The Siren of Sussex

Belles of London, Book 1

By: Mimi Matthews

Narrated by: Vidish Athavale, Lydia Hanman

A PopSugar, Oprah Daily, and BookBub Most Anticipated Romance of 2022!

Victorian high society’s most daring equestrienne finds love and an unexpected ally in her fight for independence in the strong arms of London’s most sought after and devastatingly handsome half-Indian tailor.

Evelyn Maltravers understands exactly how little she's worth on the marriage mart. As an incurable bluestocking from a family tumbling swiftly toward ruin, she knows she'll never make a match in a ballroom. Her only hope is to distinguish herself by making the biggest splash in the one sphere she excels: on horseback. In haute couture. But to truly capture London's attention she'll need a habit-maker who's not afraid to take risks with his designs - and with his heart.

Half-Indian tailor Ahmad Malik has always had a talent for making women beautiful, inching his way toward recognition by designing riding habits for Rotten Row's infamous Pretty Horsebreakers - but no one compares to Evelyn. Her unbridled spirit enchants him, awakening a depth of feeling he never thought possible.

But pushing boundaries comes at a cost and not everyone is pleased to welcome Evelyn and Ahmad into fashionable society. With obstacles spanning between them, the indomitable pair must decide which hurdles they can jump and what matters most: making their mark or following their hearts?

©2022 Mimi Matthews (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“What I love about Mimi Matthews is that in the crowded field of historical romance she always finds new and interesting slants for her plots and characters. That, along with her wonderful writing and meticulous research, makes every book she puts out a rare treat to enjoy and savor. Highly recommended!”—Kate Pearce, New York Times bestselling author

"Unflinching, tender, and moving, the delicately crafted The Siren of Sussex might just be my favourite work from Mimi Matthews; it certainly is one of my favourite historical romance reads this year."—Evie Dunmore, USA Today bestselling author of Portrait of a Scotsman

“Lush, seductive, original—The Siren of Sussex drew me in from the first page, and wove its magic. A fresh, vibrant, brilliant Victorian romance, making it an unforgettable read.”—Jane Porter, New York Times bestselling author

Loved it

Since I am a Victorian dressmaker, I of course loved this book. The descriptions of the clothing Malik made was wonderful. I enjoyed the challenges and witty ways they overcame them. And of course the ending!

Just the Beginning

This wasn’t my FAVORITE Mimi book (not much can compare to Gentleman Jim or John Eyre ) but it was still very good! She laid fabulous groundwork with her characters for the next stories. In fact, she did this so well that I am beyond excited for the next books!
I was thrilled to have her follow up on the characters from A Modest Independence ♥️ I love when Authors do that!
Sweet love story! And she did a fabulous job of honing in on what really matters in life!

Enjoy historical fiction

i love that Mimi researches & incorporates history in her stories. She develops her characters based off of her research.

The struggle of the individual characters to find their way in a hostile environment

I liked the characters' honest communication of their thoughts and feelings and how they planned their way forward together in a relationship society deemed impossible to succeed.

I really liked this.

I enjoyed this story. The narrators' pronunciation of several words was laughable, which annoyed me. Otherwise it was a great light historical romance.

Wonderful!

Loved this book! So much research and history went into this story. I loved the characters and their interactions! the narrators were terrific they really did a great job reading this book!

Damn you, whomever is writing the summaries....

whomever is writing the summaries for these books is pretty much giving the whole damn stories away. If you are interested in listening or reading these books do not read past the first paragraph of the summary, you'll be happy you didn't ruin the story

Loved it!

Fun, entertaining and well researched. The story was well written and held my attention, I couldn't put it down!

Not true to the time.

It beggars belief that an unmarried young woman would be measured for clothing by a man. The author needed these kinds of ridiculous plot points to set up her story and move it along. But it just isn't feasible. And women did not ride stallions in that period of history much less young unmarried women. And for a family of modest means having an imported stallion is just not believable. Much less that this young woman would have trained the horse for grand prix dressage movements. Nope.

TheSiren of Sussex

I anxiously waited months for this book to be released.
Ive been very disappointed in this purchase. It is so slow that every time I go to read it, I fall asleep. Every single time.
I have also found it strange that a man’s voice is used for a woman’s part.
I have had a difficult time wanting to listen to it. Perhaps it’s me, but It’s quite boring.