Miss Zoe Dufour works part-time at the local Christian radio station and is the voice behind a popular podcast, “Love According to Miss Gladwin”, her favourite Regency author. She decides to follow Miss Gladwin’s list of courting tips in the hope it will lead her to her own happy-ever-after … ideally before her impending thirtieth birthday. She’s also a Type I diabetic, and I did enjoy seeing how her illness played into the story.
Harrison Lundquist is Zoe’s best friend’s brother (which has to be one of my favourite tropes). He’s back in town after his career implodes, and Eden ropes him into helping manage the sound on the podcast (forced proximity, another fun trope). He’s not against the idea … despite two failed attempts to show Zoe how he feels.
At first, I thought this was going to be a Regency version of Husband Auditions by Angela Ruth Strong (which I really enjoyed). It was, but it put a new spin on the idea: Zoe, Eden and Harrison are invited to attend a Regency romance retreat, where they will spend a week pretending to be Regency lords and ladies, complete with period clothing and games, all arranged by a matchmaking host.
I will admit, there were a couple of aspects of this that were pretty unbelievable. How much would it cost, given all the attendees were provided with a week’s worth of fitted Regency outfits? How would the matchmaking organiser find sufficient men to participate? Would any modern woman truly be interested in the kind of guy who’s happy to cos-play as Mr. Darcy (the Colin Firth version, of course).
Never mind. Mollie Rushmeyer made it believable. Or, at least, she had me hooked enough that I wanted to find out what happened …
The Rules of Falling for You was a fun Christian romance that will appeal to Pepper Basham and Carolyn Miller fans … and anyone who enjoys Pride and Prejudice.
Thanks to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.
About Mollie Rushmeyer
Mollie Rushmeyer writes contemporary fiction with a heart for history, a blend of modern settings, and fascinating historical elements woven throughout. A born-and-bred Midwestern gal, Mollie makes her home in central Minnesota with her husband and two beautiful daughters. She is not only a bibliophile (the dustier the better, in her opinion), she’s a true Britophile at heart. Tea and coffee fuel her travels, by Google maps at least, and her passion for the written word.
Find Mollie Rushmeyer online at:
About The Rules of Falling for You
She thought she knew the rules of love. Turns out, love makes its own.
The perfect match can’t be far–certainly not at a Regency-themed singles’ retreat–or so podcaster Zoe Dufour believes. After years of creating content for her relationship podcast inspired by Regency etiquette and era-appropriate rules for romance, she knows her listeners have anticipated this retreat. But she also attends with expectations of her own: finding the ideal modern-day gentleman who can meet every one of the nonnegotiables on her checklist.
Harrison Lundquist, Zoe’s podcast producer and best friend’s brother, reluctantly agrees to tag along on the retreat to capture footage while seeking a career-advancing promotion. He views the retreat as ridiculous. And Zoe’s methods for finding her real-life Mr. Darcy? Downright absurd! But as he films her whirlwind dates, his growing feelings for her are sidelined by suitors vying for her attention. When Zoe realizes her checklist for the man of her dreams might be holding her back, she must decide if she’s willing to rewrite her rules and take a chance on the person who has been there all along.
