{"id":12171,"date":"2019-10-23T19:26:07","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T23:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=12171"},"modified":"2026-05-07T20:43:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T00:43:30","slug":"a-convenient-fiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12171","title":{"rendered":"A Convenient Fiction"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Convenient Fiction<\/a><\/em> (2019) Mimi Matthews<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Set in England in 1860<\/p>\n

Laura Hayes father died three years earlier of the same fever that crippled her brother and left her weakened but also in charge of her family–but with few resources to do so, since their properties were left to be managed by a lawyer–one who has been pushing Laura to sell the lands and properties.<\/p>\n

Alex Archer fled England for the continent years ago, and spent his time learning how to become a card sharp and a scoundrel. Now he is using those skills to try and find a landed bride, an the stability he lacked growing up in an orphanage.<\/p>\n

I very much enjoyed the first two books in this series. Helena and Justin were complex and complicated, and we got to know both Tom and Jenny in the first book and wanted things to work out for them. In this book, Laura and Alex are new, and Alex in particular is a cypher. We’re told his a chameleon, but I had a hard time really feeling for him, mostly because he’s quest didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. He’s a fortune hunter in search of land and property, but he already has to money to purchase those things.<\/p>\n

\u201cLand is the only thing that gives a man a sense of connection. Of meaning. Unless he has it, he never truly belongs anywhere.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIs that what you\u2019re searching for? A sense of belonging?\u201d <\/p>\n

A lump formed in his throat. She made it sound so simple. As if he might have found it anywhere. \u201cI suppose I am.\u201d <\/p>\n

Something in her expression softened. \u201cYou don\u2019t want land, Alex. What you\u2019re looking for is a family.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Great. That’s precisely what he wants! Except he doesn’t really see it.<\/p>\n

Also, he doesn’t really make it clear to Laura that he doesn’t need a fortune, that he has enough. We’re supposed to believe he’s a fortune hunter, but in the second part of the book he seems to have plenty of money. Sure, he doesn’t have the antecedents for society, but that’s not really what he wants.<\/p>\n

Laura as a little more clear to me. She was struggling to keep her family together and would do anything for her brother and aunt. A little more complicated was her friend Hen, who for most of the book didn’t act at all like a friend. Except at the very end. <\/p>\n

I had the feeling that the author didn’t quite know what to do with Alex–how to redeem him from his past. Hen ended up being a far worse person than Alex. Possibly it’s because she hadn’t spent any time with either character to develop them the way Justin and Tom and Helena and Jenny were.<\/p>\n

I’m hoping the fourth book is stronger. Especially since the hero is the most damaged of the four men.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
\nRating: 6\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Convenient Fiction (2019) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1860 Laura Hayes father died three years earlier of the same fever that crippled her brother and left her weakened but also in charge of her family–but with few resources to do so, since their properties were left to be managed by a lawyer–one who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[30,33,26],"tags":[181,557],"class_list":["post-12171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-british","category-historical","category-romance","tag-mimi-matthews","tag-victorian"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3aj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12501,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12501","url_meta":{"origin":12171,"position":0},"title":"The Winter Companion","author":"Michelle","date":"February 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Winter Companion (2020) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1860 This is the 4th book of The Parish Orphans of Devon series, and about the most complicated of the four men. Neville Cross has spent as much time as possible with animals, rather than people, after the accident that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Winter Companion","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/The-Winter-Companion.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12661,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12661","url_meta":{"origin":12171,"position":1},"title":"The Lost Letter","author":"Michelle","date":"March 28, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"The Lost Letter (2017) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1860. Sylvia Stafford now works as a governess. The suicide of her father left her destitute, abandoned by society and her friends. So she is shocked when a young lady appears, asking her to come to the country. Sebastian Conrad,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "British"","block_context":{"text":"British","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/british"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Lost Letter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/The-Lost-Letter.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":19491,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/19491","url_meta":{"origin":12171,"position":2},"title":"A Holiday By Gaslight","author":"Michelle","date":"December 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"A Holiday By Gaslight (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1861 I love a good novella \/ short story. I have tremendous respect for an author who can build characters and an immersive story in under 200 pages. What I particularly liked about this story is Sophie has a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Holiday By Gaslight","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/A-Holiday-By-Gaslight.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22717,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/22717","url_meta":{"origin":12171,"position":3},"title":"A Holiday By Gaslight","author":"Michelle","date":"January 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A Holiday By Gaslight (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1861 Sophie's father keeps improving their country estate--whether they have the funds to do so or not--so when wealthy manufacturer asks permission to court her, the family agrees. But despite wanting to help her family, Sophie also wants to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Holiday By Gaslight","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/A-Holiday-By-Gaslight.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12313,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12313","url_meta":{"origin":12171,"position":4},"title":"A Holiday By Gaslight","author":"Michelle","date":"December 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"A Holiday By Gaslight (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1861. Sophie Appersett has decided that although Mr Edward Sharpe is handsome as well as wealthy, they do not suit. After months, she still knows nothing about him, other than that he and his best friend made their money\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"A Holiday By Gaslight","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/A-Holiday-By-Gaslight.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11033,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/11033","url_meta":{"origin":12171,"position":5},"title":"The Viscount and the Vicar’s Daughter","author":"Michelle","date":"August 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter (2018) Mimi Matthews Set in England in 1861. Tristan Sinclair, Viscount St. Ashton is a rake bored with his life. Valentine March is a vicar's daughter, left on her own after the death of her father. 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