The Wallflower Wager: Girl Meets Duke

4.5 stars — Wow, it’s so hard to decide, but I think this was my favourite of the 3 so far! Still absolutely adored Mary Jane Wells as the narrator. She’s so consistent with her voices, with distinguishing between thoughts and dialogue, and she NAILS both the humour and the emotion of our characters. Penny was just so absolutely easy to love, and my heart broke for both of them. I loved that we had 2 emotionally scarred individuals who went opposite ways when trying to adapt to the hurt…and somehow they found one another. I kind of loved how Penny figured out how to be strong on her own, that it had nothing to do with Gabriel, that she grew to be that person just because…probably because of friends and stuff. That’s immensely admirable, and she is definitely a heroine to look up to. There were some very modern concepts in this book, and since I don’t read a lot of historical, I was initially thrown off. But while it may not have been the norm, I don’t see why some intrepid independent women couldn’t find value in those things even back then. I loved that there were lessons for today. I loved that Gabriel was so respectful of Penny — he really is a swoony hero, amplifying her voice and giving her agency. I was worried I wouldn’t love Gabriel, b/c he’s so gruff and blunt and forthright…but you really end up understanding why he is the way he is. And it made it that much more delightful to see Penny break through his walls and get to his heart. Obviously I loved them together. They had a lot of chemistry, but they also made me laugh a lot when they were together. I was surprised with the heartbreak parts of the story…I won’t go into them, b/c spoilers, but I wasn’t expecting it and it killed me at times. I adored all the antics with the animals — I’m an animal lover at heart, so I totally vibed with Penny on that aspect. I laughed and laughed and laughed at the antics with Chase and Ash. I loved seeing our circle of strong women again, and cannot wait for Nicola’s story! Loved the background story with Mrs. Burns. That was such an unexpected delight, and a side bit of humour, and I really appreciated that. So yeah. I kinda forgot I hadn’t finished up this review, so it’s a bit more disjointed — but needless to say there were so many parts that I absolutely adored, and put together they made for a favourite read.

feels like it falls off at the very end, few unexpected turns, but some of the best characters and a funny, charming romance that made this the best listen(audiobook version) I've had in a while

Looking for hope should be on everyones want and need to do list Before the sun doesn't shine down on the he dark days of loneliness and an infinate stare into nothing. Die for something , than live for nothing. When you feel the pulse thats right , stay with the warmth that knows. God bless Us.A