ARC Review.

I was so looking forward to this book after reading A Convenient Fiction thinking "I can't wait for Teddy's book!" But Stella is the shining star of this book, pun utterly intended.

The structure has a similarity to Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas, and despite being a closed door romance, this has a sensuality that can't he denied.


I found that the disability representation was very well done. Teddy's troubles with his wheeled chair are just that, the technology isn't there yet to meet the demand, and neither is the public perception of him and his capabilities. I found it very moving and well done.

This book has of my favourite proposal scenes in a historical romance ever, truly a highlight of the book that had me at the edge of my seat.

The characters are fantastic and so well written. I can absolutely see where these characters will be in ten, twenty even thirty years from this point, as their modern views on art will grow and influence them in other ways too.

This is the final book in the series and dovetails lovingly with Matthew's other series, The Parish Orphans. These are not cameos from previous characters or an extended epilogue. They're all full characters and vital to the story.

I would love to see a book on the next generation of both these series. Set during the height of the Industrial Revolution, with these children of the rising middle class, working people with modernist ideals. Matthews would thrive with this.

I adore Mimi Matthews' writing and storytelling! The Muse of Maiden Lane might just be my new favorite of her books. It's a sweet strangers to friends to marriage of convenience story following Stella and Teddy, two characters who have always felt themselves drawing unwanted attention from society (Stella for her unusual gray-colored hair and Teddy for being confined to a wheelchair due to his legs being paralyzed by scarlet fever). Their friendship develops through conversations and sessions where Stella models for the portrait Teddy has been longing to make of her. It was so lovely to see their relationship grow, and for characters from past books in this series and other Mimi Matthews books to also make appearances!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me a digital review copy of this book via NetGalley. A great ending to the Belles of London series, though I'm sure we'll see these characters again!

What an amazing conclusion to this lovely series, the Belles of London.
I loved reading Stella's story, and getting to know her. She's not had an easy life, spent primarily living with her clergy brother, who is determined to marry her off well, but keep her in her proper place until that happens. And he's not afraid to send any man her way he deems eligible, even if said man is many years older.
Stella is fed up with being told what to do. So she....well, I can't give any spoilers!

Also, this is Teddy Hayes' story. From a perspective of a paralyzed individual, back in those early days. Fascinating.

This story was entertaining, and a bit humorous at times.
I recommend it to anyone who loves a good historical romance.

Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review, and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

THE MUSE OF MAIDEN LANE is exactly why I am drawn to Victorian romance. Mimi Matthews’s series “Belles of London” is smart, engaging, with likable characters. This fourth book in the series delivers. I was delighted to read an advance copy of this swoonworthy historical romance. Loved Teddy! I could sympathize with his plight as an artist, and especially as a wheelchair bound young man—he made a wonderful romantic hero. Stella, his gray-haired muse, had me from page one—loved her character arc. Well done!

4.5 stars for this satisfying conclusion to Mimi Matthews' Belles of London series!

Matthews writes Teddy and Stella's love story with sensitivity and passion. It was delightful to see the return of so many beloved characters from previous novels. One of my favorite aspects of the book was seeing how Stella's friends support her, and the other is how Teddy and Stella support each other. Teddy feels like a whole person, affected but not defined by his wheelchair. And as ever, Matthews' eye for detail is exquisite - from the equestrian to the artistic.

While there are a few very one-dimensional secondary characters, this book is still an absolute delight. Matthews is an auto-buy author for good reason; it's amazing to me that her work is always fantastic despite her health challenges. Don't miss this conclusion to the Belles series!

Thank you to Mimi Matthews' team and Berkley for the free eARC; I post this review with my honest opinions.

This is the fourth and final book in the Belles of London Victorian romance series. It can be read as a standalone, but readers will experience extra enjoyment if they have previously read the three previous books, since many of the characters in Lily appear in them.

If you’ve read Matthews’ Parish Orphans of Devon series, you will be happy to have updates on the lives of those four men and their wives, since the main male character in Muse is the handicapped brother of Laura, one of the wives (he is a minor character in A Convenient Fiction).

