This was an enjoyable read with a few caveats. The plot line was interesting, but as a whole the story felt rushed. The main characters have chemistry, but it was a bit to much insta love.

This is a delightful and unique debut in the Bartholomew Fayre series, and I’m so glad I read it! The story centers on the Fayre family—Penelope, Oliver, and Caroline—as they navigate life after their father’s death. With their family left in a tight spot, Penelope has no dowry, and Oliver doesn’t have an inheritance to rely on. Caroline, a widow with a young son, adds to the emotional depth of their struggles. I loved getting to know each sibling and can’t wait to explore their stories!

Penelope Fayre, nineteen years old and the belle of the Season, knows she must marry money. Yet as the Season is coming to an end, her hopes for love are dwindling quickly so she decides that the next offer she receives, will be the one that she accepts. In her one last chance at freedom, she attends Bartholomew Fair, only to find herself rescued from harm by Philippe Valois, an itinerant swordsman. When the fair ends, Penelope and Bartholomew part ways only to meet again, two months later at a Leicestershire hunting-party, where she expects to accept a proposal from the host. Strangely enough, Philippe is posing as a footman, when he is there to reclaim what is rightfully his.
The two main characters were delightful and I found their back stories quite fascinating, particularly with Philippe’s background during the French Revolution. The secondary characters added to the depth of this story, which is one full of adventure. A sweet romance.
This book I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was a strong start to the Bartholomew Fayre series, it had that concept with what I was looking for and enjoyed about the historical romance novel. The overall story was really well done and was invested in what was going on. I enjoyed the way Sheri Cobb South wrote this and left me wanting to read more in this world.

Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for this arc.

The heroine is beautiful and brave, the hero is handsome and dashing and I thoroughly enjoyed their story.

Penelope Fayre is the diamond of the Season and getting awfully tired of turning down lovesick proposals from the men of the ton. Her papa might have left them in straitened circumstances after his death but Penelope wants a love match such as her now widowed sister and BIL had. Penelope, however, is getting a reputation for being too high a stickler as she turns down yet another proposal. It’s only when her sister has accepted a governessing job that Penelope’s eyes are opened to the truth of the dire financial situation they’re in. Well, her mama never actually told her … so there.

Penelope makes a vow that after she’s enjoyed one day – okay and an evening, after she meets a dashing swordsman – at the Bartholomew Fair, she’ll accept the first respectable proposal she receives. When she travels to a country hunt party and sees the swordsman again, Penelope hurls herself into helping him prove his true identity and regain the title and estate so cruelly wrested from him. Can Phillipe regain his inheritance and Penny avoid yet another marriage proposal?

I like Penny. She’s gorgeous enough to stop men in their tracks – or in the case of Phillipe, distract him while he’s sword fighting at the fair – but she’s kind, she decides to quit looking for love after she realizes how close the bailiff is to their door, and once she discovers Phillipe’s truth, she’s all in to find what he needs to prove his Uncle’s perfidy. Phillipe is determined to prove his Uncle’s guilt in the death of his father and make him also pay for the years of numbing work his mother did to support them after they escaped from Madame La Guillotine. True he was gobsmacked by love when he first saw Penny but he won’t seek her hand in marriage until he has something to offer her.

I also enjoyed the secondary characters such as Penny’s maid and her young man who accompany Penny to the fair as well as Crumley the butler who is a true keeper and more than worthy of the pension Phillipe makes sure will come that loyal man’s way.

As this is a trilogy, I’m looking forward to stories for Penny’s worthy siblings.