At Your Request (Apart from the Crowd #0.5) by Jen Turano

Title: At Your Request (Apart from the Crowd #0.5)

Author: Jen Turano

Pages: 105

Year: 2017

Genre: Historical Romantic Comedy

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers

Format: eBook

About the book:

     After Miss Wilhelmina Radcliff’s father lost the family fortune in a poor investment decision, she finds herself banished from the fashionable set within New York society and directly into the wallflower section. Taking on work as a social secretary in order to help with family expenses, she spends her time penning out invitations to all the most sought-after events, wondering if her life will ever improve.

     While languishing one evening at a ball given by one of the esteemed New York patriarchs, Wilhelmina is appalled to discover that Mr. Edgar Wanamaker, her oldest and dearest friend, and the first gentleman to offer her a marriage proposal, has shown up at the ball unexpectedly, having been absent from New York ever since she rejected his offer years before. 

My review:

     A hilarious historical romantic comedy!

     I have to start by mentioning the names of the characters in this charming novella. I got a chuckle out of quite a few of them just by reading them out loud. I know that different names were popular at different times in history, but I think that the author had to have put extra effort into coming up with some very funny combinations.

     The rules that people were expected to follow within society when attending a ball seemed strange to me. I was surprised to find that there were definite class distinctions within the upper class. I didn’t realize that there was a special area for “wallflowers” and that they were supposed to behave differently.

     I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet Miss Wilhelmina Radcliff and Mr. Edgar Wanamaker. They were well developed and their background as childhood friends was very sweet. I’m very glad that I will have a chance to learn more about the other ladies in the wallflower section in the other books in this series.

     I am definitely giving this delightful story a 5-star rating. I highly recommend it. It would be an excellent choice if you are in the need of cheering up.