I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Mrs Eliza Pierce, a widow and one of the owners of Elegant Occasions, is enjoying her time in helping young men and women find their place in the ton. With her sister, Diana, now married, Eliza has a greater role in the company, but is still shocked when her late husband's best friend, Nathaniel Stanton, the Earl of Foxstead, arrives in town, begging her to take on his ward as a client, and get her re-married as quickly as possible. Nathaniel's ward is the daughter of his commanding officer, and when he died she was left in his care, as a widow herself, with a young son. But Nathaniel is hiding a secret, and not just that he has always cared for Eliza, and wants her for himself.

This was just the right story for Eliza. When we meet her in A Duke for Diana, it's clear her marriage was not a perfect one, and being a widow is much better for her. I was expecting Sam, her late husband, to have been a bad guy, but he was even worse than I was expecting. Eliza was the daughter of an Earl, though her parents had their own scandals to contend with, and her marriage was too much for her father. I hoped that Nathaniel would've been more forthcoming with her earlier (I'm sorry, but it was clearly obvious what secret's he was hiding from the get go), and definitely agreed with the course of action Eliza took when she discovered the truth. She deserved the very best, and Nathaniel had to work for it - and he did. The subplot of Verity and the Phantom has definitely whet the appetite for her own book, and I'm desperately waiting to read it! Another great book from Sabrina, one not to miss.

It's been awhile since I read something from Sabrina Jeffries and now I remember why the author is one of most liked in historical romance.

This story is very easy to read and the characters give you a sense of familiarity. It was easy to fall into their world, know them and get a sense of what's happening in their circle. The plot seemed simple to me but there's beauty in reading a story that is easy to follow as you get to focus on empathizing with the characters more. I particularly loved the female MC, Eliza, as she is such a strong & independent character. I love a heroine who is firm in her beliefs, values and knows what she wants. The male MC is okay but I feel like he lacked character depth, but he was charming in his own way so you still end up liking him.

Overall, this is a great historical romance read with some swoony scenes and a lovable cast of characters. Sabrina Jeffries will always be a go-to romance author for me! 💖

I love how Eliza and Nathaniel fell in love. It felt so natural and comfortable, and neither truly fought their feelings. This was just fun to read.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Eliza is a widow whose husband was killed in the Peninsular war. Nathaniel was his friend who dared her husband to join up, so he feels guilty now his friend is dead. Nathaniel always had a tendre for Eliza and returns home from Spain with a ward and her son to look after. Eliza and her sisters run "Elegant Occasions", a successful party planning business.

Nathaniel asks Eliza and her sisters to help his ward with her debut, so he can get her married off. Nathaniel has secrets involving Jocelin, ones he worries will ruin any chance of having a relationship with with Eliza which drive the main plot of this book.

My honest review is given in exchange for receiving a free ARC from Netgalley.

Summary
Eliza Pierce is a widow who runs Elegant Occasions, a party planning business, with her sisters. She's approached by her late husband's best friend Lord Foxstead with a request: His ward Mrs. March is a widow of a fellow soldier with a two year old son, and he wants Elegant Occasions to help her come out into society with the aim of finding a husband. Foxstead is inconveniently attracted to Eliza who comes to reciprocate, but their family histories have a way of catching up with them.

Some background:
I read The Truth About Lord Stoneville and How to Woo a Reluctant Lady from Sabrina's Hellions of Halstead Hall series a few months ago on the recommendation of my friend. I also read the first book in her Designing Debutantes series for research (What Happens in the Ballroom is the second).

I could see a clear difference in Sabrina's writing between then and now. In the decade since she published the Hellions series, her dialogue has gotten less cutesy since, though no less humorous, and her heroines have gotten more *knowing*. Like, we've come a long way since Minerva asked Giles if that's a pistol in his pocket. Now, the Harper sisters get their sex ed from "Fallen Females" and casually insinuate they want to have an affair with the hero. Good for them.

My review:
I liked this take on husband's-best-friend-pining-after-his-widow because it was less about the guilt of it all and more about dealing with the fallout of the husband's death, if that makes sense (although I do enjoy when a man feels aaaaaall the shame and guilt).

