A Proper Facade by Esther Hatch

A Proper Facade
by Esther Hatch

ISBN-13: 9781524426477
Paperback: 248 pages
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Released: August 20, 2024

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Mercy Rothschild has always been granted an unusually long tether by her parents, who have never pushed her to marry until she’s ready. She assumes that when the right man comes along, she will marry for love. However, as she embarks on her third Season, her parents begin to pressure her to find a match. And the Duke of Harrington wants to court her!

Nicholas Kendrick, Duke of Harrington, follows the rules of the ton meticulously. When he determines that Mercy is the ideal candidate for a wife, he carefully courts her. Desperate to extricate herself from Harrington’s advances, Mercy concludes that there is only one course of action: she must push her intended into the arms of another woman. But when Mercy becomes acquainted with the man behind the proper facade, her plans come crashing down as she realizes that stiff and proper Harrington might be the very man she’s been waiting for.


My Review:
A Proper Facade is a romance set around 1846 in England. When Nicholas was 17 years old, a woman who wanted to marry him for his title aroused his passions in an attempt to entrap him. His father sent him to the army to learn self-disciple. He's been extremely careful with his and other's reputations since then as he realized how damaging his actions could be.

Mercy's more interested in dancing than marriage. She told several people that she wanted to marry for love--like her parents and her sister--and that she believed that the evidence of love is (before marriage) enflamed passions. As in, she wants the guy to get her alone and intensely kiss her every chance he gets. Mercy's the daughter of an Earl. I find it unbelievable that no one told her "lust is not love. Any guy who can't keep his hands off of you cares more about what he wants than about you."

Mercy's convinced that Nicholas' restraint is lack of interest rather than a show of respect and that his comments about the things he likes about her are worthless. Even knowing how he felt about reputations, she set him up several times so he was alone with scheming women who wanted to entrap him into marriage. She finally got him alone and got physical with him to provoke passion, demanding a passionate kiss before she'd agree to marry him. Only after this did she realize that passion doesn't always mean love and that she'd undervalued Nicholas.

Frankly, I don't understand why Nicholas wanted an unpredictable wife, which is what attracted him to Mercy in addition to her connections and her freckles. Especially when that unpredictable nature was turned against him rather than used to support him or build his confidence. I felt like they really needed some time to rebuild trust, so the ending felt rushed to me. There was no sex. The kissing was on the face, and the touching stayed in the face to (his) chest area. There was no 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.