Mercy is in her Third Season and this slightly tricky. Her parents have never pushed her into an alliance but they seem on edge and though nothing brutal is said, they seem to be tired of her indecision and there is tension in the household.

Mercy has seen marriages working out on deep love like her parents and also her sister and she wants the same for herself. When the Duke of Harrington shows interest, she is disappointed at his clinical approach to marriage. He wants someone who will fit an image of a Duchess, he wants to get rid of his mother to a dowager house but he realises rather late he wants the passion of a strong relationship, but he either doesn’t know how or is curtailed by standards of the time to show his true feelings to Mercy.

The story goes on with a bit of blackmail from his former lover, the Lady Plympton who is determined to get him back, a sister who elopes with an unknown composer, the fall from grace for Mercy’s family but the story ends neatly - love conquering all.

The characters were strongly portrayed, not at all insipid or missish and that was refreshing.

Mercy Rothschild has been surrounded by people in love with their partners, so she knows what love looks like. So, when her parents who have never pushed her to marry until she’s ready, suddenly appear to be forcing her to marry, she agrees to it, quite reluctantly. When Nicholas Kendrick, the Duke of Harrington, seems to be set on Mary, she at first agrees to a courtship; however, Nicholas, seems so fixated on following the rules of the ton, Mercy concludes that there is only one course of action: she must push her intended into the arms of another woman. Yet, the more time that they spend together, Mercy begins to realise that Nicholas might be the very man she’s been waiting for but her initial plan, might now backfire on her.
This is another delightful book in the series ‘Proper Scandals’ by Esther Hatch. My only complaint as that there is too long apart between books as I have loved every instalment. From the first time that Mercy and Nicholas meet, I was completely absorbed in this romance. Whilst Mercy cannot see the charm and goodhearted nature of Nicholas, as he is caught up in protecting her, he is captivated by Mercy. I found that in holding back the truth from each other, led to complications in this romance. It was so endearing to see how the time spent together, gave them an opportunity to see each other truthfully. This was a beautiful romance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A Proper Facade by Esther Hatch, 248 pages. Covenant Communications, 2024. $17.
Language: PG (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
APPEALS TO: SEVERAL
Deciding that it might be time to look for a wife, Nicholas (25yo) sets out to find a political partner, not a distraction that will tempt him to return to the man he was before joining the army. On the other hand, Mercy (20yo) is determined to only marry for love—even if that means foisting this dispassionate duke on someone else.
Nicholas and Mercy’s story is built upon the avoidable drama of miscommunication. The antics were slightly more cringey than entertaining because of what readers knew about how much the actions were going to hurt the other—unwitting—party involved. There were also a lot of references to the couples in the previous books, though this story is technically a standalone. But the ending is perfectly cheesy and swoony, so all's well that ends well.
The majority of characters are either British or Irish. The language rating is for British swears. The mature content rating is for mild innuendo and kissing. The violence rating is for mentions of war conflict and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Well, I just loved this story and these characters! There were twists and turns and miscommunication, and lack of communication, and still a happily ever after!

If you love sweet historical fiction, you'll love Mercy and Nicholas and their complicated path to true love!

I received a netgalley arc, but all enthusiastic opinions are my own!

A Proper Facade by Esther Hatch is a delightful read. At first, I found the pacing to be slow, but it did pick up and became a story that forced me to stay up WAY past my bedtime furiously turning pages to see how things ended for Mercy and Nicholas. Of the characters, Nicholas is my favorite. In his youth, he made some mistakes and those mistakes incurred the disappointment of his father. Nicholas has been working tirelessly for years to make-up for those mistakes and the disappointment he has caused. Nicholas decided that the best thing he could do to make up for his past was to be perfect — follow every rule of propriety and Society to the letter. He decided to suppress his emotions and passions. Besides, all emotions and feelings ever did for him was get him into trouble, so hiding them can only be a good thing, right?! Then Nicholas meets Mercy. In quite the funny meet-cute, Mercy puts Nicholas’s rule following to the test. I love how Mercy and Nicholas meet, I love how she wakes him up from his robotic, stringent rule-following stupor, and I love how she brings out his passions and emotions. It was so much fun to watch! I also loved how Nicholas wakes Mercy up to the fact that love is not all about gushy feelings, gifts, and stolen passionate moments. Rather, it’s about choosing every day to be a constant, stable, dependable support for one another regardless of what life throws at you. It’s about passions and emotions, sure. But it’s also about sharing disappointments, struggles, and frustrations. Love is about growing into a partnership and being part of a team! I really enjoyed this message, and I had so much fun watching Mercy and Nicholas bumble their way to this truth.

