Review: Once Upon a Wallflower
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 5, 2013
Based on the blurb for Once Upon a Wallflower, I was expecting something a little on the dark side, but really, this book is so much fun! I love the combination of historical romance and murder mystery. It was light, fun, steamy, and quite funny at times. It all starts with Mira's uncle owing a debt to Lord Blackwell. As payment he gives away her hand in marriage to the lord's oldest son, Nicholas. Now why does a wealth viscount need a bartered bride? Well, the whole town believes him a murdered who killed his last three fiancees. Luckily, Mira doesn't believe the town gossip and after meeting Nicholas and actually quite liking him, she sets out to find the real murderer!I immediately thought Once Upon a Wallflower was a lot of fun, because Mira is just a great character. She's essentially been sold off against her will, but she takes it in great stride. She knows she's not what Society considers beautiful--she's a plump redhead with attitude--so her marriage prospects aren't many. Plus she's taking her cousin's place! It turns out Lord Blackwell is expecting the gorgeous (blonde) and proper Mirabelle Fitzhenry for his son. Yes, there are two Mirabelle Fitzhenrys! Mira our feisty heroine and Bella, her less feisty cousin. However, Nicholas is quite glad to have gotten Mira instead, since she actually treats him like a person unlike most women.I adored Nicholas, too! He's funny and witty, and doesn't really conform to Society's standards. He's an artist and a bit of a loner, which only fuels the gossip about him. Rumor has it, he practices black magic and sacrifices young women! Ridiculous! Once Upon a Wallflower focuses on he and Mira attempting to prove his innocence and flush out the real culprit. Nicholas and Mira are a great team, working through the incidents logically. However, Nicholas has a secret that may put a damper on Mira's investigations. The mystery was great, and totally held my attention. There's plenty of scandals revealed along the way! I also solved this one before Mira did! I felt so smart!Once Upon a Wallflower was just a good time! Even though I was expecting something dark and sexy, I became completely smitten with this adorable mystery. There are some steamy scenes, but I don't think the romance was the focus at all, and that was fine. I enjoyed clue hunting with Mira, and I loved how no matter what happened, she was not deterred from her goal!*Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher through NetGalley for review. No compensation was offered or accepted.