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A Kiss to Stop a Wedding
Lose yourself in a world of Regency high society, where a kiss at a ball has the power to change everything!
He must speak now…
Or she’ll be forever bound to another!
Engaged to a viscount, Flora is the envy of every debutante. But her husband-to-be’s cruel streak makes him anything but desirable. When Flora meets Matt Talacre, the dashing owner of Bellemonte Pleasure Gardens, she discovers what desire truly feels like…after he sets her body ablaze with a single look!
Yet Flora knows that she can’t act on their intense connection—her hateful betrothed is privy to a family secret, which means that she can never walk away. Unless Matt can help her…starting with a moonlit kiss at a masquerade ball!
From Harlequin Your romantic escape to the past.
He must speak now…
Or she’ll be forever bound to another!
Engaged to a viscount, Flora is the envy of every debutante. But her husband-to-be’s cruel streak makes him anything but desirable. When Flora meets Matt Talacre, the dashing owner of Bellemonte Pleasure Gardens, she discovers what desire truly feels like…after he sets her body ablaze with a single look!
Yet Flora knows that she can’t act on their intense connection—her hateful betrothed is privy to a family secret, which means that she can never walk away. Unless Matt can help her…starting with a moonlit kiss at a masquerade ball!
From Harlequin Your romantic escape to the past.
- GenresHistorical Romance
272 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published July 1, 2025
4 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Mallory
210 books117 followersSarah Mallory is the pen name for Melinda Hammond.
Born in Bristol, England, UK, she grew up telling stories. She would make up adventures to relate to her school friends during break times and lunch hours, and she was once caught scribbling a story instead of listening to the French lesson. As a punishment, her teacher made her translate the story into French! She left school at sixteen and worked in offices as varied as stockbrokers, marine engineers, insurance brokers, biscuit manufacturers and even a quarrying company.
She married at nineteen, but continued to work until the birth of her first child. It was at that time that she decided to try her hand at her first love—writing, and shortly after the birth of her daughter she had her first book, Fortune's Lady, published under the pen name of Melinda Hammond. This was quickly followed by two more historical novels, Summer Charade and Autumn Bride, but with the birth of her twin sons the demands of family life meant that writing had to take a backseat for a few years. A compulsive scribbler, she never stopped writing and continued to work on research for her novels, experimenting with contemporary scenarios as well as writing pantomimes for her children's school. In 1989 the family moved to an isolated Pennine farmhouse in West Yorkshire, not far from Brontë country, where the family expanded to include a dog, two gerbils and a dozen chickens. The growing family needed funding and she went back to work full-time. The writing had to be put on hold.
Then, in March 2000, Sarah stepped off a curb and landed in hospital with one ankle broken and one badly sprained. This laid her up on a sofa for twelve weeks and gave her the time she needed to finish a novel. She wrote as Melinda Hammond and Maid of Honour was published the same year. Since then she has never looked back. She's published more than a dozen books under this pen name and has won the Reviewers' Choice Award in 2005 from Singletitles.com for Dance for a Diamond. Her novel Gentlemen in Question was a Historical Novel Society Editors' Choice Title in November 2006. In 2012 her novel The Dangerous Lord Darrington won the Love Story of the Year by the Romantic Novelists' Association. She is now concentrating on writing romantic historical adventures for Mills & Boon.
Born in Bristol, England, UK, she grew up telling stories. She would make up adventures to relate to her school friends during break times and lunch hours, and she was once caught scribbling a story instead of listening to the French lesson. As a punishment, her teacher made her translate the story into French! She left school at sixteen and worked in offices as varied as stockbrokers, marine engineers, insurance brokers, biscuit manufacturers and even a quarrying company.
She married at nineteen, but continued to work until the birth of her first child. It was at that time that she decided to try her hand at her first love—writing, and shortly after the birth of her daughter she had her first book, Fortune's Lady, published under the pen name of Melinda Hammond. This was quickly followed by two more historical novels, Summer Charade and Autumn Bride, but with the birth of her twin sons the demands of family life meant that writing had to take a backseat for a few years. A compulsive scribbler, she never stopped writing and continued to work on research for her novels, experimenting with contemporary scenarios as well as writing pantomimes for her children's school. In 1989 the family moved to an isolated Pennine farmhouse in West Yorkshire, not far from Brontë country, where the family expanded to include a dog, two gerbils and a dozen chickens. The growing family needed funding and she went back to work full-time. The writing had to be put on hold.
Then, in March 2000, Sarah stepped off a curb and landed in hospital with one ankle broken and one badly sprained. This laid her up on a sofa for twelve weeks and gave her the time she needed to finish a novel. She wrote as Melinda Hammond and Maid of Honour was published the same year. Since then she has never looked back. She's published more than a dozen books under this pen name and has won the Reviewers' Choice Award in 2005 from Singletitles.com for Dance for a Diamond. Her novel Gentlemen in Question was a Historical Novel Society Editors' Choice Title in November 2006. In 2012 her novel The Dangerous Lord Darrington won the Love Story of the Year by the Romantic Novelists' Association. She is now concentrating on writing romantic historical adventures for Mills & Boon.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 25, 2025
Sarah Mallory’s A Kiss to Stop a Wedding is a charming, character-driven Regency romance featuring likeable, sensible leads in a slow-burn love story filled with longing and denial as they try to fight the impossible attraction growing between them. It’s well-written, engaging and very readable, with strongly characterised principals and secondary cast, and some lovely romantic tension between the leads.
