I knew I was going to love this. Marriage of convenience and a murder mystery? It's my perfect book, plus Mimi Matthews is writing it so you know it's going to be good.

I love Matthews writing since her earlier works and she just seems to be getting better. Her writing is sharp and easy to follow. I also really like her characterizations and how she develops a romance. Here we have a marriage of convenience trope between Nell and Miles (after they were caught in a comprising position trying to save a cat). Nell and Miles should be enemies (he's a reporter trying to uncover what the Crinoline Academy's true purpose is) but they have too much chemistry for them to be on opposite sides for long. This slow burn romance is sweet and has a man that longs for the heroine desperately. It was fantastic to watch this romance unfold. I loved every moment of it.

Individually I also liked both characters a lot. Nell is a feisty, strong willed heroine and Miles is a reserved grump. Their dynamic was very entertaining.

The murder mystery plot was super well written too. I was so curious to see who the culprit was and Matthews did a great job with the reveal.

A compelling murder mystery with a fantastic romance. Would highly recommend! Can be read as a standalone.

You had me at romance murder mystery! I’m a big fan of anything murder mystery related and this book’s description absolutely sealed the deal for me!

I loved reading this one because it felt like the characters could come to life and fall off the page with the descriptive writing! These characters are very complex and mature, we have an independent FMC who is honestly a badass, and our MMC was a semi reserved grumpy guy and these two together??? 👀 wonderful communication and a healthy honest relationship?? I’m obsessed!

4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews is book number two in the delightful Crinoline Academy series. Penelope Trewlove comes to London to deal with Miles Quincy who is the reporter who is asking too many questions about The Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies where she is the head teacher. Nell and Miles have a situation arise that ends in both of them agreeing to a marriage that will save their reputations.

There is nothing quite like getting lost in a Mimi Matthew book! I was so drawn into Nell and Miles’ love story. The chemistry, banter, friendship, and romance were exquisite and they were both such engaging and likeable characters. I loved the Victorian England setting and the mystery that wove through the story. I could not put the book down!

I absolutely savored The Marriage Method and was so sad for it to end. I fell in love with the characters, enjoyed the mystery, and adored the beautiful romance. I was absolutely enchanted with the story. I highly recommend The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews which will be a 2025 highlight for me.

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

I loved this book and this series (and can’t wait for the next one) — the romance was lovely, I enjoyed seeing them build a relationship after a marriage of convenience (or necessity), but my favorite part of these is the depth of intrigue and plot. All loose ends were satisfyingly tied up, but nothing felt either shallow or rushed. Also, I loved the cats. Give me a man mildly obsessed with cats any day.

I am absolutely loving Mimi Matthews’ Crinoline Academy series! The Marriage Method has all of the elements of an enthralling historical romance story — danger, romance, and intrigue — yet it is unique and surprising. I felt very connected to both Miles and Nell, and was engrossed in their story from start to finish. As a cat lady myself, I loved Miles’ softness for them. I absolutely cannot wait for more in this series! 4.5/5 stars

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

Every time Mimi Matthews writes a new novel, I wonder how she can possibly top her last one, and then she always does! The Marriage Method, book 2 in The Crinoline Academy series, is a page-turning treat, filled with thrilling action, gripping mysteries, beautifully developed characters, and heart-stopping romance. I absolutely adored Nell and Miles, two unique, stalwart, and admirable individuals, and their journey from initial opposition to tender friendship, to falling deeply in love. This is the best “enemies to lovers” and “marriage of convenience” tale I’ve ever read. I loved it! And the cats! I loved the cats! Don’t miss this delightful novel with a heroine you’ll treasure and a hero who will make you swoon!

Mimi Matthews does it again! This woman just knows how to give historical romance readers what we want. The way she writes yearning and tension and emotions is just *chefs kiss*

The Marriage Method is the second book in her Crinoline Academy series. The first of which, Rules for Ruin, is one of my favorite books by Matthews to date.

And this time around? Matthews tackles one of my all-time favorite romance tropes: the marriage of convenience. And she nails it!

It is done SO WELL here – Nell and Miles meet once and due to no fault of their own they are found in a situation that could compromise their reputations. Both of them are at risk of being ruined when the news gets around, and so within 24 hours of meeting they are on their way to the vicar with a special license ready to wed.

