A beautiful slow burn.
Mimi Mathews did credit to some really unique characters with different challenges.
My favorite thing about this book was how Teddy encouraged and pushed Stella outside her comfort zone to embracing her true self, and how she pushed him to broaden his world as well.
I love when characters complement each other.
There were times that the pacing felt a bit slow, but the characters were well crafted and I loved how we got to see characters from her previous books.
A satisfying conclusion to the series.
I recieved a complementary copy of this book from the publisher, all thoughts and opinions are honest and completely my own.

The Muse of Maiden Lane, by Mimi Matthews, is the final book in her Belles of London Series and is just as wonderful as the other books. It tells the story of Stella, who has been ridiculed for her grey hair since it turned that colour when she was 16, and Teddy, who is confined to a wheelchair after contracting scarlet fever years before. Both Stella and Teddy must fight for their own agency: Stella from her overbearing and self-righteous vicar brother, and Teddy from his overprotective older sister. They get to know each other during a house party, and it’s lovely watching their initial friendship over art, eventually turn to feelings of love and passion. Teddy initially sees Stella as his muse, but eventually sees something far more special. Stella sees Teddy as a talented and compelling artist, but also starts to see herself through his eyes as more than a silver-haired oddity. As their relationship grows, she also discovers feelings for him that she wasn’t expecting (both during and after the house party). This is a closed-door romance, but there’s lots of sexual and emotional tension, yearning, and passion that make the book a propulsive read.

One of the things I loved about this novel was the slow-burn of Teddy and Stella’s relationship. Matthews builds up to the final love they feel for each other slowly. They both challenge each other to rise above the constraints placed on them by family and society. Despite their differences, Stella is concerned with propriety and fitting in, while Teddy flouts the conventions of society and seeks to make a mark on the art world by defying tradition, they form a bond over their roles as outsiders; they discover their compatibility, mutual attraction, and more about themselves. I love how Matthews depicts Stella as wanting to fade into the background, while Teddy wants her to shine like the star he sees her as being. There’s a lovely epistolary section where Teddy and Stella learn more about each other and gain the courage to pursue their dreams and each other.

I loved the appearance of the other three women of the Four Horsewomen. Their support of one another throughout the series is a beautifully rendered portrait of female friendship and empowerment (as Anne says, “it’s better to be powerful than to be popular.”) I love how each of them finds ways to support the others. The epilogue serves up a lovely conclusion to the series and lets us see how things end for the characters.

In addition to Matthews’ beautiful prose, I love the historical research that goes into her books. The depiction of what life was like for people with disabilities in the Victorian era was fascinating, as were the other impeccable historical details. The author’s note at the end is worth reading to understand the research that went into this book. Overall, a wonderful love story and a fitting finale to the series. I highly recommend!

Serendipity
Disability Representation
Artist + Muse
Marriage of Convenience

This was a lovely conclusion to the Belles of London series.
Teddy is wheeled chair bound, Stella has been looked over for years, but one chance encounter creates and instant connection.
I love how Teddy and Stella both see beyond what others see in each other. There is such compassion (and yet crackling chemistry!) between these two.
My favorite elements include the letter writing, the MOC proposal, and the tender caretaking. I’ll be in a book coma for a bit with this one.

In the fourth and final book of the enchanting Belles of London series, Stella Hobhouse and Edward “Teddy” Hates, both overlooked due to their outward appearances, discover a profound connection. Stella, at 22, is prematurely gray-haired and destined for a life of obscurity, while Teddy, confined to a wheelchair, is a talented painter yearning to capture Stella’s true beauty.

Despite their shared desire to express their artistic talents, their budding romance is met with societal disapproval, especially since Stella is unmarried. However, their initial interactions reveal a deep bond forming between them. Stella’s limited time in London soon leads her back home to her brother and her beloved horse, as she is a skilled horsewoman.

As they exchange letters, feelings of affection blossom between Teddy and Stella. Both individuals face life’s frustrations, driven by their desire for independence. Stella’s overbearing brother restricts her choices, while Teddy’s loving sister, though well-intentioned, overprotects him to the point of suffocation.

