A Match for a Bookish Bride: a clean historical romance with a bit of mystery

A Match for a Bookish Bride is the first book in The Mystery Matchmaker of Ella Pointe series by Tess Thompson. In the spring of 1910, Amelia Young saw an advertisement in a Boston newspaper that would change her life. A wealthy family is in need of a secretary on Whale Island and this person must have an affinity for books. It fit her perfectly. When she is offered the position, she packs her merger belongings and travels to Washington state. Her new employer is Benedict Tutheridge. She didn’t expect him to be handsome or interesting but she knows that he would never see her as more than an employee. After the death of his father, Benedict is expected to run the family business. He fully expects his new secretary to be a man and is shocked when his new secretary is a beautiful woman. As the two work together, they find themselves drawn together. Do they risk their work relationship for something more? 

After reading the prequel, The Making of a Matchmaker, I was intrigued about the Tutheridge family and the matchmaker who would find their perfect matches, even the mystery behind the death of the Tutheridge patriarch. I enjoyed Amelia as a woman who pulled herself up from a poor beginning through hard work and her love of books. Benedict is a man who was tortured by his father and believes every horrible thing his father believed about him. However, it is when Amelia arrives, she begins to break out the falseness of what Benedict believes about himself. My heart broke for Benedict and I had my suspicions about his difficulties. The family dynamics were a great source of drama as they deal with their past and the situation surrounding their father’s death. Overall, I enjoyed this story and I am looking forward to the rest of the series. If you enjoy clean, historical romance, I recommend A Match for a Bookish Bride. 

A Match for a Bookish Bride is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook