note from the author at the end was very helpful. It gave meaning to many of the things in the book. It truly helped me appreciate the book more.
I loved that the story included a biracial man and showed all the issues that come with that during that time period.
I also loved that the main characters were unique and equally strong. That they came from different social levels and still overcame them.
I was worried when the occult entered the story and the seances and talk of spirits but this never turned into anything I felt uneasy about.
There were lots of sensual thoughts, emotionally passionate feelings and actions that can be perceived as sensual. The physical seemed to be the main draw between them.
I struggled with the plausibility of Ahmad's past and that he had been untainted. It seemed highly unlikely. And also being a man dressmaker truly set him in up to be in tempting circumstances.
I love Mimi's other romances but just didn't feel as drawn to this one. But I did enjoy reading it.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read tis book. The opinions are entirely my own.

Warm, sexy, and romantic, THE SIREN OF SUSSEX is the first Mimi Matthews book I've read, but it definitely won't be the last. Evie is an intriguing and multidimensional heroine with a clear character arc. But, more importantly, Matthews makes it clear that she stands apart from the crowd without falling into "Not Like Other Girls" tropes - in fact, the crew of mildly rebellious women that pop in and out of the story have me very excited for whatever books are next in the series!

And then there's Ahmad, who has quickly become one of my favorite historical romance heroes. His unique position in society, as a biracial tailor with big ambitions, is neither overwrought for cliched melodrama nor totally ignored. Instead, he is a true hero: handsome, good-hearted, guarded for good reasons, and, eventually, one half of a match of equal partners. It's a light, charming story that just leaves you with all the warm feelings you could ask for.

A fun and fast-paced historical romance with a fabulous heroine. A recommended purchase for collections where romance is popular.

3.5 stars. I enjoyed the main characters, and would recommend this romance to anyone that likes a good romance without graphic scenes.

Thank you NetGalley, Mimi Matthews, and Berkley Publishing for approving my request for this book.

Oh, sneaky sneaky! While this is the first in the Belles of London series, I was getting a significant “here’s what you missed on Glee” vibe from the way the backstory of some of these characters was summarized, and I’ll be damned - there’s a different series that I now have to back and read that gives us the stories of the supporting characters. I have been bamboozled! To be clear, this is not a complaint. This book can absolutely be read as a stand alone book.

This is a really lovely historical romance that ticks all the boxes: marriage to secure younger siblings future ✓ forbidden romance ✓ making things unnecessarily complicated for themselves ✓

As a half-Indian half-Brit, Ahmed doesn’t feel like he really fits in anywhere. He’s too Indian to be treated as an equal in London and too British to be treated as an equal in India. He floats in this inbetween without feeling like he belongs and determined to find a way to support his cousin Mira and himself. How does he plan to do this? He plans to open a dress shop. He knows his designs are good, but he needs to get his name out there as a dressmaker first. That means he needs someone to wear his designs all season. But who?

Come on! This is a romance novel! It’s our main female lead, obviously. Her name is Evelyn Maltravers, and she NEEDS to make a match this season. Her family is broke and only a good match by Evelyn can ensure her sisters’ can live, you know?

I do have to dock some points solely because it’s sort of a shallow romance. The sort of “hands touch, sparks fly. She doesn’t look down on him, he thinks she’s pretty despite her low self esteem” kind of shallow. The relationship, while cheesy cute, didn’t actually seem to have a depth to it. She thinks he’s hot and he sews pockets in her dresses (an understandable attraction), she’s pretty and treats like an equal (as she should, but man his bar should be higher). However, I found the characters likable enough to cover for the lack of any actual getting to know one another.

This was a cute, lighthearted romance novel where everything gets tied up with a nice little bow. It’s not really a deep think piece, and I say that without any shade intended. Sometimes all I want is to read a predictable and fluffy romance with the idealistic HEA, and this hits the spot.

4/5

This is one of the best historical romance books I've read this year. Every part of the story draws you in. The characters are well developed and interesting. It takes some of the romance tropes and spins them around. Can't wait to read more in this series, if it turns into one.

Evelyn is new to town and wants to make a grand impression - with her horse riding skills and her riding habit fashion. Ahmad is an Indian tailor in 1860’s England and all that entails. Evelyn is in Town to make her debut and has only the few months of the Season to find a husband. She must find a husband to secure the future of her sisters. She doesn’t feel she can stand out at a ball so has determined to take Rotten Row, and Society, by storm as an equestrienne. She has approached Ahmad to create a singular riding habit.
Ahmad has lost his society lady patron and decides to furnish all of Evelyns clothes for the season in a bid to become a famous dressmaker. However Evelyn and Ahmad begin to develop feelings for one another. Together they face many hurdles, the biggest of which is an interracial love.
This book deals with the heavy issue of interracial love and the racism of the times. And these are not touched on superficially. But it is not a sad or difficult romance novel. It is real and well written and manages to be light and appealing. I would recommend this book to my patrons.

This was a strong work by Matthews, who I think does a good job in her chosen field. Are her stories a little sentimental at times? Yes. But they’re historically accurate despite their sometimes wishful thinking. I find her writing optimistic, pleasant and calming. I think she succeeds at writing Victorian-era facsimiles, and I would recommend her writing to those in need of a respite rather than an escape.

My first Mimi Matthews book, but definitely not my last! Evelyn Maltravers has a plan. If she is going to snag a wealthy husband and set up her younger sisters for success, she needs to make an impression on London society. She seeks out the best riding habit maker in the city to create something daring for her to wear on horseback, which leads her to Ahmad Malik, half-Indian and half-English tailor. Ahmad is looking for his own introduction to society, to help him start his own dressmaking shop, so he and Evelyn make a deal: his designs, her social splash. There's instant attraction and respect between them, but they're completely unsuitable for one another for so many reasons. Or maybe there's a way to get everything they both want.

So often in historical romance, the woman is in the lower social position, and it's a refreshing change to see the reverse. Even though Evelyn comes from a relatively humble family, she has high society connections. Ahmad is ambitious but fighting prejudice and financial hurdles to realize his goals. The secondary characters around them were well-drawn, and I suspect we'll see all of Evelyn's friends (the "belles") get their own books. But I especially liked Ahmad's cousin Mira and her story within this book.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

This was really good! My first book by this author snd I was very impressed. The only small disappointment was that it’s “closed door romance”, there are no on page love scenes. I love slow burn romances but I do usually prefer that there’s a smidge more sexual tension or physical chemistry depicted between the characters than this book presented. It doesn’t have to be graphic sex scenes but I like there yo be more obvious physical chemistry. Still I really enjoyed the story. If you’re a fan of historically accurate and socially conscious Victorian romances like Evie dunmore’s and Courtney Milan’s, you will likely enjoy this book. The characters were refreshingly unique and it was very low angst. Focus is entirely on the characters development, which I like.