Life amuses me at times. If you would have asked me ten years ago where I’d be today, I would have never guessed. Working at the Creation Museum? Yes, that’s a dream come true for me. But I wouldn’t have ever thought I’d be in the position I’m in, or living the life I’m living. What’s exciting though is this is far better than what I had dreamed up for myself.

I’ve had a lot of changes recently in my life. I’m in a new position at the Museum. I’m learning how to be a homeowner during spring (which means a lot of outside work), and I even managed to break my new lawnmower before I even figured out how to start it. Pretty fantastic stuff there, folks. 😉 (Don’t worry, the mower is fixed thanks to a kind neighbor.)

But more about that later (hopefully). For now, I have a book review for y’all.

The Stats

Find the book on: Amazon and Goodreads
Pages: 354
Publisher: Bethany House
Release Date: March 2, 2021
Title: My Dear Miss Duprè
Author: Grace Hitchcock
Fiction

Backcover Blurb

Willow Dupré never thought she would have to marry, but with her father’s unexpected retirement from running the prosperous Dupré sugar refinery, she is forced into a different future. The shareholders are unwilling to allow a female to take over the company without a man at her side, so her parents devise a plan–find Willow a spokesman king in order for her to become queen of the business empire.

Willow is presented with thirty potential suitors from the families of New York society’s elite group called the Four Hundred. She has six months to court the group and is told to to eliminate men each month to narrow her beaus until she chooses one to marry, ending the competition with a wedding. Willow reluctantly agrees, knowing she must do what is best for the business. She doesn’t expect to find anything other than a proxy . . . until she meets a gentleman who captures her attention, and she must discover for herself if his motives are pure.

Why I Choose This Book

The name of the series is “American Royalty” and that’s a concept that has always been intriguing to me.

What I Thought about the Book

For how many things I didn’t like in the book, I’m surprised by how much I did like. And since that’s a confusing statement, I’ll go with three pros and three cons. 

The Pros:

-I enjoyed the writing style; it was well done and kept my attention. I could imagine the setting and enjoyed getting to visit wintery 1882.

-The story, although predictable, moved at a good pace. Each scene is supposed to move the plot forward, and the author did well with that. Also, this was a unique way to spin a very common type of story so I applaud the author’s ingenuity. 

-I thought Willow’s struggle to change her plans and mindset were very realistic and I liked that a lot. 

The Cons: 

-There were so many guys introduced all at once and I could only keep track of about three of them. 

-The need to suspend belief was high. It’s not plausible that Willow’s parents wouldn’t have been more selective and careful with the process – for how serious the whole thing was, it was treated with a very flippant attitude by the parents. 

-Four out of the five guys we actually got to know bothered me a lot. Some of them I just found annoying, others I disagreed greatly with the choices they made. 

Conclusion 

If you like just enjoying the story and not worrying about how realistic it is, then this is a good book for you. It was clean, had a few sweet moments, and the plot moved at a good pace. 

I enjoyed the author’s writing enough that although this story wasn’t for me, I’ll probably read another one of her books in the future.  

Rating 

I’m giving My Dear Miss Duprè 3 out of 5 stars. Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for sending me a copy of the book so I could post this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.