An Elegant Facade (Hawthorne House #2)

by Kristi Ann Hunter (Goodreads Author)

Lady Georgina Hawthorne has worked tirelessly to seal her place as the Incomparable for her debut season. At her first London ball, she hopes to snag the attention of an earl.
With money and business connections, but without impeccable bloodlines, Colin McCrae is invited everywhere but accepted nowhere. When he first encounters the fashionable Lady Georgina, he's irritated by his attraction to a woman who concerns herself only with status and appearance.
What Colin doesn't know is that Georgina's desperate social aspirations are driven by the shameful secret she harbors. Association with Colin McCrae is not part of Georgina's plan, but as their paths continue to cross, they both must decide if the realization of their dreams is worth the sacrifices they must make.

My review: 10/10

This book was phenomenal. I think I liked it even better than the first book, and that's saying a lot. How exciting to have a new author to love and anticipate!

There was a lot of overlap between the two books. There is certainly good reason for it, and I probably would have found it more interesting if I had just recently finished the first book.

The themes of faith and belonging and purpose are more subtle for most of the book until they really pick up at the end, which I found realistic. We often try to relegate God to the background until we realize how lost we've gotten ourselves, don't we?

The struggles were brutally honest at times and the thinking, though flawed was very human, very relatable. Each character's voice was distinct and the romance was not too over-the-top dramatic.

I highly recommend this book and cannot wait for Ms. Hunter's future books.