Weekly Reader: Mr. Harding Proposes (The Rowland Sisters Book One) by Catherine Dove; Regency-Era Romance Shines With Cute, Fun, Likeable Characters

Weekly Reader: Mr. Harding Proposes (The Rowland Sisters Series Book One) by Catherine Dove; Regency-Era Romance Shines With Cute, Fun, Likeable Characters

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews


PopSugar Reading Challenge: A book written by an author with flora and fauna in their name (dove).


Spoilers: If the last set of books that I read such as Laura Preble's Anna Incognito and Matthew S. Cox's The Girl Who Found The Sun ended up making me too uncomfortable because they became frequent even unintentional reminders of current events, then the books that I am reading now are the exact opposite. These books are doing everything they can to get the Reader away from the real world. These books are the ultimate escape from a world in turmoil from a pandemic, first responders and essential workers putting their lives on the line, and conspiracy theorists and impatient protestors who are disobeying pandemic guidelines that could potentially cause premature openings and further illness.


These are the books that are designed to help you forget and one genre that thrives on escapism is Romance. This is the second of three different types of Romances that I am reviewing this week. One Month Only is a modern love story about a couple combining business and love in Tuscany. Two Like Me and You is a breezy humorous YA Novel about two teens falling in love while helping a nongenerean reunite with his lost love.


This one, Catherine Dove's Mr. Harding Proposes is a historical Regency era romance that invokes comparisons to the works of Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde, a humorous little novel that thrives on manners, class structure, and cute lovable couples to help see the Reader through the plot that is fun and lighter than air.

The plot revolves around two sisters, Georgiana AKA Georgie and Cecelia AKA Cecy Rowland. Cecy prepares for her Season where she will be dolled up, attend many balls, soirees, and salons, and is officially declared available for England's Most Eligible Bachelors. Georgie does her best to help her sister through this whirlwind Season while dealing with her own romantic troubles.

Georgie receives a proposal of marriage, but not one that she expects. It comes from the mouth of Mr. Richard Harding, her best friend since childhood. Unfortunately, Richard does it so awkwardly and with his usual jocular teasing tone of voice that Georgie thinks that he is kidding and turns him down.


Meanwhile, there is a character that causes a lot of discomfort and controversy during the social Season. She is Lady Shipton, a former actress made good by an advantageous marriage. Unfortunately, she is the target of much scandal and gossip and many dowagers prefer their daughters to stay away from her including Georgie and Cecy's mother. However, the more that they spend time with Lady Shipton, the more Georgie and Cecy find her charming and helpful.


Mr. Harding Proposes is hardly a deep plot, but it is a lot of fun and the perfect antidote of sunshine for a time of tough stress and darkness. You can't help but root for Georgie and Richard to get together. They are like those couples like Benedick and Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing who need to be together because life would be too boring for them otherwise.

Georgie is a character who is extremely smart and liberal minded, perhaps too smart for her own good. She is very intelligent and we'll read the kind of woman who in another time would be a great career woman but is hampered when her only career is finding a husband. Her intelligence and sarcasm unfortunately turns many men off.

However, it also is a virtue for the right kind of people. She is able to tell that one of Cecy's suitors is a cad and is able to handily get rid of him.
She is also able to see through social constraints to see the real
person. This is particularly noticeable in her moments with Lady Shipton, who is certainly a scene stealer and is one of the more interesting characters in the book. (I highly recommend that Dove write a prequel starring a youthful Lady Shipton.) She is able to see beyond the scandalous past to the warm woman underneath.

Lady Shipton arouses the interest of Georgie because of her being so scandalous, but she earns her gratitude when she takes part in getting rid of Cecy's rakish suitor. Georgie also defends her when she begins dating Georgie's uncle much to her mother's shock and chagrin.

Unfortunately, Georgie's intelligence causes her to question everything even Richard's proposal. Her better traits are a detriment as they are with Richard. He is a humorous character, probably in another book would be the plucky comic relief best friend of the lead male. But in his own book that could be a problem when he is sifting through his own love life. He has a quick wit and is often there for Georgie when she needs him. Because of this, he is permanently Regency Friend Zoned.

Georgie confuses his romantic overtures for simple friendship or using her as a safety marriage ("If we are still single at 35 let's marry each other…") . He even questions his own motives, but the two clearly care for each other. There are times when they especially Richard counter romantic expectations knowing that sometimes there is more to love than romantic poetry and beautiful wordy proposals against the backdrop of a scenic lakeview. Sometimes, it is about just being the handy life saver that is just what the other person needs.

Sometimes all you need to get through life is a good Romance and q chance to escape. Mr. Harding Proposes provides that expertly. The answer to the proposal of whether this book should be read is "Yes, yes a thousand times, yes!"