Quick Sips: The Perks of Loving a Wallflower by Erica Ridley
I picked up The Perks of Loving a Wallflower in search of a bookish main character for my “HISTROM for all project” without realizing it was part of Erica Ridley’s Wild Wynchester’s series. While I usually hate reading series out of order and wish I had gained more of a backstory presented in The Duke Heist, I was able to pick up enough details to not miss out on too much. Having few expectations about what I was going to read, I was pleasantly surprised to find out the series reminded me of a historical romance Umbrella Academy- just without the aliens and apocalyptic events.
The Wynchester family consists of six siblings adopted by the late Baron Vanderbean. Each sibling has their own specific talents. Using their strengths, they work together as a team to serve vigilante justice. This family has cartographers, swordswomen, forgers, and more. Need a homing kitten or attack bunny? They’ve got it handled.
In The Perks of Loving a Wallflower, we meet bluestocking extraordinaire Lady Phillipa. Her weekly reading circle is the highlight of her life, along with charity work, such as establishing neighborhood libraries. Being the clever women they are, the reading circle members created a cipher using antique illustrated manuscripts. One woman shares this with her military uncle, Captain Northrup, to help the war efforts. It works perfectly, but he takes all the credit and recognition for the development of the cipher. The reading circle determines to expose him as the fraud he is and must learn more about the manuscripts.
Tommy Wynchester has attended the reading circle with her sister under the disguise of Great Aunt Wynchester and has been pining over Phillipa for a year. She finally gets the courage to talk to Phillipa, with much encouragement from her siblings, as the new Baron Vanderbean, a reclusive foreign peer. As Phillipa’s mother has been preventing her from pursuing her bluestocking hobbies and friendships until she finds a husband, Tommy and Phillipa agree on a fake courtship to allow her more freedom.
Exciting Mix of Genres
I seem to have fallen into reading more adventure/espionage based historical romances, and I’m here for it. I loved the mix of the different talents each of the siblings have. It’s like a superhero team up, and each talent is so unique. Beyond their abilities, Ridley has given each character their own fully fleshed personality. After just reading the second novel, I feel like I know them all well, as well as how they interact with one another. I wish I could pop by for a visit to their chaotic home with a planning parlor, boudoir filled with disguises, and lively dining table.
In addition to revealing the theft of ideas by Captain Northrup, there is an additional mystery surrounding the creators of the manuscripts. I was persuaded to keep reading to find out more about them. Without giving anything away, I will say this part of the mystery complimented the main romance of the book so well. I’m sure there are many actual historical instances similar to this.
Perfect Duo
Both Phillipa and Tommy are equally wonderful characters that captured my heart. Phillipa is fierce, intelligent, and a leader in the pursuit of knowledge providing an enriching space for her fellow reading circle members. I know many readers will be able to relate to her and root for her along the way, like I did. Also, her reflections on her previous disinterest in courtship from men and her discovery of her love for Tommy seems very realistic. I am unsure if this author writes many queer characters (I’ll have to check), but I feel like she did Phillipa justice.
Tommy is charming beyond words, but I love that she stumbled when she tried to approach Phillipa in the past. Her admiration for her is beautifully described and adds both depth and humor to the romance. Although Tommy is the master of disguises, her insistence on being loved for herself by the one person that holds her heart is a real struggle that will speak to many.
I appreciate that their happily ever after wasn’t too unbelievable for the time. There was a potential ending that was set up in the novel, but it wouldn’t have ruined the relationship for me. I can’t wait to backtrack and see the characters’ first introductions in book one, and then finish up the series to revisit this family over and over again.
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