A Matchmaking Mismatch

A Matchmaking Mismatch

by Martha Keyes

Formats

Included in Subscription

**Previously published as True of Heart

Love lessons have never gone so awry

Miss Ruth Hawthorn helps support her fatherless family the only way she can: doling out love advice in a local newspaper column under an assumed name, The Swan. When she receives a lucrative request for an in-person consultation from someone signed "O," her brother persuades her to go to London with him, teaching him what he needs to know in order to survive the short appointment. But when "O" moves up the time of the rendez-vous and Ruth's brother is nowhere to be found, she is forced to take matters into her own hands.

Philip Trent, Lord Oxley, knows precisely which woman will best fill his late mother's shoes as the viscountess—now all he needs is a little help winning her over, swarmed as she is by suitors. Ashamed of his ineptitude with women but determined to succeed, Philip secretly enlists help. The youthful, bespectacled Swan seems like the last person capable of providing such help, but Philip finds in the young man both a friend and a confidant, with a surprising understanding of love.

Philip's choice of woman is proving more difficult than anticipated, though, and Ruth's ongoing disguise and frequent meetings with him are taxing her conscience—and her heart. With more secrets than Ruth can manage and a heart long since lost to her most important client, she faces the threat of discovery and ruin—a prospect somehow eclipsed by the heartbreak she will face when those secrets are inevitably discovered by the man she loves.

Formats

Included in Subscription

Genre
Historical Romance
Subgenre
Regency (1811–1820), General Historical, Georgian (1714–1837)
Series
Romance Retold • Book 3
Audience
Adult
Bell Peppers
🫑
Profanity
2 Mild
Violence
2 Mild
Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco
2 Mild
Publication Date
August 15, 2020
Language Versions
English
Narration Type
Human
Fiction Form
Novel

Customer Reviews

Based on 10 reviews
80%
(8)
20%
(2)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
0%
(0)
K
Kindle Customer
"Twelfth Night" meets "Hitch"

I really liked this one! Nice job, Martha! I will likely read it again, she does such a good job of tying it all together and making us love the characters.

K
Kathryn
sweetheart romance that I definitely want more of!

I love all things Twelfth Night and She’s the Man (that movie with Amanda Bynes). There’s something about this trope that is so fun to me and makes the romance feel that much more satisfying. I loved the little twists and turns. It would have been nice if the Christian element was brought forth some more. And if the final resolution didn’t feel so rushed. But all in all, it was a great read. It was a little slow in the beginning but the banter once the main characters meet more than makes up for it. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

C
Camille
Unique and Delightful Regency Retelling

True of Heart was an absolute delight. I made the mistake of starting it late and ended up reading it in one sitting until 3am. While obtaining my English Degree, I grew to really appreciate the works of Shakespeare, so I was thoroughly intrigued to read a Regency rendition of Twelfth Night, and not only did it work, it was absolutely marvelous.

Ruth and Philip meet when he seeks romantic advice from The Swan, the newspaper column Ruth writes and distributes through her twin brother. When he seeks an in-person-consultation, Ruth is left with no choice but dress as a boy…a scheme that goes on far longer than she intended. As their relationship develops with Ruth trapped in her disguise, Philip finds in her a good friend, while she finds herself quickly losing her heart.

Both Ruth and Philip were great characters—Ruth was kindhearted and intelligent, and Philip himself was a charming, good, and honorable, while also quite endearing in his fumbles around women…though he was admittedly insufferable at moments, particularly in one scene at the end, but he did experience some wonderful character growth. Their friendship and later romance was witty and thoroughly sweet.

There are so many fun elements in this story and an array of twists and turns. Knowing the plot of the original play helped me see where some aspects of the story were going, but it did nothing to lessen my enjoyment; it was actually quite fun to anticipate what was going to happen, and then watch it all unfold in a way that exceeded my expectations. The entire plot was both fun, believable, and thoroughly romantic.

Overall, True of Heart was a delight from start to finish. Even though it’s one of the later works in the series, I read this book first in this series of Regency retellings of Shakespeare’s works, and am eager to see how the others unfold, with hopes of more to come.

S
Salutmel02
Fun story

I have never read or seen Twelfth Night, so I don't know how this book compares, but this was a fun, crazy idea. I liked Ruth. She was a really strong woman. I can't imagine going through what she did. I also liked Philip's character. I don't blame him for his moments of anger. I would expect no less. I really liked the story, but I didn't realize how long it was and life kept pulling me away, so there were times I was frustrated it was so long, but really it needed all of it to weave this complicated tale. Philip and Ruth were great together and I really enjoyed their friendship and easy banter. This has been a fun series.

C
C.Stastny Books
Super surprising...in the best of ways.

This book really surprised me in the best of ways. I was expecting just another blah kind of Regency story (don’t get me wrong, I often love these, but they are very similar to each other and hardly ever surprise me), but this one was super unique. It’s a retelling of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and was super riveting. I read it in one day (which I hardly ever do with Regency stories). This had everything I love in a romance—great characters with depth, twists and turns I didn’t see coming, and swoony romance (duh! Ha ha). I loved Ruth, who ends up dressing up like a man to play a part a rich viscount expects when her brother doesn’t show up for the necessary appointment. And as she passes out love advice to a tongue-tied viscount (Philip) as Mr. Ruth, she starts falling for the man she’s helping to woo another woman, a woman who is so much more than she could ever be by birth and station in life. Anyway, it’s a great one. I really was surprised by how much I enjoyed this story and will check out more of Ms. Keyes books in the future.

Skip to product information
1 of 1
View full details