I also liked that Eliza (and Diana in the previous book) is willing to embrace the grey when it comes to her and Foxstead's relationship. There's not much holier-than-thou railing about him being a rake; instead, she just hooks up with him because she knows he'll make her feel good. Foxstead and Eliza are at their best when they're sneaking around to have sex in random carriages and failing So Hard at being cool ("They'll know we did it if your flowers I tucked between my tits are wilted!" "Dw babe just take them out and put them back in after we fuck in this carriage."). Foxstead is an ex-rake who was reformed by war. I think this makes for a more steady love interest (which, I suppose was the point here, especially compared to Eliza's late husband), but not necessarily a more entertaining one, particularly since his rakishness was diminished by the beginning of the story itself.

Speaking of familial obstacles, the situation with Mrs. March (the situation being, who is she?) carried throughout the story. There were some parts where her subplot and other familial stuff overshadowed the romance. Like, I think even the Big Grovel was hijacked by it? The revelations kept coming even as the story neared the end, and that kinda took away from my enjoyment.

On a separate note, I liked the theme of sisterhood that continues into this book from the last one, particularly when it comes to sticking together through scandal, and how women navigate scandal. It also carries into Mrs. March's situation, which I did appreciate.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review.

What Happens in the Ballroom is a Regency romance which employs many of the common characters and plot devices of Regencies while still feeling fun and fresh. There’s a widow with a not-so-happy first marriage, her dead husband’s best friend, who’s very cute and has secrets of her own, and an interesting cast of supporting characters. I had not read any of this series previously, but liked this so much I went back and read the first book in the series. Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC.

I would purchase a Sabrina Jeffries book without reading the book description. Ms. Jeffries is that good of a writer, and she doesn't disappoint. I will confess I much prefer the title An Earl for Eliza. It fits with A Duke for Diana.

The women of Elegant Occasions, the business the 3 sisters established after the scandal caused by their parents, are hard working, intelligent and loyal. Eliza is such a strong, admirable h, loved by all and deserving of a happily ever after. She is a widow of disappointing marriage. She shares an attraction with her late husband's friend, Nathaniel, the Earl of Foxstead. Throughout the book, I was anxiously awaiting them to find the love and trust they both deserved.

I am so looking forward to Verity and the mystery man's story.

3.75/5 stars! This is the second entry in the "Designing Debutantes" series. I enjoyed the premise and always appreciate women in regency novels snubbing their noses are tradition and societal constraints. This story worked for me in a lot of ways. Eliza is entertaining and her chemistry with Nathaniel was believable. The downfall for me was that there was an especially strong feminist message that just doesn't fit the time period and the pacing led to the stories lagging at times. I will read more from this author to see if other works connect better for me.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Eliza Pierce enjoys her freedom and success as part of Elegant Occasions. Then her late husband’s friend, rake turned soldier Nathaniel Stanton, the Earl of Foxstead, hires Elegant Occasions to help another young widow become part of high society. Nathaniel is hiding secrets that makes it difficult for him to marry, so his attraction to Eliza is a complication. And Eliza’s first husband certainly doesn’t make her want marry again.

I loved A Duke for Diana and was eager to read what I had thought was named An Earl for Eliza. I almost didn’t realize this was her book given the title, which has nothing to do with the plot.

There was too much lust-not-love on Nathaniel’s side for me. It took me a while to warm up to him. He needed a lot more growth than Eliza did. I liked the banter and the quick pace, even though his connection to the young widow was obvious. These might be best read in order because there are many references to the sisters’ backstory and the first book.

I didn’t like this one as much as I enjoyed Diana’s book—probably because I liked Gregory more than Nathaniel—but I’ll definitely read Verity’s story. Presumable the phantom fellow is a viscount…

I was so pleasantly surprised by this one!

I went in very skeptical because I really didn’t enjoy the first in the series, A Duke For Diana. My main issue with it was the up and down, hot and cold nature of the main couple’s relationship and I felt the secrets the hero was keeping from the heroine ultimately turned out to not be that big of deal. I was like what was the point of all that fighting???