And right from the start, Nell and Miles are so perfectly matched. He’s a rigid and logical newspaperman, she’s one of the head teachers at The Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies. And if that sounds like a suspicious title, it’s because this school is actually a place to empower and raise up young women who know their worth and have the sometimes dubious skills needed to succeed in society.

Nell has been raised to keep secrets and take care of herself, but can she let her guard down and allow someone to finally take care of her? Miles has been living and breathing work to get ahead since he was a boy, but can he get in touch with his heart and allow Nell in (perhaps against his will)?

This book is so swoony! I adored how the romance progressed! Oh, and did I mention that there’s a dead reporter and a missing girl and Nell and Miles must team up to solve the mystery?

Sheer perfection!

I absolutely love this series! Each story has more laugh out loud moments than the one before!
If you love animals (cats) then this makes it even more special!
We have a school teacher from Miss Corvus Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of young ladies! We have the very sheltered and very beautiful Penelope Trewlove dubbed the “heavy artillery” by Mr Miles Quincy owner of the London Courant! Miles is a handsome self made man who has pulled himself from nothing to his current prosperous Editor in Chief!
These two are a very unlikely pair to say the least! They are forced into partnership and wedded bliss by Shadow a cat who lodged himself in Miss Penelope large crinoline skirts! Miles assisted her with the pious Reverend Pettiman who delights in dictating official academic policy to Miss Corvus! This puts both of their reputations at stake!
Of course Penelope does not see it this way! But when Miss Corvus does not hesitate to cut her loose to preserve her precious school! It is a real eye opener for Penelope!
It certainly sets the tone as people will literally kill to protect their secrets!
These two are pressed into an uneasy alliance to rescue a prospective student who was kidnapped! This also ties in with murder and several other events that happened to one of Miles reporters! This story is nonstop action! A very unusual courtship after marriage of how these two stay one step ahead of villains and manage to fall in love! They also keep most of the schools secrets from the public! Bravo very well done!

The Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews is a compromising situation and a murder mystery. What more could you want?

It’s wild what one situation can do for you in the 1800s. You can be alone with a man in a room now no issues, but oop if you aren’t with a chaperone in the 1800s. Married. This book starts off with a compromising situation, where both of our main characters have to navigate society’s harsh rules in protecting their images. Not only do they have to navigate society, they also have to figure out a murder, find the trust of a feisty stray cat, and find put how to trust. This book was just squeals, and squeals galore.

The main characters have a beautiful marriage and partnership. We love mutual respect, communication, trust, and loyalty. I highly enjoyed the conversations the banter, the tension, the gruff MMC, and the strong FMC. Did I mention the cats yet? A super cute addition to finding out the true character of the other. I love the ladies the academy raises, each lady strong in her own right and can protect themselves. But while each of them are strong independent females, there is not harm in letting someone else help shoulder the burden.

If you want a strong female with spyish vibes that takes place in 1800s London, this is the book for youuuuuu.

Thank you Mimi Matthews for the free book.

Book 2 in the beloved author's new series published by Berkley is an engaging histfic mystery set in Victorian England. Expect romance, intrigue, and compelling characters you'll want to cheer for. As always, Mimi Matthews gives us another gorgeous must-read!

This was so cute and lovely! I always look forward to reading Mimi's next book and marriage of convenience is a favorite of mine. This has me hooked right away with the characters meeting plus the mystery element. I will say I am not sure if it was my mood but it started to feel a little long and drawn out at parts. But I still enjoyed it and found the characters so loveable!!! I couldn't get enough of Miles protective streak! They were both such sweet characters, I was desperately smitten with! Just some of the mystery started to drag a little. It could have probably been a touch shorter.

I do so enjoy Mimi Matthews writing! This is a pretty even blend of mystery and romance and I might have enjoyed it if there was a tiny bit more romance. Definitely looking forward to the next book!

What’s to love…
- marriage of convenience
- Grade A tension and longing
- FMC that uses a mobility aid (cane)
- communication + drama-free romance (the conflict comes in the form of the mystery!)
- CAT DAD MMC
- mystery plot

What might not work for some…
- I wanted a bit more of the romance, it’s so good but the mystery element overshadows it, just a touch.

