Blog Tour Review: To Kiss a Wallflower

Title: To Kiss a Wallflower
Author: Jen Geigle Johnson, Heather B. Moore, Anneka R. Walker
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Mirror Press
Source: Austen Prose
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 21, 2022
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

THE WALLFLOWER’S DANCE by Jen Geigle Johnson
Lottie Hughes likes people, as long as they aren’t too close. Does it bother her that no one asks her to dance? Yes, but she’s not sure how to drum up dance partners when she has almost no dowry, no title, and freezes up when anyone tries to talk to her. When she suddenly inherits a huge amount and is the new center of attention all over London, her secret dreams might come true but also her worst nightmares. Suddenly everyone wants to talk to her. Men ask her to dance. And she is inundated with interested suitors. She fights to stay close to the few friends she knows are true. One man saw her before her life changed forever. But does she want to accept his help when he, too, might be insincere?

LETTERS TO A WALLFLOWER by Heather B. Moore
Ellen might be beautiful and considered a diamond of the first water by Society, but she is so very tired of the pressure to marry a titled gentleman so that her beauty won’t go to waste. When her cousin Dinah dares Ellen to attend a ball with no frills and to stand with the wallflowers, Ellen takes on the dare. What’s in the wager for her? The prize cuttings of her aunt’s extraordinary roses. But what Ellen isn’t expecting is Lord Ravenshire to engage her in the most interesting conversation. When she confesses to him of her opposition in marrying for a title, he confesses his distaste of the London scene. They strike a bargain together, one which will either push them apart or lead to a future sweeter than either of them could have imagined.

TO MARRY A WALLFLOWER by Anneka R. Walker
Charlotte Winters is destined to spinsterhood until she turns down an unwanted proposal and everything changes. With gossip rampant, her father attempts to salvage her reputation by betrothing her to another. Soon she is sent off to her aunt’s to meet Lord Templeton, her intended. Anxiety-ridden, Charlotte begs her aunt to let her observe Lord Templeton from afar before their introduction. She never planned to pretend to be her fictional cousin to learn more about him, or to fall in love with Lord Templeton’s friend in the process. Lord Templeton dreads returning to the empty halls of Newcliff Manor. When his father’s old friend, Mr. Winters reaches out for assistance, Lord Templeton finds himself returning home engaged to a woman he has never met. Desperate to learn more about Miss Winters, he befriends her cousin. He wouldn’t have spoken to her, or lied about his identity, if he’d known the quiet woman would sneak into his heart.

Review:

To Kiss a Wallflower is a collection of three Regency romance short stories:

The Wallflower’s Dance: Lottie has always been a wallflower at dances, but when she suddenly inherits a fortune, all of the eligible suitors want to dance with her. She enlists the help of her best friend, Denny, to figure out who is genuine, but Denny be the man who can sincerely love her. 

Letters to a Wallflower: Ellen’s been called the “diamond of the season,” but when her cousin bets her that she can’t attend a dance as a wallflower, Ellen takes up the challenge. Lord Ravenshire is looking for a ticket out of London and the season, so he stages a fake courtship with Ellen to get them both out of their seasonal duties, but they may find the love they didn’t know they were searching for. 

To Marry a Wallflower: When Charlotte’s father suddenly arranges a marriage between her and Lord Templeton, she wants to get to know him before they officially meet. Charlotte poses as her cousin, and Lord Templeton poses as his friend, so they can secretly get to know each other, but they end up falling in love along the way. 

This was a nice collection of stories about wallflowers. Each story explored a different romance trope: friends to lovers, fake dating, and miscommunication. The main issue I had with these stories is that they were so similar that they blended together. They had similar premises, with the heroine acting as a wallflower but ending up with their love interest in the end, so it’s not surprising they were so much alike. The stories also ended abruptly, like they could have been full length novels, but they were rushed at the end. 

This is a good collection for fans of Regency wallflower stories. 

Thank you Mirror Press and Austen Prose for providing a digital copy of this book.

What to read next:

Have you read To Kiss a Wallflower? What did you think of it?