SummaryMiss Annabelle Honeycote is a seamstress in a London dress shop. She is trying to make ends meet for her ill mother and sister, Daphne Honeycote. When her mother, a commoner, married her father, a son of a viscount, the viscount grandfather disowned his son. He did not even respond to his son’s dying wish to care for his wife and two daughters. After the death of her father, Annabelle and her family are in dire financial straits. Her wages earned at the dress shop are insufficient to pay the bills for her mother from the doctor and the apothecary, rent in a dilapidated building, and minimal food. She concocts an extortion scheme based on scandalous secrets she learns at the dress shop. She imposes a list of “nevers” which limit the damage of the extortion, including the demand of very small payments. Annabelle is very remorseful of her actions. She is successful until she demands a payment from Owen Sherbourne, the Duke of Huntford in regard to a supposedly scandalous relationship of his sister, Olivia, with the stable master. Owen catches Annabelle in the act and the sparks begin to fly. The main conflict between the hero and heroine is class distinction in Regency England. Moreover, Owen has his own problems. Disaster struck three years ago when his mother ran off to Europe and abandoned her family, his father committed suicide in their London home, and the estate is almost in financial ruin. His youngest sister, Rose, has not spoken for three years. He works his fingers to the bone to bring the estate back up to snuff in record time and he is trying to protect his sisters.My Review Where has author Anne Barton been all our lives? Each chapter opens with a definition of one word that has two meanings. The definitions are short, to-the-point, and never distracting. The first meaning relates to sewing which is Annabelle’s occupation and the second meaning is a clever way of foreshadowing events with just a twist of humor to make the reader grin in anticipation. The entertainment does not stop here. Some kind of humor, whether it be witty descriptions or self-deprecating inner dialogue appears on almost every page, guaranteed to keep the reader smiling from ear to ear throughout the book. For example, the author describes Owen’s flustering effect on the dress shop owner who made an error in computing the bill as, “He was the sort of man who could make a girl forget to carry her tens.” Even the description of the butler’s “bushy white eyebrows drawn together like two damned caterpillars mating. If caterpillars even did. Good God,” is funny. Annabelle’s self-deprecating description of herself as “a grape shriveling on the vine” in comparison to her stunning sister is amusing. The humor blends in well with this warm story of human nature. It is refreshing to see that people can have a good side. Owen is the hero of all heroes. He tries to act like a tough, arrogant duke, but on the inside he is a teddy bear when it comes to Annabelle, his sisters, and his fourteen great aunts! After he waits all night under the bridge and then catches Annabelle in the act of extortion, he comes up with a plan to take her into his house to make a wardrobe for his sisters instead of turning her into the authorities. He pays her mother’s medical bills, sends money to her mother and sister, and even discovers that the doctor treating her mother is a fraud who is in cahoots with the apothecary. He sends his family physician, the best one in London, to treat her mother which probably saves her life. Owen replaces her damaged eye glasses with better fitting ones and he thinks she is beautiful. Annabelle is loyal to her family and only wants what is best for them. She genuinely befriends his sisters who need her guidance. The attraction is immediate between them, but they first build a close friendship and trade secrets. The stumbling block is that she is a servant and he is a duke. The conflict is symbolized by her servant’s cap which annoys him to no end. He does not think it is for her because she is too proud and something keeps niggling in his brain when he observes her polished speaking and manners. She insists on wearing the ugly cap to remind herself of her station and that they never can be together. It is a rough road but love prevails In the end. Anne Barton is a go-to-author because she combines charm, warmth, and humor with the positive side of the human spirit. You don’t want to miss it! I read this series out of order and completely backwards but I am in love with Anne Barton's writing. So I read what came to me first :) This series could easily become one of my favorite ones, I can't wait to read Olivia and Rose's stories!The story is charming and witty, it keeps you on the edge because Owen and Annabelle never really declare themselves. I was waiting till the last minute to see what Owen would do and how he would resolve to get his HEA. Main characters and secondary characters are wonderfully described and they are so lovely that a reader can't help but get attached to them.
What do You think about Secrets Et Préjugés (2014)?
My first book by this author. It was a pleasant surprise. Look forward to more from this author.
—jasmine15
I kept reading after I laughed out loud in the first few pages. I will try Barton again.
—shobana
Fantastic, absolutely loved it. Can't wait for the sister's story.
—MaxSkach
This is the best book I've read in a long time!
—Dragon