Spice: The tiniest crack of peeked door. Most will probably consider this closed door, honestly I consider this closed door. You’re in the room and you know what happened, but you don’t get any details.

Would you give up your job and the only life you knew to marry a man you just met?

In the Marriage Method by Mimi Matthews, Penelope Trewlove (Nell to her friends) travels to the offices of the London Courant, a newspaper in 1864 London, run by Miles Quincey. She arrives to answer questions that he has about Miss Corvus's Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies a.k.a The Crinoline Academy.

In the course of their meeting, a feral rescued cat climbs into Nell's crinoline and becomes stuck. In an attempt to free that cat, Mr. Quincey goes underneath her dress. Unfortunately for them both, Reverend Pettiman, an influential advisor to the school, is shown into Mr. Quincey's office at absolutely the wrong time.

To avoid scandal for both Miss Corvus' school and the newspaper, Nell reluctantly marries Miles as he (and also Miss Corvus) feels that this is the only solution to this problem. Navigating life as newlyweds, they are called to investigate the disappearance of the newspaper's gossip columnist as well as a new student that never arrived at the Academy.

As they uncover more information about the missing columnist and student, they realize that these disappearances are connected to each other. They find themselves learning about unsavory aspects of Victorian London's underworld.

I chose to read the Marriage Method because I had just finished the first book in this series, Rules for Ruin, and loved my introduction to Mimi Matthew's excellent writing.

What I really liked about this book was being immersed in Victorian London and reading about how women were treated. I also enjoyed watching the slow romance blossom between Nell and Miles as they solve the mystery of the disappearances. They are both wonderful characters and I enjoyed them even more than Effie and Gabriel (Rules for Ruin). Nell had planned on returning to the Academy after the scandal died down. However, as she got to know her husband better, she realized that she loved him and the life they were creating together (with lots of cats).

I questioned their reason for getting married so quickly because the premise seemed a little far-fetched to me. However, I'm not a Victorian woman worried about scandal and reputation. In the end, it does work as a vehicle for Nell and Miles to fall in love.

I'm mostly a mystery reader that dabbles in romance. I also like learning about historical aspects of Victorian England and how life might have been like for lower to middle class women at that time. This novel brings all of these aspects together in a most delightful way.

If you enjoy Victoriana historical fiction with a slow burn romance, you will enjoy this book. I highly recommend reading the first book in the Crinoline Academy series (Rules for Ruin) to fully appreciate the story and characters.

DNF @ 34%. I kind of struggled with how to rate this as the book isn't terribly written...but it IS boring.

I didn't realize this was the second in a series when I requested an ARC, so perhaps part of the Academy was already established but I literally don't understand anything about it...why are they so dedicated to the headmistress? What sorts of lessons teach them to dismantle to patriarchy? What makes Nell special other than her beauty? I don't understand how she's the second most powerful person at the academy because it's only TOLD to me, not SHOWN. Dismantling the patriarchy is apparently only one man so far...so to say that they do it is a large stretch.

Why does the academy care about the missing girl that was on her way to the academy? She wasn't one of their own yet.

Despite the arrival of a severed tongue as a warning, the mystery of the gossip columnist's death just doesn't feel urgent. Why would I care?

And the supposed chemistry they both have? Not really there. Nell doesn't find him fascinating, despite the book description telling you so. He does find her beautiful but that's about where it ends.

All-in-all, the characters fell flat and while it could have been an enjoyable read it just wasn't for me.

Major thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley for this ARC!

I found this story really hard to get into, unfortunately, and I don't think it ever really happened. While I don't think it was a bad book by any means, this series is underwhelming to me. I had similar issues with this book that I did with book one (Rules for Ruin). There's a glaring lack of development, both in terms of the plot and the love story. Firstly, in book 2 we are still left knowing little to nothing about this Crinoline Academy - why it exists, what they learn there, why they are so loyal to Miss Corvus (we've only met her a couple times, if that). Because of that, the mystery side plots hold no weight and don't feel urgent. I honestly had no idea why Nell wanted to find that missing girl (it wasn't really explained) and nor did I care.

