However, as she works to establish a relationship with her grandfather, she agrees to attend Society events. Cleo is a smart, self-assured woman who also has no wish to marry. She is not quiet, biddable, or a wallflower. Jake is instantly enthralled with Cleo, but in a way that conflicts with what he has convinced himself he is looking for in a wife. Two big personalities, and one business goal, force these two together into an unlikely friendship. How to Be a Wallflower (yet again, another title that has little relationship to the actual plot) has a businesswoman with ties to the aristocracy (Cleo) and a brash American businessman (Jake) that also has an American royalty type legacy. Great characters, lots of gentle humor, excellent historical details and interesting stories. And this first book in her new series reminds me of why I loved her. For several years, she was my favorite Regency mass market author. Its been a hot minute since I read an Eloisa James. But unlike the noblemen at her feet, he doesn’t belong in her refined and cultured world.Ĭaught between the demands of honor and desire, Jake would give up everything to be with the woman he loves-if she’ll have him! It isn’t until Cleo becomes the toast of all society that Jake realizes she’s stolen his fiercely guarded heart. And somehow in the middle of their lively competition, Jake becomes her closest friend. Cleo can’t resist the fun of clothing the rough-hewn American in feathers and flowers. Jake strikes a devil’s bargain, offering to design her “wallflower wardrobe” and giving Cleo the chance to design his.

He’s furious when a she-devil masquerading as an English lady steals Quimby’s Costume Emporium from under his nose. Powerful and charismatic Jacob Astor Addison is in London, acquiring businesses to add to his theatrical holdings in America-as well as buying an emerald for a young lady back in Boston.

But since she has no intention of marrying, she visits a costume emporium specifically to order unflattering dresses guaranteed to put off any prospective suitors. Miss Cleopatra Lewis is about to be launched in society by her aristocratic grandfather. Genres: Fiction / Romance / General, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Medieval, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Regency, Fiction / Womenįrom New York Times bestseller Eloisa James, a new Regency-set novel in which a heiress with the goal of being a wallflower engages a rugged American in a scorchingly sensual, witty wager that tests whether clothing does indeed make the man-or the wallflower! A perfect companion story to Eloisa's My American Duchess. Published by HarperCollins on March 29, 2022

How to be a wallflower eloisa james