CBR16 Bingo: Celestial – Teddy paints Stella as Electra, one of the Pleiades of Greek mythology – the daughters of the Titan Atlas who were transformed into stars by Zeus.
Grey-haired Stella is the only one of her friends still unwed, and does not expect to marry soon either. But between her new acquaintance with aspiring artist Teddy and the pressure from her brother’s impending marriage, Stella finds that her path may not be what she always envisioned.
After a whirlwind read of the previous three books in the Belles of London series, we conclude with the story of Stella Hobhouse, a clergyman’s sister who is the best rider of the group. With the way she was left in the last book, it was exciting to be able to pick up right away in that same moment and head off to the races of her and Teddy’s romance!
As usual, Matthews’ latest offering is swoonworthy and sweet, with plenty of humor and friendship mixed in with the romance. Stella and Teddy are well-matched, and I loved seeing how over the course of the book they manage to set each other free. That I am fairly familiar with the historical backdrop of this particular book (specifically the birth of Impressionism) was just the cherry on top.
However, I did think the last section of the book stumbled a little bit, the conclusion drawing out into an anti-climax. I wish I could put my finger on where it fell short – maybe it was that we didn’t see where Stella and Teddy made their last mental leap to the happy ending, or maybe because some loose ends were addressed only in the epilogue. I also thought the blurb revealed a little too much too early – the marriage of convenience doesn’t come around until a good three-quarters through the book!
Overall though, I really enjoyed this series as a whole – and Matthews has definitely found herself another devoted reader.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.