Book Review: Blinded by Grace by Becky Lower

Blurb:

New York City, 1858

Halwyn Fitzpatrick thinks he's off the hook for attendance at the annual Cotillion Ball. He has no sister to shepherd down the grand staircase this year, and no real desire to go through the rituals of courtship and betrothal himself. Besides, he'll know the right girl when he sees her—especially now that he has new spectacles. But his mother has other plans for him. At twenty-seven years of age, her son is in dire need of a wife.

Grace Wagner needs a husband by July in order to inherit the trust her father has left for her. Her stepfather, though, has plans for the money that don't include Grace, and the last thing he wants is for her to find a husband before she turns twenty-one, thereby fulfilling the terms of the trust. She's been in love with Halwyn since she was thirteen, but he hasn't noticed her at any of the balls they've been at over the years.

With the aid of his new glasses, he spies Grace from across the room and they share a dance. Grace decides to present him with a business proposition that will satisfy them both. But can a clueless knight in shining armor and a desperate damsel in distress find a way to turn this marriage of convenience into something more?

My Review:

What happens when the best laid plans to give you what you want, ends up not really being exactly what you want after all? For Grace, that's a hard thing to figure out. Good thing she had some Fitzpatricks at her back to meddle... er... help things along.

I adored Grace, even though at times I so wanted to shake her out of her martyr-like thoughts. She was determined to protect those around her and was willing to risk her heart being trampled on to accomplish it. And her sweetness and humbleness made her all the more charming.

Halwyn proved himself to be a worthy hero for Grace. While he may have been a little slow in realizing how much he was drawn to Grace and why he was drawn to her, his actions proved early on that he was all in for claiming Grace for his own. And when circumstances allowed him to act, he shone brightly - whether in pursuing Grace's heart or rescuing his damsel from her distresses.

This was a fun change-of-pace setting for me, going back in time to Eastern society protocol. It's so easy when reading historical stories to forget about the specifics of "back in Eastern society", where rules of the strictest nature condemn more quickly than forgive, but where heroes (and heroines) can emerge as gallant and strong as anyone else.

I truly enjoyed my time with Grace and Halwyn and look forward to discovering more of the Fitzpatrick siblings' stories.

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