In a moment of ingenuity, Teddy proposes a marriage of convenience, a union that could grant both of them the independence they seek. However, doubts arise—are they truly seeking this arrangement, or do they harbor deeper desires? What of their future together? These questions linger as Teddy and Stella embark on a journey that could lead to a far more profound love story than a mere marriage of convenience.  

What a delightful story by Mimi Matthews! This series has been a joy to read, but this particular book holds a special place in my heart because of how Stella and Teddy transcended the judgments of others. However, their journey wasn’t without its challenges, but by delving into this captivating tale, we witness their triumphs and the joys that life has in store for them.

I’ll miss these remarkable horsewomen we’ve encountered throughout the series. While Stella’s story is a standout, previous books offer heartwarming tales of Evelyn, Julia and Anne. Each emotionally charged story in this compelling series could be read as a standalone, but their exceptional quality makes them an enjoyable read in their entirety.

Many thanks to Berkley and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Stella Hobhouse is silver-haired, brilliant equestrienne and a naturally skilled sketch artist–who is completely overlooked and put down for her unique hair color and quiet demeanor. Living with her pious and suffocating brother she has no opportunity for freedom or joy except through her friends and riding. Upon visiting an art gallery she runs into aspiring painter Edward “Teddy” Hayes who is immediately captivated by her unique beauty and dreams of painting her. After a virulent bout of scarlet fever left him partially paralyzed Teddy learned to heed good fortune when he finds it and will stop at nothing until Stella is his muse…even if an offer of a marriage of convenience is part of the deal.

I really enjoyed the character struggle and growth throughout this installment of the Belles of London series. Both the FMC and MMC were typecast by their appearances–one in a wheelchair and the other with silver hair and a quiet demeanor. Most thought these characters to be weak, but it was in their equal and often overlooked strength that they found happiness.

If you are someone who enjoys Bridgerton, Lisa Kleypas or Elizabeth Everett I would this series to your TBR.

Meme Matthews does it again with another romance that sparkles on the page. I love how much depth her characters have, and by the end of the story you feel invested in their journey. I can’t wait to read more! Miss Matthews is always a one click buy for me, and I recommend her to anyone who wants to read a closed door romance that still has all the feels!

This was such an amazing ending to
the Belles of London series! I completely adored Teddy and Stella's love story. Their romance came together beautifully. I absolutely swooned! There were so many wonderful moments.

Getting to see all of the earlier protagonists and their spouses together was just lovely and a great way to finishthis series. I can't wait to read to read what Mimi Matthews writes next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Stella is destined to be a spinster. She feels unseen but Teddy sees her. I love a regency romance and this didn’t disappoint.

Thank you #NetGalley and #berkley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

It's one of the best closed door Christmas novels I read this December.
Mimi Matthewes is a favorite when you want all the story, the gentle storytelling style, vivid history pieces on each page, and in this case, a great disability rep in romance.
Teddy Hayes is an artist who has personality gone through tragedies and a loss of his ability to walk. While he is sorted and has accepted his new normal, his sister's constant worry for him keeps him from claiming the independence he desires.

When he sees Stella shining with her silver hair and wants to paint her, he propositions her so, scandalized and exciting her at the same time.

Clinging to limited life choices as the sister to a stern clergyman , Stella faces a new life. Now, would she take it with the curt, honest Mr. Hayes, whose Christmas kiss keeps swirling in her mind, or would the horsewoman avoid the risk of love and refuse to be Teddy's muse?

What a way to end the year. I very much enjoyed the story.

Tw: vivid experience description of Teddy's disability and his day to day struggles internal as well as physical. Mention of parents' death.