A Proper Facade is a fantastic and fun Regency Romance that I highly recommend. It is a well-written Historical Romance filled with unique and endearing characters and timely themes. If you love Historical Romances, this is a story you do not want to miss!

I received a copy of this novel in eBook form from the publisher, Covenant Communications, via NetGalley, in order to review. I am under no obligation to leave a positive review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is my first Esther Hatch book. My expectations may have started out a bit high given the company she keeps with her podcast. I got part way in and was really struggling with the only conflict in the story being about Mercy’s fairytale expectations and Harrington’s too proper approach to courtship.
Slowly, I was reeled in and by about 60% I did want to see things work out. I’ll admit I mostly kept going, at least until about 50%, because I’d agreed to provide a review.

The final outcome is that I like the book quite a lot. The author builds the desire for the romantic outcome while shining a light on how people and relationships aren’t perfect. For a love to grow and flourish persistence, patience and forgiveness are needed. In this case at least it meant a dance partner for life.
Thanks to Netgalley and Covenant Communications for the opportunity to read this book and get to know a new to me author.

Because of his past mistakes, he sought to redeem himself by becoming the Duke of Sombersides, all proper and honourable. She wants nothing less than a love match, so she sought to match him with someone suitable instead. Misunderstanding, getting to know each other, scandals and finally seeing each other for who they are is the journey they had to travel together with friends and families. Enjoyable read.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.

I liked Nicholas from the get-go, but I didn't quite get why he was so interested in Mercy (beyond physical attraction). I could understand her hesitation to get involved with him, but the way she handled it...yikes! Poor Nicholas! I would have liked to see more growth in their feelings for each other; both of their feelings seemed to arise rather quickly (although at different times). That said...I really enjoyed when they actually opened up to each other and shared their real fears and concerns and how the book ended. Overall, not my favorite of the series but still a fun read.
3.5 stars.

I read a DRC provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was my first book by Esther Hatch. I had high hopes as the cover caught my eye and the book description was interesting. I laughed out loud after the second sentence! I found myself chuckling at Nicholas often, he was very witty. I loved Nicholas, so very proper but simmering to a boil underneath. I did not like Mercy. She was too stubborn (annoyingly so) about seeing Nicholas’ interest in her as genuine and doing everything she could to turn his eye to women from his past. Once Nicholas kissed Mercy she finally got over herself, then we get a 3rd act break-up. I’m glad he decided to question Mercy to get his happy ending.

This ARC was provided through NetGalley by the publisher. I was not required to give a positive review, rating and opinions are my own.

No question about it: you’ve got to add this series to your TBR! A Proper Facade returns readers to the company of beloved characters (looking at you with heart eyes, Lord Bryant) but also introduces new ones who will keep you hooked. Although this one wasn’t my favorite in the Proper Scandals series, I still enjoyed Esther Hatch’s voice in her writing—never any complaints there. I’m excited for more stories from her! 3.5/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved this book. I loved the characters. I loved how the theme of the book was about loving a person for who they truly are. I think we all hide behind masks built by others perceptions of us. It’s hard to take that mask off. But we must if we want to truly love and laugh. And I think life was created to love and laugh. The author did a great job with character development and the storyline went smoothly.

I love Esther Hatch and her books. Marriage of convenience trope is one of my favorites. Mercy and Nicholas are such a fun pair and I felt like Esther had such good character development in this one. Highly recommend!

I really enjoyed this story. I loved the journey I took through the pages with Mercy and Nicholas. Mercy and Nicholas both felt like they weren’t ready to get married. Nicholas because he was busy trying to prove he could take his father’s place. Mercy was busy enjoying socializing and was waiting for live to sweep her off her feet with passion and adoration. Both learned lessons on what marriage and love was all about.

I really liked Mercy's character, and while Nicolas wasn't my favorite, he did grow as well. I really liked Mercy's unselfish love. She put everyone in first, even at the risk of her own heart. She is willing to put herself wholly aside to give everyone the best chance at happiness, hopefully, including herself.
Wonderful book! Fourth in the series, but can be read as a standalone!

#BookReview : A Proper Facade by Esther Hatch

I’ve heard of the Proper Scandals series but haven’t gotten around to reading them yet. This fourth installment can be read as a standalone, but I plan to read the previous books as well. Patience's story sounds interesting.

