Believe in Me by Ella Quinn was a bit like the curate's egg as far as I'm concerned. Parts of it were good - but only parts. I particularly liked Augusta and Phinn; I thought they were both strongly drawn. But there was just no plot. The whole book turned on an increasingly irritating reluctance to communicate meaningfully. I was bewildered by Augusta's extended family and in the end gave up trying to sort them out. The pace of the plot picked up in the last quarter of the book and I became quite involved - until the ridiculous episode at Trieste. But I did like the ending. So, all in all, patchy.

Lady Augusta just wants to go to university in Italy. She's not ready to wed. Enter Phineas Carter-Wood, world traveler. He also does not want a wife holding him back from the things he wants to do. It is a shock to himself when he falls in love with Augusta and is determined to have her as his wife.

I liked this book fine. It is well written, and a fun story.

The negative is that it is part of a series, so the author is constantly replaying the other characters back stories and it kind of annoyed me. I get that she wrote books starring all these characters, but I feel like it takes away from the story a bit.

Overall, I did enjoy the story.

3/5 stars.

**I received a copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.**

Believe In Me by Ella Quinn 5 Stars

After the last full length novel, I did not have high expectations. But I was surprised; I loved this book. I've always liked Augusta when she was a minor characters in the other books, but in this one, she shines. Her one goal is to go to university and she is not letting anything or anybody stand in her way. To please her mom, she is attending parties during the Season and she meets Phinn. Her intelligence is intoxicating to Phinn, the world traveler and student of architecture. Neither of them want to fall in love, because it will get in the way of their goals, But each makes the journey to HEA. Along the way, we have a kind of travelogue of sorts, a inept villain, and bureaucratic barriers. I hope the next one in the series will be as great as this one.

Thank you Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

I received a complimentary ARC via NetGalley. Thank you! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Lady Augusta Vivers is thirsty for knowledge, rather than marriage as most ladies her age are, and wants to go to university instead. She just has to convince her brother Matt, the Earl of Worthington, to agree. In the meantime, she must go through with her come out season to please her mother.

Lord Phineas Carter-Wood travels the world studying architecture and only plans to be in London for a month, just long enough to plan his next trip and to appease his brother, a marquis with four daughters and a growing concern over his lack of an heir. He is determined not to settle down and marry, but meeting the intelligent and multilingual Augusta has him rethinking a bit.

Each is interested in and drawn to the other, but both are leery of jeopardizing their European travel plans. Given their connection and shared interests, it's too bad neither is looking for marriage. But soon Phinn begins to really see the toll the lack of an heir is taking on his brother and sister-in-law and decides he really should marry and he doesn't want to miss out on his chance with a woman he'd be happy with. He just has to convince Augusta. But when she refuses him and leaves for Paris with her cousins, Phinn decides he must follow and try to convince her that he's the right man for her.

Rant and maybe spoilers begin here: The book began to drag on a bit for me towards the middle with the main characters just spending more time together without much really happening other than their travels. Augusta frustrated me in not being more honest with Phinn up front; if anyone would've supported her studies, it would've been him. They could've made up a plan together quite easily with more communication and less single mindedness. There were many scenes that served more as a bit of filler, albeit well-written and very well-researched filler, but didn't really do much to advance the plot. I began to get a bit frustrated with how often Augusta's superior intelligence is mentioned, because if she'd employed a bit more of that intelligence she would've realized Phinn did indeed love her. It was just hard to bleive that someone so intelligent could be so naive and unobservant. The apparent obsession gentlemen everywhere had with meeting her got a bit old too, although this device did at least serve to bring her and Phinn together more.

Really the whole thing just got a bit tedious and almost repetitive in her arguments against Phinn, then when she does start to notice him as a man, the first thing was that he has all his teeth. Honestly. I liked Augusta at first but the more time I spent with her the more she annoyed me. Overall, this was an extremely well-written and thoroughly researched book and the travel aspect was great, but the overall pacing and plot itself just fell a bit short for me.

I have read several novels by Ms. Quinn and her Worthington's saga and have enjoyed them. She does not disappoint in this next novel.
Lady Augusta Vivers is very intelligent and knows several languages. She wants to study more and could not be happier when she is accepted to a university in Italy. Now, to get everyone else on board with her plans even. She agrees to a season, even though she does not want one. She tries to discourage men, but instead receives several proposals. This was definitely not her plan! Augusta strikes up a friendship with Lord Phineas Carter-Wood, whom is being pressured to marry and produce a son, since his brother and wife have so far been unable to do so. Phinn thinks Augusta is another woman being put in his path. Boy, was he ever wrong! Augusta and Phinn discuss his travels and languages. Phinn believes Augusta has a better knack at it than him, which is unusual thinking in this time period. Phinn believes she is the perfect woman to marry him. But, Augusta has rejected so many and is still determined to go to the university. Phinn will have to get creative as he joins Augusta on her travels through Europe. Both fall in love with each other but keep in hidden. How they can they prove to each other that there love is true?

I received an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review

No spark, no sizzle, no conflict

Phinn just wants his woman to be happy, "Phinn wanted to tell her that everything would be fine. That he would make it right for her." Phinn sometimes has problems with clothes, "she picked up her robe and donned it before glancing at him. “You might want to put something on.” I liked this book, I liked Phinn.

Thank you Netgalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Lady Augusta is a woman determined to lead her own destiny and pursue her education in Italy. True to the times, her parents are opposed to the idea and want her to complete her season and find a suitable husband. She meets Lord Phineas and they share common interest as well as a need to discover and explore their intellectual interests. I liked that Augusta stayed determined to pursue her studies in spite her attraction to Phineas. I found it amusing that he was in the same boat but couldn't let her go so easily.
While slow to pick up it was a nice read.