Winning the Wallflower - Eloisa James

It could only happen in a fairy tale.Lady Lucy Towerton:
Plain and tall. (According to the lady herself.)
Titled and irreproachably proper. (According to her fiancé.)
Until, overnight, she becomes
Lady Lucy Towerton:
Heiress. (Thanks to an aged aunt’s bequest.)
Belle of the ball. (So say the fortune hunters of the ton.)
In charge of her own destiny (finally!), Lucy breaks her engagement and makes up her mind never to be proper again…

I decided to pick it up another novella by Eloisa James and I must say that this time I was pleasantly surprised!

I've read lots of stories where the heroine is a wallflower that feels forced to accept a marriage proposal because she has no other prospects. Or where the untitled gentleman courts a titled lady to move up in society. Here James mixes both plots with great results.

Lucy is a wallflower. She is tall, not a particular beauty and has no fortune. When a wealthy and untitled gentleman proposes she is forced by her mother  to accept. However Lucy becomes an heiress unexpectedly and now her mother believes she can do much better. The preference is someone with a title and whose parents don't have a scandalous past like Lucy's fiance's mother. But Lucy doesn't want to give up Cyrus. He is most handsome and although she gets tongue tied each time he is near she is looking forward to becoming his wife... to thwart her mother's plans she is even decided to get herself compromised by him...

But when they meet Lucy realises that Cyrus has a plan. A plan to regain his mother's place in society and that's why he proposed. Not because he liked her but because he wanted a sensible marriage with no feelings involved. Lucy gets so mad that instead of getting compromised she ends it then and there.But her passionate reaction gets to Cyrus and soon he is pursuing her because he feels attracted to her and Lucy is leading him on a merry chase while she decides if he is worthy of her.

I quite liked how they danced around each other once Lucy breaks up with Cyrus and their roles change. Now Lucy is a very eligible heiress and Cyrus has to win her from the other gentleman how now keep her company. Of course Lucy is still very much attracted to Cyrus but her new status loosened her tongue and brought her a new sense of self worth and she is very much decided to only give in to him when he proves he is pursuing for no other reason than the fact that he wants to (meaning no Plan behind his actions).

Sweet, funny and passionate. I had a really good time reading it!

Grade: 4/5