Pretty and popular, Miss Clare Westmore knows exactly what (or rather, who) she wants: the next Duke of Harrington. But when she twists her ankle on the eve of the Season’s most touted event, Clare is left standing in the wallflower line watching her best friend dance away with her duke.
Dr. Daniel Merial is tempted to deliver more than a diagnosis to London's most unlikely wallflower, but he doesn’t have time for distractions, even one so delectable. Besides, she's clearly got her sights on more promising prey. So why can’t he stop thinking about her?
All Clare wants to do is return to the dance floor. But as her former friends try to knock her permanently out of place, she realizes with horror she is falling for her doctor instead of her duke. When her ankle finally heals and she faces her old life again, will she throw herself back into the game?
Or will her time in the wallflower line have given her a glimpse of who she was really meant to be?
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| Rare wallpaper form the Winterthur Museum |
Everybody wants to shine a little bit, even a wallflower. - Phyllis Smith
Clare Westmore is on a mission to charm and marry Mr. Alban, the next Duke of Harrington. As the daughter of a Viscount, she is given entree to London's social season. Clare learns to dress, dance, flirt, and gossip, all in the effort to make the match of the season. Yet she twists her ankle while feeding the ducks in the park with her younger siblings. Despite the injury, Clare insists on attending the ball where she expects to see Mr. Alban. Her injury sidelines her with the other wallflowers but still draws the attention of Dr. Daniel Merial. He comes to her aid when it is apparent that her ankle is painful. Thus begins a dance between two fated lovers as they challenge snobbery between the classes.
McQuiston delivers a heartfelt Victorian romance in which Daniel shines as the humble hero. He sees Clare for the intellectual beauty that she is; he becomes a positive influence on her younger brother; and he inspires her younger sister to act like a lady. Daniel also brings fruit shaped marzipan to cheer Clare during her recovery ... a small gesture that chips away at her facade. Although Clare believes she needs to be an "ornament" to attract a titled husband, she realizes through Daniel that the privileged life may not be her destiny.
McQuiston herself gives readers our own marzipan treat, so to speak. She incorporates her knowledge of medicine, Latin, and animals from her experience as a veterinarian. These tidbits added an extra depth to the story.
Recommended read for fans of historical romance who appreciate a story outside the ballroom.
I purchased DIARY OF AN ACCIDENTAL WALLFLOWER
since I enjoyed McQuiston's debut series.
since I enjoyed McQuiston's debut series.
I am giving away a print copy of DIARY OF AN ACCIDENTAL WALLFLOWER to one randomly selected commenter. To enter the giveaway,
1. Have you kept a diary? I have not ... but I have kept a scrapbook of our travels.
2. Comments are open through Saturday, March 21, 10 pm in Baltimore.
3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, March 22.
Mahalo,
Kim in Baltimore
Aloha Spirit in Charm City
Learn more about Jennifer and her books at
No to the diary, yes to scrapbooking!!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all.. I LOVE Jennifer McQuiston.....
ReplyDeleteSecondly, yes i kept a diary until my mother found it and made fun of it..
Thanks for the great post, Kim
nope
ReplyDeleteI have never really kept a diary, but I did start keeping a journal when we travel. We tend to cover a lot of territory when we travel and it is hard to keep it all straight later on. As I get older, I do wish that I had kept a diary, even a sporadic one, when I was younger to revisit those days and see how my focus and perceptions have changed. I enjoy historicals and this one has many of my favorite elements in it.
ReplyDeleteNo, I never did get into keeping a diary or scrapbook. I keep all my treasures from travels or special occasions in a keepsake box. I love Jennifer's books, I have this one on my wish list!
ReplyDeleteI'm still keeping a diary, write in it a few times a week. Nothing special, just a days events and a few enotions :)
ReplyDeleteI have kept a travel journal, but not a daily journal. Too private I feel.
ReplyDeleteI have started a diary several times but never kept it up.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was nine or ten I had a diary.
ReplyDeleteI kept one back when I was a teenager a very long time ago, love the sound of this one thanks for the review
ReplyDeletePenney
I don't have the discipline to write.
ReplyDeleteI tried when I was a kid but I had nothing to write about!
ReplyDeleteNo diary... I wish I had but I didn't have the attention span as a kid and now I just feel silly. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI have diaries from my high school years and I even kept a few after I married and had my first 2 children but alas 17 years later and no time for the diary :)
ReplyDeleteLori
I kept a diary when I was little and this year I am keeping a happiness diary.
ReplyDeleteI have kept diaries off and on since I was a teenager.
ReplyDeleteI started to a few times, but never kept them up. I did keep some short ones on a few vacations.
ReplyDeleteI've never kept a diary either, but I have tons of scrapbooks that show how I got where I am now. I guess you'd call me a scrapper. :-) I have most of Jennifer's stories, but not this latest one. When it was released end of February I had run out of book budget money. Story of my life . . . Thanks for the post, Kim. jdh2690@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteWhen a teenager I kept one for a few days but then I ripped it up because the idea that someone else might read my innermost thoughts scared me.
ReplyDeleteYes, I kept a diary for years, in fact, right up until 1992. Sometimes, I get the diaries down and read through them, and sometimes get a bit weepy when I read things like, "Mum and Dad coming for dinner", or going down to see Mum and Dad, or Auntie Ada and Auntie Nellie coming to stay, etc. I'm so glad that I've got these diaries to browse through, and maybe one day, my granddaughter would like to have them. I've got "Diary of an Accidental Wallflower" on my wish list.
ReplyDeleteNo diaries. However, when I was a young divorced mother I started photo albums for each child. I wanted to record happy childhood memories for them. There are pictures of vacations to the Keys, driving vacations through the Smokies, camping trips throughout Florida, tenting along mountain streams, Friday nights at the local movie theater, scouting, sports teams (mom as team mother or score keeper), cheerleading, Fireworks displays, Disneyworld, Universal, various Florida parks and attractions, extended family gatherings, birthday parties, Halloweens, Christmas, scout camp in the everglades, and on and on.... They love their books and will pull them out and "remember quite often even though they are now 40 and 42! Ah, success! They had happy childhoods!!
ReplyDeleteI had a diary throughout middle and high school. I wrote in it every night recording all the interesting things that happened during the day. I found my diary a while back while looking through some old boxes and it was quite interesting to read my thoughts and feelings from my younger self! Thanks for spotlighting Jennifer's book, I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteI tried to keep a journal for a while years ago, but it was just mostly whining, and I didn't think that needed to be saved for posterity, or even for me to go back and read again. :D So no more of that. I've tried scrapbooking a bit as well, but not really something I got into.
ReplyDeleteI never kept a diary. I would never trust that it would be private!
ReplyDeleteno on the diary, yes to scrapbooking
ReplyDeleteNot a diary, but I did keep a journal when we were traveling.
ReplyDeleteI've never kept a diary and don't really do scrapbooking except in a very basic form.
ReplyDelete