The path to love of Teddy and Stella is full of interesting plot twists, uncooperative siblings, and societal expectations. Once again Matthews highlights the challenges of being a woman in Victorian times when men seem to have all the control over their lives. In Stella’s case, it is her brother, a seemingly pious clergyman who does not bring live up to the tenets of his faith. Both Stella and Teddy are also fighting against the fear of being conspicuous – she for her grey hair at age 22, and he due to his confinement to a wheelchair.

I enjoyed reading this book, and I had a hard time putting it down.

“I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own." #TheMuseofMaidenLane #NetGalley.

As she has watched all of her friends find a love match over the last year or so, Stella is slowly losing hope that she will ever find her own HEA, especially as her hair color is such an off-putting distraction for any of the eligible men she meets. In desperation she orders hair dye, hoping to cover the atrocity that is her hair and be able to meet someone at the Christmas house party she is attending with her friends, knowing that they would be the only ones to know her what her true color is. If she can pull this off long enough, she may just catch herself a fiancé.

Unfortunately, she didn't plan on running into Teddy, a young man she met just a short while ago in a museum with disastrous results. He adores her silver hair and is desperate to paint her image, and his overtures are a little strong for Stella's taste. She's also worried he will out her deception to everyone at the party.

Will Stella open herself up to her new admirer? Or will his brusque manner send her running for the hills?

I really enjoyed this final installment of this series. It was fun to see all of the other characters make their cameos and see how their lives have gone since their own story, and it was also great to see how they continued to maintain their friendships over great distances and still support each other. Plus the purple cover is perfect!

I also loved reading about how Stella and Teddy accepted and loved each other for who they were, without expecting any great changes. Their emotional growth to accept Teddy's limitations was very well written.

Unfortunately, historical romance doesn't sell super well in my bookstore, but I'm fighting to change that, and Mimi Matthew's entire series is incredible to have in my arsenal. I've been waiting for Stella's book after breathlessly devouring the other three, and it might be my favorite! I thought it handled disability in a historical context very well, and it took after the others in the love for history, horses, and culture that permeated the pages.

Mimi Matthews Is a master at her craft.
I have never begun reading one of her books that I wanted to stop reading before it was finished. Her writing is lush, full of emotion and flows wonderfully.

Teddy and Stella are an unlikely match. They are both yearn to make their own way in life. He is a talented artist confined to a wheelchair and she is one of the Four Horsewomen. She has gray hair and feels invisible to society.
Their road to happiness is a bumpy one but oh so engaging.
I loved that all the women and families from the series appeared in this final book.
I’m sorry to see this series end but Mimi ties it all up well.
Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read this book. The opinions are entirely my own.

I’ve read several of Mimi Matthews’s Victorian-era romance novels, starting with “The Lost Letter” (2018). I even interviewed her for my old blog when that book came out. Although she’s something of a publishing phenom, meaning that I can’t keep up with her output given how many other novels I go through for the New Books Network and beyond, when I do have time to read purely for pleasure, hers never disappoint.

“The Muse of Maiden Lane” closes out, from what I can tell, the four-part Belles of London series. Stella Hobhouse has watched her three close friends—Eve, Julia, and Anne—find the perfect husbands for them despite their failure to satisfy the strictly pastel expectations of Victorian London. (They call themselves alternately the Four Horsewomen and the Furies, names that hint as to why they don’t fit well within the snippy, judgmental ton.)

After two years on the marriage market without success, however, Stella has given up hope of finding a good match. She has a unusual (and today far less consequential) problem: her hair turned gray at the age of sixteen. But she also has a talent for drawing, although that too earns her little respect from those around her.

Then she runs into Teddy Hayes, a gifted artist confined to a wheelchair but fascinated with Stella’s gray hair and determined to paint her as one of the Nine Muses. Society debutantes are not supposed to double as artists’ models, and Stella at first resists. But when her life takes an unexpected turn, she decides to throw both caution and society’s restrictions to the winds. After all, Teddy has promised not only to paint her but to teach her how to improve her own artistic skills.

