I enjoyed the story, but I had a really hard time being able to like the book. It was not very engaging in the beginning and the end went too quickly. I would recommend this to anyone who likes historical romance.

Thank you to Sabrina Jeffries, Kensington Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This Regency Romance is about the three Harper sisters who have used each of their attributes to help them create a business that had become the most sought-after aid to throwing social events, called Elegant Occasions. Where they are hired to help prospective debutants become successful. This is the second book of this series and is Eliza and Nathaniel’s story.

Mrs. Eliza Pierce is the widow of Nathaniel’s eldest and closest friend Samuel who died in the war in the peninsula. Nathaniel hires Elegant Occasions to help Mrs. Jocelin March’s coming out to society for the season after losing her father and her husband in the war, leaving her with a small son.

Although Nathaniel Stanton, the Earl of Foxstead is strictly just Jocelin guardian, he is hoping that by using the sisters’ business, him and Eliza will become closer, since he has always been taken by her beauty. But he is also hiding some rather major secrets as well. That just might cause obstacles on the path to love!

Witty banter, seduction, and passion blend seamlessly to create this entertaining, emotional romance. With an intriguing plot, and complex characters to provide the perfect sensual escape. There’s nothing I didn’t love about What Happens In The Ballroom, especially its lush captivating glimpse into history.

I received an early copy and this is my honest review.

The premise of the series is simple: the Harper sisters weathered a family scandal and came out the other side by starting their own business, preparing young ladies for their debuts and helping them navigate Society. This second in the series focuses on eldest sister Eliza, whose less-than-ideal left her widowed several years earlier. His best friend, Nathaniel, newly the Earl of Foxstead, comes back into Eliza’s life hoping she and her sisters can help his new ward make an advantageous match in London.

Of course, nothing is ever that simple. Eliza and Nathaniel have chemistry to spare, and readers will decide early on that he’s probably a better match than her husband ever was. Their romantic scenes together are clever and romantic and steamy all at once. But the reasons they shouldn’t be together are many – they have a professional relationship now, she never wants to marry again, and, in true regency romance fashion, he has too many secrets he doesn’t think he can reveal yet.

I happened to predict all of Nathaniel’s secrets before they were revealed, and yet, the book was so engaging that I never felt like it was predictable. There was so much going on, but Jeffries makes it work so well. In less capable hands, it could have felt like Too Much, but here, it felt just right. I loved Nathaniel and Eliza possibly even more than the leads of the first book, and I’m so intrigued by youngest sister Verity and her “phantom fellow” that I’m annoyed I have to wait a year for their story.

This story has a special place in my heart. The ending and revelation of the secrets kept me on edge throughout the whole story and I did not see any of it coming. This review may contain some spoilers.
The heroine is the eldest of 3 lady sisters who fell on bad times. The heroine is a 27 year old widow, whose husband was killed in the war. The ladies needed to come up with a way to support themselves and they created a business where they help awkward or shy young ladies become more comfortable with themselves. They teach the young ladies all of the things that are needed such as music, embroidery, polite conversation and dancing. They help the young ladies overcome some social faux pas and they are able to find husbands. They then get paid by the parents and they ask for their clients to refer others. They are attending a musical where the eldest sister is in charge of the activities in addition to playing an instrument and singing. The heroine is approached by a man, who was her husband's best friend. He also went to war with her husband, but he made it back safely. The hero is attending the musical with his sister, who is not husband hunting and his ward. His ward is actually the daughter of his commanding officer. The same battle that killed the heroine's husband, injured the girl's father and he died about a week later. The daughter is also a widow with a rambunctious son. He asks the heroine for help in making his ward more comfortable since she was raised by her father and did not have very much society experience. The heroine and her sisters agree to help the hero out. The heroine's sisters tell the heroine that she is ready to move on and the hero seems interested. But the hero is holding back some crucial information.
Boy, I wish I could give more information, but that would ruin the whole story. Like I said, I did not see much of the drama and revelations that occurred in the story.i really liked the characters and the supporting characters ters. I liked who this was part of a series, but this story was stand alone about the hero and heroine. The part of the story that relied on the series was the fact that the three sisters run a business together. I liked this story from start to finish. I give it 5 stars and recommend reading.

This is the first book that I have read from Sabrina Jefferies. You can get the story and not have to have read another story as in a stand alone. The heroine is a strong widow who has to learn the facts of her deceased army husband from the hero who was best friends and army buddies with him. The interaction comes through the past to the present. I will read any book by this author now.
I received the ARC from NetGalley and leaving my review by my own accord.

The Designing Debutantes series is back, featuring Eliza, the eldest sister, and Nathanial, Lord Foxstead who's held a special place in his heart for Eliza. He's never voiced his intentions since she's become a widow. Nathanial tries desperately but fails miserably to resist her after he hires Elegant Occasions to sponsor his ward.

What Happens in the Ballroom is a quick read full of witty banter between the love interests. This book is the perfect read for lovers of this genre. Look forward to the next installment.

Thank you Kensington for the complimentary copy.