Mercy’s parents have always indulged her, but now they’re encouraging her to find a suitable match. Despite her love of dancing, she hasn’t found anyone who captures her heart. She craves the passionate love shared by her parents and sister. When the Duke of Harrington, Nicolas, begins courting her, he’s all propriety and adherence to societal rules—not exactly passionate.

I enjoyed the story and the characters’ chemistry. I was rooting for Mercy and Nicolas to find love, but their journey took a while. The plot dragged in places, and I could do without Mercy's attempts to match Nicolas with other women. However, I was happy with her eventual realization of Nicolas' true worth. The ending was satisfying, and I’m glad they found happiness together.

Rating : 4 ⭐
Pub date : 07 May 2024

Thank you to the publisher and #netgalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

A new book from Esther Hatch is always a must-read for me. To this day, the first book in this series, *A Proper Scandal*, remains my favorite historical romance. I often find myself revisiting it to enjoy my favorite parts. I've enjoyed the other books in the series as well, so you can imagine my excitement when I discovered a new installment!

*The Proper Facade* tells the story of Patience's brother, Nicholas, and Mercy. Nicholas is a duke trying to live up to his father's legacy, while Mercy is a young lady eager to enjoy the season's dances and fall in love. I absolutely adored Nicholas's steadfastness and honesty, even with the "hiding behind a proper facade" theme that runs through the book. His voice revealed his good heart and character in such a sweet way.

However, it became increasingly difficult to read Mercy's chapters, especially as the duke's love for her grew. Initially, I liked Mercy's personality, but I started to dread her chapters as the one-sided nature of their relationship became more and more apparent. For most of the book, I saw no real connection between them. And then it rushed in the end - it just made no sense to say she cared for him when she had a plan to damage his reputation the same night - even if she wanted out of the engagement, hurting the guy that way and then claiming to be falling in love like a switch the same day won't do.

And having Nicholas be the one to run to her after everything she did—the situations she thoughtlessly put him in with the other ladies could be very damaging—just felt wrong. I wished she had been the one to grovel or at least do something redeeming to him.

Despite my issues with Mercy, *The Proper Facade* is still a nice book that I would recommend to fans of historical romance. The interactions were a lot less entertaining compared to the other books by the author, but the writing was still captivating.

I love the parallels I was able to draw between this book and Pride & Prejudice. Such a cute slow burn romance. I love that Mercy liked to rile Nicholas up. Never crossing bounds of propriety, yet keeping him on his toes. He acted very much the Duke, to the point that he hid too much of his emotion. While I was anxiously waiting for my happily ever after (ok, at least a good sizzling kiss) I was thoroughly enjoying the journey.

Nicholas Kendrick has been the Duke of Harrington for four years. After serving in the military he is scrupulous about following the rules of society. To Lady Mercy Rothschild he comes off as stiff and aloof. Mercy is surprised that the Duke has chosen to court her. He seems to want a partner who can help him politically and socially. She is looking for a great love match like her parents.

Usually I read straight through this type of book. For whatever reason, I put down this story more than once to read something else. I didn’t connect much with Nicholas. His original reason for seeking a bride is to get his mother out of the house because of her singing. I did like his honesty and conversations with his sister and brother-in-law (main couple in, A Proper Charade, May 2020). But I laughed and didn’t swoon every time he mentions his attraction to Mercy’s freckles. Mercy is more likable and is trying to please her parents by considering the Duke’s attention. I didn’t love his pushing aside showing any feelings for so long in the story. Mercy is so convinced they don’t suit she puts other women in his path. This clean romance didn’t knock it out of the park for me, but it seems others enjoyed it more.

I love this series. Nicholas is trying his best to be a better version of himself. He is trying to be perfect and follow all of societies rules. Mercy is wanting passion and a zest for life not perfect manners. This book is full of great chemistry, misunderstandings and fantastic kissing scenes (I will never think of a cravat in the same way again.) This is a must read book and series.

This is book 4 in Esther Hatch’s Proper Scandal’s series. This book follows Nicholas Kendrick, Duke of Harrington who is Patience’s brother from book two.

Mercy wants to find true love, and Nicholas is in search of a wife! He is serious and proper and she is bold and passionate. I loved their meet cute, and the ending was sweet!

This was an intriguing read.

Read for:
🤍vibrant heroine
🤍proper and guarded hero
🤍the dancing
🤍never knew what would happen next
🤍seeing beloved characters again
🤍the happily ever after

I have really enjoyed this series. Although this is not my favorite of the 4 books, I enjoyed being back in this world again.



Content: infidelity, shame from past mistakes