I plan to interview this author on my blog (link below) around the time of the book’s release.

I adored Stella. She was easy to root for and I was impressed by her emotional fortitude considering how terribly her brother treats her. She’s a loyal friend, and she didn’t back down from Teddy when he had poor temper.

Teddy defined loveable curmudgeon. He is understandably surly; he’s still navigating the grief of acquired disability. No grown man wants to be infantilized, but his wry humour and obvious (in a good way) obsession with Stella was charming.

I enjoyed how the story moved through different settings and seasons. Fondness from absence drew tension beautifully between Stella and Teddy, so it felt realistic and organic. I found the slow, steady development of their relationship heartwarming.

Mimi Matthews has a comfortable writing style, and I liked the change of POV within chapters to handle how Stella or Teddy experienced the scene. They were both cleverly written, and the banter was quick and witty.

Honourable mention for the positive (and not toxic) disability rep and the reminder to honour folks’ humanity and dignity. Thank you for keeping it real and making Teddy a champion of the Independent Living (IL) Philosophy.

❝Forget being small and quiet, Teddy had said yesterday. I’m asking you to be conspicuous with me. The words had awakened something in Stella, as surely as a sorcerer’s spell.❞

♡ I was thrilled to get my hands on Muse after loving The Belle of Belgrave Square; it did not disappoint. There was so much to love about this story, and it was a delight from start to finish.

CW/TW: Contains misogyny, ableism. Please check warnings.

This is probably my favorite book in this series! I devoured this story and there are so many special elements! I was so grateful for the representation of two main characters who are not your typical romance characters. Thank you for the advance copy! This is an auto buy series for me and I feel like they each stand alone in the power of the characters! So great!

Grey-haired Stella is the only one of her friends still unwed, and does not expect to marry soon either. But between her new acquaintance with aspiring artist Teddy and the pressure from her brother’s impending marriage, Stella finds that her path may not be what she always envisioned.

After a whirlwind read of the previous three books in the Belles of London series, we conclude with the story of Stella Hobhouse, a clergyman’s sister who is the best rider of the group. With the way she was left in the last book, it was exciting to be able to pick up right away in that same moment and head off to the races of her and Teddy’s romance!

As usual, Matthews’ latest offering is swoonworthy and sweet, with plenty of humor and friendship mixed in with the romance. Stella and Teddy are well-matched, and I loved seeing how over the course of the book they manage to set each other free. That I am fairly familiar with the historical backdrop of this particular book (specifically the birth of Impressionism) was just the cherry on top.

However, I did think the last section of the book stumbled a little bit, the conclusion drawing out into an anti-climax. I wish I could put my finger on where it fell short – maybe it was that we didn’t see where Stella and Teddy made their last mental leap to the happy ending, or maybe because some loose ends were addressed only in the epilogue. I also thought the blurb revealed a little too much too early – the marriage of convenience doesn’t come around until a good three-quarters through the book!

Overall though, I really enjoyed this series as a whole – and Matthews has definitely found herself another devoted reader.

This is one of the best books in the series by virtue of the rich characters developed by Matthews. This typos of historical romance goes beyond boy meets girl trope and highlights the characters of two people no one would typically cast as main characters. I have never read of anyone using a wheelchair in 1800s England, let alone a MMC! I love Teddy who is so different from the typical MMC. He’s such a strong personality and we can see the impact that this acquired physical challenge has on his anxieties and identity, in the same way that Stella’s hair plays upon her. Not everyone is a diamond of the first water or a wallflower or the tall dark and handsome duke. These are just two delightful people that I’m glad found each it they and really deserve this HEA.

First, thank you to the publisher for the chance to read this book. What a lovely finish to the series. Loved the non-traditional main characters because everyone deserves love and this series really showcased that. LOVED

This series has been a consistent pleasure! In book 4, The Muse of Maiden Lane, we follow the fourth of the Four Horsewomen, Stella, as she stumbles into becoming an independent and self-determining woman. She has seen her three compatriots doing so, and now it is Stella's turn.