Stella's brother, and all of society really, want her to be small and insignificant while she wants to live a colorful, conspicuous, unconventional life. Her prematurely gray hair has made her a target among the available young men leaving her dependent on her brother. When he wants to marry, he tries to make Stella marry a gross old man neighbor. Teddy is confined to a wheelchair due to a bout with Scarlet Fever at eighteen. He's tired of being a burden to his sister and brother-in-law and is determined to live alone (meaning with servants and aides). Ever since seeing Stella for the first time, he's been desperate to paint her. They both want independence and maybe they can find it together. This is a sometimes slow, closed door romance.

The final book in her Belles of London series, The Muse of Maiden Lane is Mimi Matthews at her best. Taking Teddy Hayes from secondary character to romantic lead and pairing him with the often overlooked Stella Hobhouse. And what a pair they make. I adored everything about this story - from their initial meetings to their growing relationship to the house they take on Maiden Lane.

Reading Stella and Teddy's story was pure pleasure and one of those rare books that find this reader so engrossed that it feels like the story goes by too quickly and, if time had permitted, primed for an immediate reread. But that will have to wait and may very well involve the entire series.

Mimi Matthews is a wonderfully talented author and The Muse of Maiden Lane is now numbered among my favorites of her published works. I cannot recommend it enough.

This review refers to a temporary digital galley that I read via NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher, which I requested even though I was trying to wait for my pre-ordered copy. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.

Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

There is something so bittersweet about the closing of a series. I've been a big Mimi Matthews fan, especially of her Belles of London series. Each character has been a beautiful outcast, all a little odd or eccentric, but delight the reader as each found her happily ever after.

Stella, the final Fury, is alone with no prospects in sight, and her prematurely grey hair isn't doing her any favors either. Her only freedom is atop her horse, but her brother would rather see her tethered to a widower old enough to be her father. Gross!

Teddy understands that all too well. His family all treat him with kid gloves because of an illness that left him wheelchair bound, but he longs for independence. What if he and Stella could find their independence by binding themselves together?

“If we marry,” she said, “I intend to fall in love with you.”

YES. ❤️

This is a Regency friends-to-more marriage of convenience story, with a healthy dose of mutual pining. There are a lot of layers to unpack as both Teddy and Stella try to break free of their strictures. Teddy doesn't think he is romantic, but he couldn't be more wrong. Stella has an inner strength that is stifled, and she just needs a safe space to be herself. Stella and Teddy are perfect together, and quite possibly, my favorite couple of the series..

“Forget being small and quiet. I’m asking you to be conspicuous with me!”

I have thoroughly enjoyed (and been besotted by) each book in Mimi Matthews’ Belles of London series, and the character who has most intrigued me from the beginning gets her happily-ever-after at long last in The Muse of Maiden Lane. That being, of course, Stella Hobhouse with her striking gray hair, a feature which SHOULD make her the center of much attention and awe but instead makes her mostly invisible to Victorian society and nearly ‘unmarriageable’ besides. She fiercely longs for independence from her brother’s suffocating expectations but must contend with the limitations afforded to a single woman in that era, despite her talents in horsemanship and art. I loved getting to know more of her backstory (though I decidedly did not love her odious brother), and I really came to admire her spirit and her courage in this book. This is exactly the caliber of story I hoped Stella would be given…

… and then to top off my joy, Matthews not only lets me revisit another character who intrigued me, from my favorite of her previous series, she makes him Stella’s hero! Readers of the swoonily romantic Parish Orphans of Devon series will undoubtedly remember Laura’s partially paralyzed brother Teddy Hayes from A Convenient Fiction, though he’s happily in a much better mental state now than when we first met him. Like Stella, Teddy longs to be independent, his disability making him at the least overlooked and at the worst underestimated or condescended to. Even his sister and brother-in-law, albeit with the most sincere intentions, tend to treat him as though he were their ward who must be looked after instead of a grown, capable man. I loved, loved, LOVED the way Teddy sees Stella – not just his awe at her beauty but also his respect for her talent and his understanding of her heart. Getting to see life through his eyes, as a paralyzed man in Victorian England, added so much depth and emotion to this story, as did the exploration of the shifting artistic movements of that time.