This book did have a little bit of up and down between Eliza and Nathaniel, but it wasn’t as unbelievable as Diana and Geoffrey’s was. I was so intrigued by the complicated relationships between Eliza, her late husband, Nathaniel, his ward, her daughter….basically everyone! Sabrina Jeffries did a very good job of slowly revealing bits and pieces of the truth, leading up to the final reveal in the end. Even though I pretty much guessed the big secret, I was still so emotionally invested in the characters and their stories I almost started crying!

Overall, what I’m trying to say is READ IT! I’m glad I enjoyed this one much more than the first in the series, and I seriously can’t wait for Verity’s book. WHO IS THE PHANTOM FELLOW??? I need to know!!!!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

What happens in the Ballroom is the second in Sabrina Jeffries Designing Debutantes series. I enjoyed the first one, so I knew I’d be in for a treat when reading the story of Eliza, a widow and eldest of three sisters, and Nathaniel, The Earl of Foxstead. The Earl had a young widow and her toddler he was helping and hired Eliza and Elegant Occasions (her and her sister’s business) to help the young woman enter into society and make a good match. It didn’t take me long to realize who the young woman and her toddler were, but that didn’t take away any enjoyment of this story. Eliza and the Earl are thrown together often and the attraction is obvious. A good read and I look forward to the next installment of the final sister! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC to read and enjoy.

The Designing Debutantes series feels like a return to form for Sabrina Jeffries! This second installment pairs Eliza, the eldest sister and army widow, with Lord Foxstead, earl and army veteran (oh, and her deceased husband's former BFF). Nathanial has always been intrigued by Eliza, but since she was his bestie's girl, he stayed away. Now that she's free, he's both doing his best to resist her ... but also putting himself in her proximity as much as he can. His ward, Jocelin, needs a sponsor in society, so Nathanial hires Elegant Occasions to ease her way.

This is a quick read that includes some complicated family history, a carriage ride (but without any horses), and some very fun Regency food.

We're going to send you up to your room where you can rest, read, and drink tea and eat cake.

A solid installation in an enjoyable series that blends historical details with a fresh concept.

I love Elegant Occasions and the stories of the sisterhood behind it. Although I felt more of a connection to the couple of the first book in the series, this was an enjoyable and fun read.
Some of the side characters are just amazing. Norris, Eliza's butler, is epic. Jocelin and her suitor are really adorable, and I wish we could get a little novella or something of their story. The sisters are such a sweet group, just like in the previous book. At times Verity and Diana were a little annoying, but I even liked those parts because they felt very genuine.
As I hinted, it was not as good as the first book in the series in my opinion. There were a couple clunky parts that felt forced; for example, when out of the blue at a party Eliza asked Diana, "How do you like being married?" after Diana has been married for months and they see each other every day. The "mystery" didn't feel like a mystery to me at all; I had it figured out in the second chapter.
However, as always Sabrina Jeffrie's writing is excellent. There are great historical details on every page. This really adds another dimension to the book!
You should absolutely check out this series. I'm really looking forward to Verity's book next!

Star Rating: 3.5/5
CW: Abuse, toxic relationship, sexual harassment, adult/minor relationship, infidelity, gaslighting

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nice story with fun surprises. Those surprises are also part of the secrets that almost derail the HEA of the main characters. That Phantom shows again.

A solid historical romance read. I love Sabrina Jeffries books, they are usually full of witty banter, spice and interesting characters. I found that I enjoyed this book but took longer to read it than I usually would. I think it’s because there was a lot of running away by the main characters. It just didn’t work for me. The storyline was good with plenty of intrigue and a predictable twist. Maybe I needed to read the first book before this one?

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 STARS!!!!!

First off, wasn't this book going to be called An Earl For Eliza? No idea why they changed it, but can it be changed before final release? I really liked the alliteration! Especially because there is not much to do with a ballroom in this book...
That being said, what an AMAZING book! I liked 'A Duke for Diana' very much, and this one is even better!
Eliza and Nathaniel are great main characters, they have good chemistry, their banter is funny and compelling, and the conflict provides the correct amount of angst. Honestly, the plot, characters and prose is pretty much perfect. If I have one problem, it's with the fact that toddlers do not talk like that!!! But that is easily overlook-able, and the rest is too good.
My thanks to the NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for this ARC!!
PS - The third one will be A Viscount for Verity, right? Right? Please (So excited for that one!)

