The Brazen Bluestocking by Tracy Sumner (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

Title: The Brazen Bluestocking

Author: Tracy Sumner

Publication: 30 September 2021

Format: Kindle eBook

Amazon Description

In this Regency Romance by award-winning author Tracy Sumner, a willful bluestocking matches wits with a devilish scoundrel she never expected to desire with every beat of her heart.

A defiant society outcast.
A scandalous rogue who doesn’t believe in love.
And a passionate wager.

Daughter of an earl, Lady Hildegard Templeton hasn’t conformed to what society expects from a woman of her station. Industrious and unique, she’s created an emboldened organization for women on the cusp of marriage, The Duchess Society. Called a bluestocking to her face and worse behind closed salon doors, she vows to marry for love. And nothing but. Although the emotion has yet to show itself to her. Until she meets him.

Bastard son of a viscount and king of London’s sordid streets, Tobias Streeter has spent a lifetime building his empire, and he needs the Duchess Society to find a suitable wife to ensure his place in society. But he vows his search will have nothing to do with love and everything to do with vengeance. Until he meets her.

Soon, Tobias and Hildy’s plans are in turmoil as they must choose between achieving their goals or a life filled with love.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

This was not the book I had intended for today. 

Today's book was supposed to be a horror/slasher/"holy crap what was that" book ... that is currently sitting at home at the edge of my couch rather than being in the bag I brought with me to work. I'm more than a little glad that it is because I opted, instead, for the totally different and totally delectable The Brazen Bluestocking -- the first book in Tracy Sumner's The Duchess Society series. There's still a bit of "holy crap what was that," but in a totally different manner. 

Lady Hildegard Templeton (Hildy) is a woman on a mission. Along with her best friend, Georgiana Munro, the Duchess of Markham [note to self : read Georgiana's story in the prequel!], she runs The Duchess Society -- a service for the ton to help arrange marriages so they aren't complete disasters for the women involved. She's known as a spinster, a bluestocking, an outcast, and The Mad Matchmaker. 

She's also completely out of her depth when it comes to her latest assignment -- pairing Matilda (Mattie), the eldest daughter of the Earl of Hastings who wants to be a doctor, with Tobias Streeter, the son of Viscount Craven and his Romani mistress (so, hence, a bastard), and the Rogue King of Limehouse Basin. It shouldn't be a problem. Matilda wants to marry him for his money and willingness to let her do her own thing with her studies. Tobias is agreeable as marriage to Mattie will give him a semblance of credibility amongst the mucky-mucks of Society. It most certainly won't be a love match for reasons you'll just have to read about yourself ... but still, it shouldn't be a problem.

There ends up being a rather huge problem, though, in that Hildy and Tobias are almost immediately drawn to each other. Because of course they are. To be honest, I was immediately drawn to Tobias, as well.

In love with his work, if not the woman he planned to marry.

He should've appeared a ruffian playing a part, fashioning a ruse of some sort when instead he looked utterly appealing -- like no man she'd ever known. She simply had no comparison. Tobias Streeter rejected every box she shoved him in.

Gentleman, delinquent, scholar, charlatan.

To be completely honest, I was almost as drawn to his intended, Mattie. It would have been so easy to make her a simple character whose sole purpose in the story would be to act as a block for Hildy and Tobias to come together (because you know that is what is supposed to happen). From the get-go, though, I was kind of dreading that the easy path that was intended for her might become far more complicated. Poor thing has enough complications in life and a marriage to Tobias would have been a perfect solution. Well, a good solution, anyway. Okay, okay ... a solution.

Mattie isn't the heroine of the tale, though. That honor, of course, is bestowed upon Hildy. She's a bundle of confidence and insecurity and she makes Tobias completely flummoxed.

She could've asked for the moon, and he'd have labored to snatch it down for her.

Frankly, it was her smile that killed him. Measured, subtle, and almost hesitant -- but when it broke, it broke. Wicked and alluring, as glorious as a blazing sunset you weren't expecting that you caught sight of around a being in the road.

He was puzzled by her. And fascinated.

Alas, there is still the not-so-little matter that Hildy's job is to see that Tobias is properly wed to someone else. Someone whom they both like quite a lot. Someone who needs the marriage to happen. It doesn't help at all that Hildy's best friend and partner and Tobias's best friend and partner both seem to know that there's more between the two than they care to admit.

@ Georgiana : The duchess couldn't help it if she was dreaming up stories. People in love wanted the world to be in love, too.

@ Macauley : "Whipped like a dog, you are. Over dimples and a set of eyes sweet enough to top a jam tartlet."

By the way, I'm quite enamored with Mac and would love to see him get "whipped" in a future match.  

Oh, this book. Not at all the horror/slasher book that I thought that I wanted,  though there does end up being some intrigue and danger and ""holy crap what was that" moments. Mostly there was humor and romance and just the perfect amount of toe-curling steam ... and it was definitely the book that I needed.

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.