Bottom Line: Oh my blissfully-sighing and wildly-fanning heart! The Muse of Maiden Lane is the absolute best possible farewell to Mimi Matthews’ divine Belles of London series, and it stands in warm tribute to the fierce bond of true friendship and the measureless power of finding someone who believes in you. And not only for this particular series, but for her Parish Orphans of Devon series as well. Matthews always demonstrates an impeccable grasp of Victorian history and weaves it so elegantly into her novels, making this just as delightful to read as the swoonworthy romantic tension she’s known for, and both skills shine brightly in this book. The chemistry between Teddy and Stella kept the air humming with sparks that fairly sizzle, including a wedding night that (while written chastely) leaves no doubt of their heretofore mostly unexplored feelings for one another. I can’t say it any better than does the author herself as she closes out the book & the series: As happily-ever-afters went, it didn’t get much better. Indeed, it does not.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

In this book, you have Teddy, who is a great artist that is looking to make his name. Teddy is confined to a wheeled chair due to some complications with scarlet fever a few years back. Then there is Stella, an avid horsewomen who enjoys sketching and lives with her sanctimonious vicar brother who is ready to marry her off to an older neighbor. Teddy saw Stella once in a museum and she's been his muse since. He's dreamed of painting her. When a winter house party brings them together, it sets off a chain of events that changes both of their lives. This is the last book in Mimi Matthews' Belles of London series.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a cute historical romance and I love that it featured a main character with a disability that is not often featured in a historical romance book. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a sweet historical romance!

This is exceptional, as all the books in this series are. It is so satisfying to root for Teddy and Stella, who are well matched in so many ways, from their resolute stubbornness to accepting help to their appearing-as-other to the outside world, to their creativity and desire for independence. As they start to let the other person in, it changes them and makes them stronger and more fully themselves--as all the best romances do. Stella's brother is also a delicious yet run of the mill villain. I maintain that no one is writing better, sharper or more fully realized bad guys than Mimi Matthews. Such a marvelous and satisfying conclusion to a series I've adored from the start.

Mimi Matthews never misses! I have read every single one of her books several times! She is this generations Georgette Heyer!

**SPOILER WARNING: Some details in this review reveal a few plot points.**

Mimi Matthews’ four-book series, Belles of London comes to a conclusion with The Muse of Maiden Lane. As the titular character, Stella Hobhouse is similar to her three female companions, with whom readers became acquainted in the previous novels. Like the other “Furies”, she is an avid horsewoman, longs to find true love, and holds strong opinions for a woman in the 19th century. Evelyn, Julia, Anne, and Stella are all beautiful, but the latter equestrienne has a unique quality. Although she is merely twenty-two, Stella’s hair is prematurely gray. Unfortunately in that society, this places her at a disadvantage in finding a husband. Her desire for a love match also reduces her options, as she often feels “unseen” by potential suitors due to her hair color. Meeting “Mr. Right” proves to be difficult when few will give her a second glance.

Artist Teddy Hayes also feels invisible in his own way. As a young man confined to a wheelchair and dependent on a manservant for even simple tasks, his prospects for marrying well are not strong. He also aspires to be a respected painter, and when he meets Stella Hobhouse, he is completely struck by her. She becomes his muse, and he becomes desperate to paint her portrait. However, this is no ordinary portrait. The project he has in mind is a painting of Stella that would showcase her in an innovative and intimate way. While it is not a nude portrait, the style is quite provocative. For her to pose for him as an unmarried woman would be scandalous.

Teddy and Stella do feel attracted to each other, but it is unclear whether they would have a relationship of love or convenience. Teddy needs to paint Stella in an intimate way. Stella needs a husband. They agree to wed, but will their relationship settle into that of merely artist and muse? Will they simply be offering one another a temporary service, albeit with a permanent commitment? Once Teddy’s painting is complete, how will their lives transpire from there? To proceed becomes an act of faith in the face of transitory needs being met.

