Miss Smith was as fiery as she was beautiful, it seemd - a combination he would find most attractive were he looking...which he was not.
Synopsis
Cassandra Vail has but one objective at the Kellens’ ball: she must secure a proposal from her eminently suitable suitor. Instead, she finds her best-laid plans thwarted by another man―the handsome and thoroughly vexing Mr. Harwood. Thanks to his meddling, Cassandra is faced with an unthinkable consequence: her parents take matters into their own hands and betroth her to a complete stranger.
Tom Harwood meant only to deter a debutante from pursuing his friend. He wasn’t supposed to be entranced by her. He certainly wasn’t supposed to flirt with her. And he especially wasn’t supposed to engage the wrong woman entirely. To make matters worse, he’s offended Cassandra and before he has the opportunity to make amends, he finds himself the latest unwitting victim of the meddlesome Matchmaking Mamas. His parents have signed a contract for his hand in marriage, and it seems his mysterious betrothed is as opposed to the union as he is.
When the reluctant couple finally meets, they are shocked to realize they are not strangers after all. Can one miserable beginning be overcome, or has their future ended before it even begins?
Thoughts & Feelings
The second Matchmaking Mamas book is finally here! I absolutely LOVED the first book, Bargaining for the Barrister, and have been eagerly awating more shenanigans from our fantastic musical society.
An Unwitting Alliance surprised me at almost every turn. While there are definitely some matchmaking mamas involved, they take a very different route. We don't "see" them as much but they still play an important role in this story. Instead of being quite mischevious and constantly sticking their hands in the mess, our matchmaking mamas play more of a background role. Our main man, Tom, and leading lady, Cassandra, suddenly find themselves engaged. Never mind that they have never met before. Their mothers, and fathers, are the matchmakers in this novel. BUT Tom receives a note from his mother in which all of the ladies from the musical society have written their advice for him. We get the advice piece by piece throughout the story and I loved seeing what each lady had to say to him.
If you're sad about not having as much matchmaking shenangians never fear! Anneka R. Walker has made it up to us by giving us a deeper look into the Rebels. We not only get to see their love and support for Tom, similar to how we saw it for Paul, but we also get to see them "right wrongs!" You are going to LOVE these moments! We get to see the initial scouting out, the spontaneous meeting and planning, and even the carrying out of the mission. These moments allow us to get to know each of the Rebels a little better and we get a really good look at how they all interact and where their strengths lie.
Lastly, I adore Tom and Cassandra. Anneka did a fantastic job writing realistic and deep characters that I easily became attached to. Their backgrounds, struggles, and family relationships were beautirfully written and I was torn between what I wanted to outcome of the story to actually be! I mean I always want the happily ever after, but could definitely see and understand why Tom and Cassandra didn't want to be forced into marriage. I loved watching their individual journeys and healings that occured throughout the novel. I didn't cry, but my heart still hurt for them.
I one hundred percent recommend this book and series to everyone and cannot wait for the third book to release. I'm really hoping we get one of the lovely Rebel ladies stories next. What do you think?
Book Tags
Language
clean
Steam Level
clean, kissing
Content & Trigger Warnings
death of a close family member, grief
Book Information
Title: An Unwitting Alliance
Series: Matchmaking Mamas #2
Author: Anneka R. Walker
Rating: 5/5
Matchmaking Mamas Series
Bargaining for the Barrister
An Unwitting Alliance