Review copy was received from Publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Maid by Amy D'Oragzio, Jessie Lewis Series: Rags to Riches #1
Published by Quills & Quartos Publishing on September 10, 2024
Genres: Historical Romance
Pages: 282
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Amazon
MISS ADELAIDE BOOKER IS A HOUSEMAID with a secret—a secret so deeply buried that even she doesn’t know about it, until the amiable and familiar-looking Viscount Oakley uncovers her hidden past. She is not who she thought she was but rather Miss Adelaide Richmond, long lost daughter of the estranged son of an earl. And her family wants her back.
THRUST SUDDENLY INTO THE WORLD OF EARLS AND DUKES, Society balls, and the London Season, Adelaide struggles to find her place among the very people whose bed sheets she once changed. Missteps abound, and it will take a stalwart champion and a patient heart to teach her she can be loved again. The only question that remains is, which of her many admirers loves her enough to wait for her to learn?
A maid with a mysterious past finds herself the object of a young lord’s interest. Something tells her this is about more than the usual attempt to seduce a servant and if she believes his surmise about their connection, her life has just changed forever. Both Jessie Lewis and Amy D’Orazio have separately written books that have been among my favorites over the years. I didn’t even hesitate to snatch up the first of their rags to riches trope Regency era historical romance.
We’ve all seen Cinderella play out many times and many different ways in the romance genre and then there are the Pygmalion-styled stories with their turn a gutter snipe into a lady fun. The Maid is something of both and I was there for it, but these authors infused this story with so much heart and depth so I got ever so much more than I was expecting.
Adelaide Richmond has never had it easy and can’t even fathom not struggling for what she needs or trusting anyone beyond herself. Then along comes a wealthy young viscount, heir to an earldom, who tells her she’s a long lost sister. She’s barely had a chance to swallow this when he and her aunt want to launch her on the London scene – to disastrous results, she imagines.
Adelaide was always more than a simple maid, but her upbringing was stark and in households lacking in gentility. I greatly appreciated how her emotional, mental, and physical struggles to contort herself into the persona of a lady of rank was difficult and extreme. She’s near breaking so many times and I loved how a certain gentleman was always there to quietly hold her steady or simple give her a chance to just be with the storm of it all swirling around her.
Naturally, Adelaide jumped to conclusions about him from the start- as the reader, I knew she had him pegged wrong. So, I appreciated how she had to make several false steps before getting it right with her romance. Meanwhile, it was a when not if someone was going to spill the tea about her being a maid and her poor origins so I was left knowing there was going to be quite the climax in the story when that happened. Boy was it a doozy!
The Maid was a marvelous start to the Rags to Richmond series and I am primed to push forward with the next long lost Richmond to get her story. Those who enjoy sweet class difference historical romances need to add this one to the reading pile.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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Love the sounds of this!!!
I brings together all the good stuff so nicely. 🙂
I love the sound of this one! that play on Cinderella is always fun. 😀
Yes, we all want the underdog to win. 🙂
This sounds great and sounds like it had a great endings. Happy Halloween.
Yes, it was a good start and I really loved how this wrapped up. I need to press on for the rest of the series.
Happy Halloween, Mary!
Sounds like a lovely, emotional romance. Glad you enjoyed it.
I’m not big on lots of emotion, but this was just right. 🙂