I liked that the male main character has appeared before in Mimi Matthews' books (A Convenient Fiction, part of the Parish Orphans series). I love the intertwining of stories! In this current book, we see Teddy becoming his own person as well, and the link between him and Stella is magic to equal that in the first three stories of Belles of London.

I thought this was not the strongest in the series: Stella herself seems less defined and less definite than the other three horsewomen. But her story is still a strong one: engaging and entertaining.

Best of all, this fourth and final book in the series does a wonderful job of celebrating and tying together all four books. Readers will enjoy seeing their personal favorite characters reappear and have the story extended for each.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for the chance to satisfy my literary need to complete this story. Publication date for Muse is expected November 19, 2024. This is a great series! And this book is a great wrap-up for the reader. Each book stands alone but is richer for the previous books.

Disability representation in romance novels is becoming increasingly commonplace, but I genuinely feel there should be more of these!!

Also - I'm biased regarding Mimi Matthews because I've always loved her books. However, one of the reasons I love her and the reason you'll love the fourth book in the Belles of London series is that her characters have SO much depth. Their relationships are unconventional but in a lovely, inspiring way.

- The first book in the series was The Siren of Sussex where the main couple was interracial during the Victorian Era.
- The second book, which I haven't read yet, although I have a physical copy waiting for me - Is a marriage of convenience romance and I will 100% be reading that while at the beach in a few weeks!!
- The third book in the series tackles overcoming serious self-doubt issues.
**The Muse of Maiden Lane is the fourth book, and one of the characters was an artist in a wheelchair - not the gentry at all, and I loved their characters all the more for it!!

(4.3/5) - I'll pretty much read anything that Mimi Matthews writes and most likely fall in love with her characters!! The one thing I was thinking throughout all of this though is that the MMC was very young? 24 seems like a really young little lad lol But overall - I still really enjoyed the story!

<i>**Thank you to Berkley for the advanced reader copy. I received this book for free, but all thoughts are my own. – SLR 🖤</i>

I absolutely adore many of the books by Mimi Matthews, but find others a bit of a miss. The Muse of Maiden Lane is fine – well written, well researched – but it didn’t resonate with me. There is no tension in the relationship between Teddy and Stella. He says he doesn’t want to marry, but we don’t believe that. Stella is put off by Teddy’s forward ways, but not that much.

I was a bit puzzled by Stella dyeing her hair for a house party – did she not know eventually she might see those people somewhere else when her hair went back to gray? (“But one rule remained as inflexible in London as it was across Britain entire: a respectable female DID NOT color her hair. Only actresses and - Stella blushed to admit to herself – prostitutes would resort to such tawdry tricks.” p. 1 of the advance reader copy) For that matter, I don’t get the deal with a beautiful young woman having gray hair. Would that really have been a big deal in Victorian times?

As book four in this series, there are also too many brief and distracting appearances by so many characters from this series and another by the author. As a reader, I really don’t expect every happy character to cameo. I know the author loves horses, but this is also an excessively horsy book. Lots of descriptions of and focus on the four horses. Yes, they love their horses. Yes, we understand that Stella will not give up her spirited and dangerous gray horse that matches her hair.

I still love Matthews and eagerly await her next book, but The Muse of Maiden Lane was a miss for me. I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

A great ending to an enjoyable and well written series.
Stella and Teddy’s relationship developed through friendship first. I liked how they both wanted more for themselves than what their family members were projecting onto them.
All the other women from this series were included in The Muse of Maiden Lane and the support of found family was so important to this story and series.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

-Dual POVs
-MMC: artist/painter in a wheelchair due to an illness
-FMC: horsewoman/artist with premature gray hair
-Both are resilient yet with their own vulnerabilities

This book ties with book 2 (Belle of ...) in the series as my favorites in the Belles of London series. I haven't read the book in the Parish Orphans series where Teddy is introduced but I plan to. I love the way Teddy and Stella meet and interact with each other. A great end to the series!