And then there's the romance. I don't know why Mimi Matthews insists on having her characters fall in love almost immediately, but I find the result so freaking boring. Sorry! They meet, are instantly attracted to each other, shortly after that they kiss, etc etc.... Yawn. That, combined with the fact that we had Miles' point of view so we knew just how much he was lusting, left nothing to the imagination and zero tension or build up. This romance was even more anticlimactic than the one in the first book.

It was well-written and had some funny parts, so it wasn't a complete flop, but I won't be continuing on with the series.

Today I’m reviewing Mimi Matthews next installment in her Crinoline Academy series, The Marriage Method. Penelope Trewlove is currently the deputy headmistress of the Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies, but finds herself in a bit of a pickle when she’s sent to London to stave off the overly curiously nosey newspaper editor Miles Quincy. He’s asking too many questions and the Academy needs for those questions to stop.

For romance readers, they will delight in how Miles and Penelope land themselves in front of a vicar and Penelope out of a job after being discovered in a very compromising way.

The characters, the story, the romance, is all in a word fantastic!

Matthews’ continues to create these deliciously fun romp of stories filled with the best tropes: marriage of convenience, he falls first, and the slowest of burns, and characters who simply want a better world and their own happily ever after.

Get ready to swoon and crush over your next book boyfriend while cheering on Penelope Trewlove as she discovers her own strengths while trying not to fall in love with her husband.

A must read.

This was an improvement on the first installment in the series - I liked the 'forced proximity'/sham marriage plotline and the mystery Nell and Miles work together to solve. The characters embodie well-worn 'types' in period romance -- the naive yet spunky heroine, the brooding protective hero etc etc. But it was a more entertaining and cohesive tale than "Rules for Ruin" -- I enjoyed it & would be interested to pick up the next in the series & see where it goes!

4.5 ⭐️
🌶️ = one non-explicit open door scene, more focused on their emotional connection

I loveddddddd this so much. Nell and Miles were so great together. Their romance developed so beautifully and I loved them so much as a couple (and as individuals!). They were smart, capable, passionate, caring people who were firm in their identities. Miles protectiveness over Nell and desire to take care of her through everything made me swoonnnnnnn. They have a little bit of banter that was great and so fun to read.

The plot was also really well paced. You jump right into the story and things progress nicely enough to keep you hooked as it goes on. It was so fun to be back in this world with these fierce female characters.

This was so enjoyable and I didn’t want to put it down!! Definitely liked it more than the first one.

This book was a fun romance mystery. It’s part of a series, but I never read the first book and didn’t feel like I was missing anything so it could easily be read as a stand alone. This was a quick, easy read with a sweet romance and mystery throughout. A great cozy read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book!

In The Marriage Method, set in Victorian London, Penelope “Nell” Trewlove, a deputy headmistress at the Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies, is tasked with silencing inquisitive newspaper editor Miles Quincy. The Academy seeks to protect its mission of advancing women while thwarting men in power who threaten their cause. However, when Nell attempts to charm Miles into compliance, their encounter takes an unexpected turn involving a mischievous cat and a scandalous situation that leads to a hasty marriage. As they navigate their newfound partnership, Nell and Miles delve into a mystery involving a missing journalist and the darker underbelly of society. Their chemistry grows amidst investigations and societal constraints, revealing both their vulnerabilities and strengths. With humor, heart, and intrigue, the story unfolds, showcasing a unique blend of romance and a gripping mystery.

I love this book for its delightful marriage of convenience trope, where Nell and Miles' forced union blossoms into a heartfelt partnership. The witty banter and palpable chemistry between the leads create an engaging dynamic that keeps readers invested. Nell defies societal norms as a strong, intelligent woman, while Miles proves to be a protective and tender hero. The blend of romance with a compelling mystery adds depth, ensuring that the story is not just about love but also about personal growth and societal challenges. With charming characters and unexpected twists, this book delivers an irresistible read for anyone who enjoys historical romance laced with adventure and heart. The cover on this book is beautiful! It totally sucked me in. The spice level is very low, but the falling in love is soooooo romantic. I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to the Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. It is scheduled to be published November 25, 2025. It'll be worth the wait!