First of all, this book is the 2nd of a serie and we will meet the previous heros. It will be better to have read the previous tome before this one, unfortunatly. It wasn't my case.

I like books who make me laugh, it wasn't the case. Moreover it was too predictable.

Will Eliza get her Earl? Of course, there's a happily ever after in What Happens in the Ballroom, but it takes a journey through family secrets and lies to get there. The pacing was good, the book moved along and culminated in Eliza and Nathaniel's story wrapped up neatly by the finale.

Eliza, a widow, and her sisters are working heroines who run Elegant Occasions, they are event planners and lifestyle coaches who are forced into the "working class" after huge scandals involving their parents. Nathaniel, the Earl of Foxstead, was Eliza's husband's best friend. Nathaniel hires Eliza and her sister's to usher his very young ward, a widow named Mrs. March who has a very young son, into society and find her a husband.

It took Nathaniel a very long time to be truthful, and I think that made it hard for me to truly be invested in the romance. The steam was good, but I'm not convinced Eliza and her Earl really had some lasting, all encompassing love story. I like that Eliza had a backbone and a snarky sense of humor.

I'm super excited about Verity and her Phantom.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own and freely given.

This was just as amazing as I knew it would be. I am never disappointed by anything this author writes. This was a fantastic, sweet, sexy story, I enjoyed the flow of the characters and the storyline. Their chemistry was fun to read and I enjoyed the the unexpected story twists. I am anxiously looking forward to the younger sisters story.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book, and this is my freely given opinion.

This is the second story of the Designing Debutantes series, about the eldest sister, Eliza. She is a young widow after having eloped with a handsome, charming man when she was younger, and was cut off and essentially disowned by her father. Her husband turned out to be a liar, and poor husband, and by the time he left her to join the military, Eliza had enough of her less than satisfactory marriage. When he died on the field, she became a poor widow, and with her sisters, rallied their skills and resources together to form their business, Elegant Occasions.

Eliza, after her poor experience, did not desire to marry again, but wanted independence from men. Observing the rancor between her scandalous parents, how manipulative and abusive her father was, and her own marriage left her with a sorry view of men and how they treat women.

She was approached by her husband's best friend, the Earl of Foxstead, Nathaniel Stanton, to hire Elegant Occasions to manage his ward's introduction to Society, with the hopes of marrying the her off. This ward was presented to Eliza as a young war widow, with a charming rascal of a son; the daughter of a Nathaniel's dead mentor, a general, and who had grown up following the military with her father.

Eliza has a slightly jaundiced view of Nathaniel, considering he was her husband's friend, drinking buddy, and as far as she knew from her husband's stories, a first class debaucher and rake. But they take the job on. However, Nathaniel has many secrets he has hidden, including a strong attraction to Eliza, a secret guilt over his role in her husband joining the army and then his subsequent death, and many other secrets that could cause his personal house of cards to come tumbling down.

This was generally an enjoyable story, and I liked the unrequited love aspect of Nathaniel's attraction to Eliza. But Nathaniel had built his story and relationships on a shaky foundation of lies and all his hens were coming back to roost pretty quick. There were a lot of stories in stories, and his problems in the end with Eliza were all his fault, and after years of being lied to by her previous husband, I would not have blamed her if she washed her hands of him. Of course, the difference between Nathaniel's lies and her previous husband were that Pierce's lies were selfish, self serving, and meant to hurt, and Nathaniel's appeared to be meant to save face and help others... but some would argue lies are lies regardless of the intent.

But of course, being a romance, the problems caused by his lies are solved and tied up in neat little bows. A bit too neat for me, because I was left with a certain degree of dissatisfaction for a few things. Such as the relationship between Eliza and her father, what about fall outfrom their cousin and his discovery of the ward's past? What about the ward's fiancee's family - are they told the truth? What about Nathaniel and Eliza and how they resolve the entangled family relationships and continued secrets.

Maybe I am asking too much of a romance, but while I enjoyed it overall, I was left wanting.

3.25 stars out of 5