The Muse of Maiden Lane was an interesting way to conclude this series. I enjoyed the personal journey of both Teddy and his muse Stella. In their own ways, they each felt invisible and wanted to be seen. Yet they both sometimes desired to hide and be noticed by no one. As an artist Teddy wanted positive recognition by his peers, but not fame. He despised others seeing his physical weaknesses and hid his limitations often. Similarly, Stella wanted to be respected as a woman in spite of her gray hair. She yearned for independence from her caretaking brother, even if it meant striking out on her own without a husband. Publicly galloping her horse in an unseemly manner did not disturb her, but she was also known for hiding (or even dyeing) her hair color in order to blend into her environment. Both characters wrestled with the desire to be seen, while also having a longing to hide.

This internal push-pull becomes quite interesting as Teddy and Stella ultimately become man and wife. Each must quickly adapt to not only a new level of physical and emotional exposure, but they also must allow their respective spouse to care for them unconditionally. As individuals they grow into greater security, trusting each other and themselves to have confidence in who they are, with all their flaws and talents on display.

Their relationship exhibits some of the hardest and yet some of the most realistic aspects of what it means to be married. A healthy, committed marriage will include acceptance of certain personal weaknesses in the other. True, spouses should always encourage one another to grow and become the best versions of themselves. In the cases of abuse, such damaging behavior should never be allowed. That said, no husband or wife is ever going to be a perfect person. They will always have flaws, be they personal or physical. Loving your spouse in the face of their handicap (whether literal or metaphorical) is key to a long-term successful marriage.

Likewise, understanding that you yourself have flaws is important as well. As spouses we need to be open to careful correction, and be willing to see matters through the eyes of someone who loves us, flaws and all. In The Muse of Maiden Lane, Teddy saw the “flawed” gray-haired Stella as a shining star, not as someone who was diminished in beauty because of her hair and vivacious spirit. Stella was also able to show Teddy unconditional love as they navigated the difficulties of his life in a wheelchair. She taught him that her feelings for him were not contingent upon whether or not he could use his legs. She loved him for who he was.

As a content alert for readers: Mimi Matthews is known for bringing thoroughly romantic novels to her readers, with a minimum amount of steamy or adult content. For the most part, The Muse of Maiden Lane is very tame. The honeymoon night scene is a bit spicier than in other romantic passages I’ve read from her, but she keeps it at a PG-rated level of heat. Ultimately the scene “fades to black” until the most adult moments have passed. Unlike other authors in the romance novel genre, Matthews does not use that episode to titillate or exploit the scene just for the sake of eroticism. So while I cannot necessarily recommend that moment to very young readers, I appreciate the choices that Matthews made in crafting the scene between two married people.

In conclusion, The Muse of Maiden Lane was a fine ending to an entertaining series. I enjoyed the moments shared with all four “Furies” and their respective loved ones from the previous novels. The winks to the other stories tied Maiden Lane in nicely. Although this title could stand alone, I would recommend readers enjoy the previous works beforehand in order to have greater appreciation for these fabulous ladies and their many adventures. Mimi Matthews’ love for horses, her knowledge of the time period, and her storytelling skills were on clear display, and she has once again delivered an enjoyable novel to her readership.

I really enjoyed Stella and Teddy's story! It was so much fun watching these two together! I really liked both of them so much!

I LOVE this series! Mimi Matthews gives us characters who are dealing with real life issues in a genre that doesn't often give us diverse characters. Stella's self-esteem, unique physical appearance, and disciplined upbringing are a perfect match for the calm assurance, artistic talent, and physical needs of Teddy. The author brings in so many aspects of living in Regency era that aren't often approached, and she does it beautifully!

I loved this book by Mimi Matthews. I loved how she gave us a character who discovered where her beauty lies and to stop believing the lies that other people were telling her. I liked how she became a stronger person through out the story. I also liked how she helped Teddy to come out of his shell and not let his handicap keep him from being around others. I liked how they were so good for each other and brought out the best in each other. I loved this series and am sad to see it end. I would highly recommend.

I received a complimentary book from publishers, publicists, and or authors.  A review was not required and all opinions and ideas expressed are my own.