More than a best friend by Emma Alban

Series: Mischief & Matchmaking (#1)

Format: 370 pages, Paperback

Published: January 11, 2024 by Penguin Books

Historical romance/library

I liked this one, it was fun, it had some drama, and at the same time it just had this vibe.

Beth has her first season and she needs to find a husband, or her mother and her will be destitute.

Gwen has had many seasons, and finding a man, eh, she would rather have fun with her friends. Her dad is fun too, a widower with an eye for the ladies, and drinks.

Gwen and Beth becomes friends, and well after a while they will also realise that they like each other more than friends. What I liked here is that the author kept it real. Sure we wish we could change the past, but there still places in the world were it was illegal. So yes they can not be publicly with each other, it is forbidden. But maybe they could find a way to still be together?

So the question is, should Beth marry to save her and her mother (or should they find a husband for her still young mother?). Or should she just forget it all and find a way to get true love?

This is a romance, there is a HEA. Love always finds a way. I enjoyed this a lot. Light and fun.

Love is more than just a game for two. It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street.

Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s inherited her penchant for drinking too much and dancing ‘til dawn.

Beth and Gwen are enchanted with each other on sight. And it doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than join the husband hunt, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly-widowed mother.

They had a fling years ago, after all…