Such a sweet story! ( )

Lady Georgina Hawthorne has spent years planning her debut season, during which she feels a strong need to make the match of the season. She has also spent years cultivating her look, her personality, and the way she is perceived to others, including her own family. She's certain that her hard work will get her a duke, or at least an earl. Certainly not a mere gentleman like Colin McCrae, who keeps showing up everywhere she goes. What she doesn't know is that he's involved in his own game of manipulation, instigated by another, and would rather not see or talk to Georgina any more than she wants to see or talk to him. However, once he sees a tiny glimpse of the real Georgina behind the facade, he begins to think there's more to her than the spoiled, selfish demeanor she puts on. When he discovers her shameful secret, the one she's buried since childhood behind that practiced face, he thinks he might be able to help her...but what will it cost them both?

I've been going back and forth with how I felt about this book in my mind for a few days now. I think it had some good points, but not quite enough to make it really enjoyable. It was weirdly not so focused on the romance as some pure romance novels are, and yet the attempt at still making the romance front and center made it feel repetitive. There was so much more going on than the building relationship, to a point where many say there wasn't much romance at all, which is totally fine with me--I like a slow build or a romance that's in the background. But the MCs would still think about each other before or after each encounter with thoughts like,"Why am I thinking about him/her at all?" and "I keep forgetting I want nothing to do with him/her," which I guess are supposed to be the insertion of romance. Just made me roll my eyes.

Colin was a really nice guy, smart and thoughtful. It bothered me, though, that the first full chunk of his story was showing how he helped Ryland (male MC from the previous book) manipulate poor Miranda (female MC from the previous book). It just reminded me of why that story bugged me, plus had me forgetting a lot early on that Colin was the MC, not Ryland. As for Georgina, she's the main reason I read this book. After the last one, which was only okay for me, I probably wouldn't have continued the series, except that the synopsis for this one really intrigued me, hinting at a secret that was the reason she acted the way she does. I wanted to know what it was. And that part of the story was good, I thought. She was really a lot more real than she appeared, and I loved seeing the shift in her life when things started to change. Her relationship with her sister was a bright spot for me too.

I don't know if I can quite explain adequately why I felt the way I did about this book. It was okay, but somehow didn't have much charm to it for me. Many others feel differently, though, so click the link below if you are interested and want to see what others thought. As for me, I won't be continuing this series. ( )

The Best-laid Plans of Mice and Men and Georgiana
I really enjoyed reading An Elegant Facade. It has a lot of the same characters that are in A Noble Masquerade. The main character of the story is youngest sister Georgiana. The way she presents herself makes her very easy to dislike. Through circumstances and a relationship with Colin McCrae, a friend of her brothers, her secret is found out and her true nature comes out in the end. I found the characters all to be well developed. I found it to be an exciting and fun read. Can't wait for Kristi's next book An Uncommon Courtship due out in January. ( )

An Elegant Façade by Kristi Ann Hunter is the second novel in her Hawthorne House series set in the early 1800’s London. Young Georgina is desperately trying to find a proper husband, a duke, to secure her place in society before her secret is exposed and makes her a laughing stock.
Collin McCrae is a gentleman with no title but is wealthy due to his successful ability to seek out business deals at the right time. He is invited everywhere but would never make a proper husband to a lady high in society.
When their paths cross they are both faced with a difficult decision, their dreams or their happiness.

This took me a little while to get into this book. The story was good but there wasn’t a hook, so to speak, in the beginning. I found myself putting it down to do other things and then picking it back up. The farther it got into the book however, the more interesting it got. I finally got to the point, after about 100 pages, that I did not wanting to put it away.
This is a Christian romance novel but the religious aspects of the book are not thrown in your face like some are. They are subtlety place throughout the book so that it is not all at once and overbearing. The characters are well developed and relatable. This is the kind of story you can get lost in for a while.
This book was fun to read and had points to ponder. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

*I received this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.
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I had some reservations about the last book in this trilogy, which was the story of Miranda, the eldest sister of the four aristocratic Hawthorne siblings, story although I enjoyed it overall. This was less about the espionage, and more about the young debutante trying to hide a secret which would make her out as a social failure. She had dyslexia, which prevented her from reading more than a few sentences, or being able to write legibly.

Honestly, I loved this book quite a lot more than the first. Georgina, the female protagonist is like marmite- you either love her or hate her, and I absolutely loved her! Yes, she was mercenary, manipulative and shallow, but there was something endearing about her. Perhaps it was her vulnerability or determination. Perhaps because I have some experience of dyslexia I sort of identified with Georgina's eccentricities and frustration.

The story follows Georgina's attempts to find a husband, and how her path crosses with Colin McRae, the Scottish businessman who has dealings with her family, and just does seem to keep appearing. As motives and social engagements clash, Colin and Georgina motives, personalities and secrets must be confronted so they can face their families, and discover the true meaning of love. The banter and rivalry between the two of them provided plenty of humour and character exploration, and when voice of Georgina's conscience manifesting as a 'Tiny Colin in her head' was a stroke of genius.

There was romance, inevitably, but it was not too mushy. The characters don't really even confront their feelings for each other until the end. Perhaps it was a bit forced, as some have suggested. The religious content was not overdone (again a little bit forced at the end), and Georgina's struggles to work out how she felt about God seemed credible enough.

My only real complaint is that as with the last book, there were a lot of Americanisms in the character's speech and the narration. Not as many as last time admittedly, and 'biggies' seem to have been avoided, but some did annoy me. A character at one point said 'Should I write him back’? when a native Brit would have said 'Should I write back to him'.
It might seem like nit-picking, but phrases like that just don't fit into the settings, and make the writing seem clunky and unnatural.
Also, the characters seemed to be continually eating their breakfast with just a fork, like Americans, rather than a knife and fork as would have been normal in polite British society, and is still the norm over here.

This complaint aside, An Elegant Facade was a pleasant and cleverly written Regency, exploring some interesting and unusual subjects, and important themes with sensitivity. At the same time, it was not too deep and the tone remained witty and light-hearted for the most part. Recommended for Regency fans.

I received a free e-book from Netgalley, and a print copy of this book from the publisher and their UK distributor for the purposes of writing a review. I was not required to write a positive one and all opinions expressed are my own.
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