To show her brother and herself she is able to work and think of others, duke’s sister Lady Patience Kendrick takes employment as a maid knowing she has no domestic skills. When her employer Anthony Woodsworth asks her help in a charade to secure him a bride, Patience knows there will be and enormous risk to her reputation.

A Proper Charade is book 2 in the Proper Scandals series by Esther Hatch published by Covenant Communications. The story is about Lady Patience Kendrick who tries to prove she can be useful and responsible. When Patience screws up the most basic maid’s duties, general’s son Anthony Woodsworth shows her the ropes. He asks her help in a scheme to hurry his courtship along. Patience enters social functions in disguise to avoid getting recognized as the duke’s sister, while Anthony is seriously puzzled by how well she blends in.

Main character Patience Kendrick is the headstrong and free-spirited lady who temporarily reinvents herself as a maid. I feel she is a well rounded and realistic character who has lived a very sheltered life, so I find it refreshing she wants to work for the first time in her life.

Supporting character Anthony Woodsworth is the very structured but kind and caring general’s son who gets totally flustered when Patience enters his life as a maid. Instead of firing her for being incompetent, he takes her into his confidence. He is my favorite as he has a flexible mindset not too limited by strict society demands of the time.

The plot stands out as different the way it describes Patience’s need for change. Grief seems an underlying theme as her family is in mourning. I felt the dialogue was very lighthearted, enjoyable and amusing, particularly when Patience tries to learn how to do maid’s duties. This is one of the most entertaining stories I have read in a long time. It came alive for me by the beautiful writing describing mistakes and misunderstandings in a vivid way. I read A Proper Charade as a standalone. A well rounded story which worked perfectly on its own.

My favorite part was the amusing situation when Anthony tries to propose marriage to Patience while she hides behind a curtain, thinking she is the woman he has unsuccessfully courted for two years. Least favorite part was descriptions of Patience’s gloomy home life. Her stressed out brother keeps telling her she is naive and useless until she can’t take it anymore.

The romance part I felt was sweet and entertaining. Patience and Anthony got off to a rocky start but their «project» gave the opportunity to bond. The ending included some surprising twists which tied it all together into a satisfying ending.

Anyone who enjoys historical romance fiction and fans of Esther Hatch will love this light hearted and entertaining story. Similar authors to explore might be Sarah M. Eden or Kristi Ann Hunter.

Conclusion: This is the light hearted and entertaining story about the duke’s sister who temporarily reinvents herself as a maid to prove she can be useful when working in the household of a general’s son. Only she didn’t expect to care for her employer quite like she ends up doing.

Rating: 5 stars / 5
Main reasons: plot stands out, vivid writing and dialogue.