I stopped a couple of times during my read to appreciate and just be in awe of EJ’s writing, so if you are a fan or seeking a new author to read, you will not be disappointed. If you love reading about independent women and men who know the value of letting go for something more valuable, then you will enjoy this book. Who knew kippers would create a connection, allowing a friendship and romance to bloom. I love how kippers play a role in this book. However, the wager allows as much close proximity between the two who keep having to set boundaries denying their desire for each other. I love the wager the enemies cook up because it meant they can make each other look a fright. He goes as far as moving into Cleo’s hotel to convince her to give Quimby’s up. Jake Astor Addison cannot deny the talent he sees in Martha Quimby and offers her more than Cleo did to ensure she becomes a part of his investments back home. Being in business herself, Cleo realizes that the unsigned contract allows her to become the savior of Quimby’s. She walks into Quimby’s for WF-esque dresses and finds out that the proprietor has to move to America because of a stipulation in a contract. But unlike the noblemen at her feet, he doesn’t belong in her refined and cultured world.Ĭaught between the demands of honor and desire, Jake would give up everything to be with the woman he loves-if she’ll have him!Ĭleo Lewis’s goal is to be a wallflower. It isn’t until Cleo becomes the toast of all society that Jake realizes she’s stolen his fiercely guarded heart. And somehow in the middle of their lively competition, Jake becomes her closest friend.

Cleo can’t resist the fun of clothing the rough-hewn American in feathers and flowers. Jake strikes a devil’s bargain, offering to design her “wallflower wardrobe” and giving Cleo the chance to design his. He’s furious when a she-devil masquerading as an English lady steals Quimby’s Costume Emporium from under his nose. Powerful and charismatic Jacob Astor Addison is in London, acquiring businesses to add to his theatrical holdings in America-as well as buying an emerald for a young lady back in Boston. But since she has no intention of marrying, she visits a costume emporium specifically to order unflattering dresses guaranteed to put off any prospective suitors. Miss Cleopatra Lewis is about to be launched in society by her aristocratic grandfather.

From New York Times bestseller Eloisa James, a new Regency-set novel in which a heiress with the goal of being a wallflower engages a rugged American in a scorchingly sensual, witty wager that tests whether clothing does indeed make the man-or the wallflower! A perfect companion story to Eloisa's My American Duchess.

How to be a wallflower eloisa james