A delightful romance with subtle intrigue to keep you glued to the page. I truly love the Harper sisters, they stand out from the usual regency heroines in their ambition. Running a business is not the norm of this age and yet they pull it off with grace and style. Eliza proved to be an immensely strong woman who knew how to push back. This made her an incredibly enjoyable heroine. Everyone knows a reformed rake makes the best husbands and that’s precisely what Nathaniel is. Despite everything he did always strive to be the best man for her. I cannot wait for Verity’s story, and to finally solve the mystery of the Phantom Fellow.

Eliza Pierce is enjoying her life, having gained financial success with her business ‘Elegant Occasions’, together with her sisters. After the death of her military husband, his best friend, Nathaniel Stanton, the Earl of Foxstead, approaches her and her business, to help Jocelin, a young widow of an officer, become part of high society. Yet Eliza begins to wonder about their relationship and whether it is as platonic as he suggests and if Jocelin’s son, is actually his own child. However, whenever they are together, Nathaniel and Eliza are unable to keep their attraction hidden. What is stopping them from finding happiness, is the secrets that Nathaniel is hiding from her.
Once again, Jeffries presents a strong minded woman, who is charge of her future, once she has the financial means to do so. Together with her sisters, Eliza knows what she wants in life, and won’t let a man cloud her judgement. However, I did admire Nat for his determination to protect Jocelin. An easy read with plenty of engaging dialogue between the couple and many of the secondary characters.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am smitten with Nathaniel. He now belongs to my list of favorite Sabrina heroes – Marcus, Daniel, Giles, David, Dom and now Nathaniel. What I love about Sabrina’s stories is all of the dialog. I love loads of dialog. I laughed out loud at some of the banter. I felt so sorry for Eliza. She was just living her life and wham everything hit her. She is strong and I love that about her. There are loads of secrets that do eventually come out and I did not guess all of them. Very nice, Sabrina. These two made me feel like old friends conversing with me. The last story was a little slow in parts but this one was just how fast can I turn the pages kind of story. Amazingly good.

Such an enjoyable read! I love having a new Sabrina Jeffries book on my Kindle because I know I’m in for a good time. And I definitely had a good—nay, a great—time with this one.

Eliza is a widow who has soured on marriage after her husband, handsome and charismatic though he was, proved to be a dissolute disappointment. Using her brain and with the help of her sisters, she creates for herself a life of freedom, and I couldn’t help but admire her strength. She holds her own against her Nathaniel, and to see them go toe-to-toe is a lot of fun.

There’s also a touch of intrigue about this book—Nathaniel’s keeping secrets, not to mention Elegant Occasions’ mystery guest—which adds an edge to that fun. When coupled with the steam rising from some of Eliza and her Earl’s most fraught moments, it makes for a book that’s very hard to put down.

Brilliantly written, with a heroine who is no damsel in distress in need of a rescue and a hero who makes mistakes but ultimately rights his wrongs (and who cares for those around him), What Happens in the Ballroom completely charmed me.

This is a wonderful addition to Sabrina Jeffries lovers’ libraries. With a sweet, secretive love story that will charm you beginning to end. I found this to be a classic story that floats all romance novel boats.

It's complicated...

Nathaniel's friend Samuel was married to Eliza, but he died in the war.
Nathaniel is filled to the brim with secrets, one very, very obvious one that involves Eliza, unbeknownst to her. Yet, he blithely embroils her in a scheme to launch his ward Jocelin into society. He is a ninnyhead who constantly puts Jocelin before Eliza, Eliza is capable, kind, caring and very talented, yet she is continually betrayed by men, her father., husband and by Nathaniel. Repeatedly.

Yet, i liked the story (its get complicated with the family ties). because Eliza is great and though Nathaniel is not the brightest bulb (he believes the things Eliza's husband told him and never wavers from that) and is not rational in the least, he's at least a well intended lunkhead.
4.5

I received a copy of this title from the publisher, but all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. What Happens in the Ballroom is the second title to feature the Harper sisters who run Elegant Occasions, which is a party planning business. Eliza Pierce married young and her husband died fighting Napolean. His friend Nathaniel has always been attracted to Eliza and it is clear that her husband wasn't the wasn't the best. Nathaniel needs Eliza and her business to help find a husband for his widowed "ward" Jocelin. She's the daughter of the general that both Nathaniel and Samuel served under. There is an underlying secret surrounding Jocelin and Nate is desperate to find her a new husband before the secret is exposed. Eliza at first suspects that Nate may have been involved with Jocelin given his rakish past reputation but comes to realize that the only woman he is interested in is her. The secret was slowly revealed and had an interesting twist that I didn't see coming. I liked the banter between Eliza and Nate and found their romance to be well done. I'm looking forward to the final book in the series featuring Verity and the mysterious man who she hasn't been able to catch.

