Title: A Wallflower’s Wassail Punch
Author: Aubrey Wynne
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency
Book Blurb:
An accidental female pugilist…
Lady Annette Page is twenty-four and ready to climb onto the shelf. Her first Season was a disaster after a duke’s son pinched her by the punchbowl, and she walloped him in the nose. And broke it. After five years, she has yet to live down the scandal. Her father hopes to remarry, but his betrothed will not agree until Lady Annette is gone. With an enormous dowry offered for her hand, the earl hosts a house party at Christmastide. The men arrive, hoping to claim her fortune, while the ladies continue to dredge up the past.
A handsome viscount with a sense of humor…
Lord Wilkinson has been a widow for twenty years. Now that his daughter is betrothed, he is ready to consider taking another wife. Invited to a house party by an old friend, he arrives to find the earl’s daughter is the guest of honor, and the week of revelry is a ploy to marry her off. Wilkinson is surprised the other gentlemen view her as a quiet, awkward female. The viscount, seeing a striking, intelligent woman with a dry wit only he seems to appreciate, comes to her rescue.
Add a walloping wassail punch…
When the two become allies, their partnership soon goes beyond friendship. But will Lady Annette’s age and the viscount’s interfering daughter keep them from a happy ending under the mistletoe?
My Review:
Lady Annette Page is a charming woman of 24 who has yet to marry. Okay, it may have something to do with an unfortunate incident five years ago. It really wasn’t her fault that she walloped a man and broke his nose. He pinched her—twice—in a very inappropriate place. What was she to do?
And that’s how A Wallflower’s Wassail Punch begins. This short Regency romance is a delight to read. The premise is simple: find Annette a husband so her father and his fiancé could marry.
But the emotions that go into this story are more complex. While her father invites a select group of men for her approval, he also invites one of his friends, Lord Wilkinson, a widower of 20 years, to help judge the character of them.
Where her would-be suitors see an awkward lady with a past, Lord Wilkinson sees a beautiful young woman with energy, wit, and compassion. And Annette finds the handsome older man intriguing and kind. And she’s drawn to him. But they both hesitate because of the age difference.
Aubrey Wynne’s romance is full of attraction, desire, and humor. I loved Annette from the start, the woman who doesn’t quite play by the rules. Through no fault of her own, mind you. Her father was a widower, and she has four brothers.
I fell in love with Andrew at first sight. Handsome, caring, and passionate. The man is torn with his yearning for Annette and loyalty to his late wife.
The cast of characters is amazing. I especially loved Annette’s soon-to-be stepmother, her father’s fiancé. She too has thrown convention out the window. “What do you think your stepmother has in that flask?”
Add in Andrew’s grown daughter to cause a bit of a stir, and you have the makings of a great cast that propels the story line.
While this book is part of a series, you don’t need to read the others to thoroughly enjoy the story (like I did).
A Wallflower’s Wassail Punch is a must read for Regency fans.
My Rating: 5 stars
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Author Biography:
USA Today Bestselling author Aubrey Wynne resides in the Midwest with her husband, dogs, horses, mule, and barn cats. Obsessions include wine, history, travel, trail riding, and all things Christmas. Her Chicago Christmas series and historical romances have received multiple awards and nominations as a Rone finalist by InD’tale Magazine.
Aubrey’s first love is medieval romance but after dipping her toe in the Regency period in 2018 with the Wicked Earls’ Club, she was smitten. This inspired her sweet Regency spin-off series Once Upon a Widow, and a steamy Scottish Regency series, A MacNaughton Castle Romance. Her Regency detective series, Paddy’s Peelers, will launch in 2025.
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Reviewed by: Terry