His Lady In Hiding by Jen Geigle Johnson

His Lady In Hiding by Jen Geigle Johnson ISBN-13: 9781524410452 Paperback: 272 pages Publisher: Covenant Communications Released: April 1, 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Lady Elizabeth Davenport is desperate. Her hand in marriage has been offered to the highest bidder, a distressing proposition in and of itself but made all the more repulsive when she meets her father’s first choice for her hand: Lord Pinweather. When her parents refuse to hear her pleas, Liz is forced to take drastic measures—she will impersonate her maid and begin anew in America on her own terms.

Once on board the ship to America, another passenger, Lord Barton, almost immediately discovers her true status as a noble. After listening to Liz’s highly modified version of her life and her plans to begin again, Barton has compassion on her and teaches her how to abandon her noble mannerisms. Upon disembarking, however, Barton’s generous spirit quickly dampens when he discovers Liz has indeed found work—as his own head housekeeper. Suddenly, the tender feelings they hid from each other on the ship are inescapable, but their difference in station makes romance impossible. As misunderstandings abound and the threat from Lord Pinweather still looms, she knows she can’t hide her true identity forever.


My Review:
His Lady In Hiding is a historical romance set in 1817 in England, America, and on ships traveling between the two. Lady Elizabeth started out as a very spoiled, self-centered young woman but learned to sympathize with servants and slaves as she learned how to run a house as a housekeeper. She did become a more likable character as the story went on, but she didn't seem to learn from her mistakes. She very quickly learned why women travel with others for protection, but she kept going off on her own even when she knew there was danger beyond the ordinary ones. As she didn't hide very well, either, this made it easy for her unwanted fiancé to keep tracking her down to repeatedly attempt to force her to marry him. This created many opportunities for rescuing her.

Lord Barton was more likable because he didn't have to experience something for himself to empathize and he was willing to risk his life for a stranger. However, after a few scenes of their budding friendship on the ship, most of the story had him acting erratically towards her (harsh or distant in company and more sympathetic when in private) as they tried to maintain their new social roles despite their romantic interest in each other.

The historical details mainly focused on inheritance laws and marriage settlements. There is no sex or bad language.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.