Most of the issue's with this relationship are down to the fact Nathaniel told a lot of lies and while he felt he had a genuine reason for this it did cause most of the problems between the two. There is a feeling of attraction from the start however there was not a great deal of development in the relationship but there is lots of humour and banter between the two which is entertaining and well written. Overall it felt like a light hearted and fun story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

4.5 Stars
Military widow Eliza Pierce is enjoying her freedom and financial success as part of Elegant Occasions. But when her late husband's best friend, Nathaniel Stanton, the Earl of Foxstead, hires her to help Jocelyn, another young widow become part of high society, she can't help but wonder why. His explanation of honouring her father’s dying words don't seem to tell the whole story. Nathaniel's family situation makes it difficult for him to marry, so his attraction to Eliza is an unwelcome complication. Burdened by family secrets and those of his commanding officer, Nathaniel is determined not to be distracted, but the fetching Eliza keeps tempting him to break his own rules.
Eliza is the second of the three sisters to find love. A very well written book with strong characters, the author is just so good at portraying characters of depth. I loved Nathaniel & Eliza’s journey to a HEA but Nathaniel has quite a few secrets & as they were gradually revealed the trust between the couple was put to the test. I loved the chemistry between the couple & how they enjoyed spending time together. The secondary characters were also well portrayed & of course Jimmy was an absolute delight. I look forward to Verity’s story
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

The charming and flirty dialogue effectively offsets the tension created by the potentially devastating secrets and self-doubt.

Eliza Pierce and her two sisters built Elegant Occasions from the ground up after Eliza’s husband died in the war and left her with nothing. Nathaniel Stanton, Earl of Foxstead and her husband’s best friend, wants to hire the trio to help a war widow under Nathaniel’s care find a husband. Jocelyn makes googly-eyes at Nathaniel and her young son adores him, leaving Eliza to wonder what the truth about their relationship is. Nathaniel can’t keep his eyes (and hands) off Eliza and Eliza is ready to explore this attraction, but there may be too many secrets that could upset everything.

Nathaniel had some skeletons in his own closet and he was also keeping secrets surrounding Jocelyn and her son. So while his feelings for Eliza were very real, their interactions were always clouded by the things he refused to share with her. Eliza realized that he was being cagey, and she didn’t put up with that for long. I loved how she consistently stood up for herself, against her father as well, despite the fact that her late husband had planted a bunch of doubts about herself in her mind. Nathaniel was very self-aware about his faults and he felt that he didn’t deserve Eliza. His playful nature brought Eliza out of her serious shell. I loved the moments when they gave in to their attraction. Their flirting positively sizzled.

Both characters went through growth and changes and had to learn to be more open with each other. The mystery about Jocelyn had me in knots too and I devoured the book fairly quickly. I was eager to know everything and to see Eliza and Nathaniel together.

This book is part of a series about the three sisters, but it stands well on its own too. The first book does an excellent job of explaining the start-up of Elegant Occasions and you don’t want to miss that. I can highly recommend this book if you like steamy historical romance with a strong female lead.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much, I have read another series by Sabrina Jeffries and for me, she can write such big secrets in her stories, that even though we are curious and I'm a big thriller fan I could not see all of them, so I was really surprised, and that it is a great feeling. The female lead is a widower, which is not the most common either, so it was great for her to rediscover love, and consider marriage again, and also we have several feminist remarks about women and how much they can suffer in that society.

Thanks #NetGalley for the advanced copy of #WhatHappensintheBallroom by Sabrina Jeffries in exchange for an honest review.

Wow - what a great book. I have to admit I love a retired soldier story and this one gave lots of what I love about those stories so that was an added bonus. Sabrina Jeffries writes stories that are fun and easy to read. Her characters are likable even when they are making bad decisions too. The secret was a little easy to figure out but that didn't lessen my enjoyment of the book. Looking forward to more of this series and more by this author.

3.5 stars

This was sweet, and classic Sabrina Jeffries. While I haven't read the first installment in the Designing Debutantes series, I found Eliza's story in What Happens in the Ballroom to be quite enjoyable.

I was hesitant at first, as I often find romances where secrets are obviously being kept to be tedious and often frustrating. However, I could understand both Eliza's and Nathaniel's motivations given their backstories, and why certain secrets were kept. Ultimately, the revelation of those secrets was also done quite well and added further understanding to the story instead of detracting from it, or being useless tension.

The banter and courting in this book was sweet, and I love reading about a heroine in regency times that is doing well for herself, and isn't afraid to go after what she wants and live how she wants to live (even if sometimes it is a bit historically inaccurate).

What Happens in the Ballroom is set to be published March 28, 2023. Thank you to Kensington Books, Zebra, NetGalley and the author for the advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

One of the things I love about reading is that I can still come across an author who has apparently written over fifty books in one of my favourite genres and I have not read one of them. Well I have now and I can safely say there will be more to come!

What Happens in the Ballroom is a Regency Romance about a group of sisters who have their own business helping prospective debutantes make themselves successful. The first book which I have not yet read featured Diana and this one centres around Eliza who is a war widow. The object of her affections is Nathaniel, formerly a close friend of the departed husband.

Of course the path of true love is not easy and Nathaniel in particular causes some major obstacles along the way. There is a lot of humour and banter between the two which is entertaining and well written. This is a light hearted and enjoyable read and I recommend it to fans of the genre.