Flora Warenne has lived quietly in the Warwickshire countryside with her Aunt and Uncle Farnleigh since the tragic death of her parents when she was ten-years old. Now twenty-six, she is engaged to Viscount Whilton, and although she doesn’t love him, she likes and respects him and is sure that love will grow with time. Lately, however, she has begun to get a bit frustrated with the mundanity of her life; she has been engaged to the Viscount for over two years and they haven’t yet set a date – and she has hardly seem him for the past year. She knows that peers of the realm have to be in town when Parliament is sitting and that he no doubt has other business interests to attend to, but she’s restless and needs something to do while she waits for the next phase of her life to begin.
She is walking the grounds at Whilton Hall when she comes across a stranger, a well-dressed man with dark, curling hair and laughing eyes who introduces himself as Matthew Talacre and says he has business with Lord Whilton. He explains that, having received no reply to the letters he has sent, he decided to come to see him in person, and is obviously somewhat put out to learn that the gentleman is from home. Intrigued, Flora allows Mr. Talacre to tell her the reason for his ‘trespass’ – that the statue of Mars that now stands in the formal gardens of the Hall actually belongs to him; it was stolen from the pleasure garden he owns in Gloucestershire by a disgruntled former employee and sold on – and he wants to arrange to purchase it back. Flora is surpised to hear this and naturally feels her loyalty belongs with her fiancé; she should say goodbye to Mr. Talacre and send him on his way. But she’s been feeling so confined and bored of late that she allows herself to walk a little way with him and to talk a little about her plans for the gardens at Whilton – which have been sorely neglected – and asks about Bellemonte, the pleasure garden just outside of Bristol Matt co-owns with his good friend, the Earl of Dallamire.
Matt enjoyed the time spent walking and talking with Flora – although after they part he realises he should have asked her more about the Viscount. He goes back to the inn where he’s taken a room and decides to wait around a little longer, hoping for Whilton’s return, and is pleased to join a fishing party organised by an old acquaintance at the end of the week. From these gentlemen he learns that the Viscount is not held in especially high regard, that he considers himself far superior to his neighbours and is looking to improve his lineage by marriage – and Flora can trace her ancestors back to the Conqueror. When Mr. Fairleigh extends an invitation to dinner, Matt gratefully accepts, even though he suspects Flora may not be all that pleased to see him.
She isn’t – but not for the reasons Matt might think. Flora has been unable to put him completely out of her thoughts, and the rush of pleasure at seeing him again and the way her heart beats faster is not something she’s experienced before, not even with her fiancé. She determines to be on her guard, but when Matt makes clear that he’s not going to say anything about their meeting earlier in the week, and that he has no ulterior motives for coming to dinner, Flora starts to relax a little.
At the end of the evening, Matt realises he might be just a bit smitten with the lovely and intelligent Flora – she’s easy to talk to and flirt with… and he likes her. He knows she’s not for him, and that he really should leave Whilton and conduct his business with the Viscount through his lawyers. But he isn’t ready to go quite yet and thinks that perhaps, if he stays a little longer, he can make a ally of Flora Warenne and perhaps enlist her help in the matter of the statue.
Well, that’s what he tells himself, anyway.
Matt and Flora are well-rounded and engaging and there's plenty of romantic chemistry zinging between them. I liked Flora’s pragmatism, her desire to do the right thing and desire to be useful; she’s a woman of her time, constrained by convention and possessed of a strong sense of familial duty but she’s no doormat. She’s intelligent and spirited and keen to find a sense of purpose at her affianced husband’s side – dismayed to discover he has no intention of allowing her to do so. And while Matt seems like he’s going to be one of those stereotypical historical heroes who has vowed never to love because a woman done him wrong in the past, that’s said and then forgotten as he falls under Flora’s spell without putting up too much of a fight. He’s a decent, honourable and generous man who makes a point of employing wounded veterans who would otherwise be on the streets, knowing he could easily have been one of them if not for a fortunate association with the man who became a friend and is now his business partner.
The book blurb talks about Flora’s husband-to-be’s cruel streak” making him “anything but desirable” – and yes, I know the author probably didn’t write the blurb – and fortunately, I didn’t read that before reading the book, otherwise I’d have been questioning Flora’s intelligence. Why, if this person is so cruel, is she going to marry him? Thankfully Ms. Mallory’s approach is rather more subtle; she makes it clear that Whilton is not right for Flora and takes time to reveal his true character, initially presenting him as reserved, snobbish, and jealous, but as having a degree of charm and an appearance of concern for her that goes some way towards explaining why Flora accepted his offer of marriage. It’s only as Flora comes to know Matt and to realise – by contrast - how little Whilton actually cares for her, how little store he sets by her opinions and her wishes, that she begins to realise that her fiancé’s outward charm and polish are a veneer, and that underneath is an unpleasant, selfish and controlling man who has no compunction about stooping to underhand methods to get what he wants.
Ms. Mallory also does a good job of providing a very real obstacle to Matt and Flora’s romance. So often these romance road-blocks are so inconsequential and easily overcome as to not have been much of an issue in the first case, but the spanner-in-the-works in this story is something that has the potential to ruin not only Flora’s life, but that of her aunt and uncle, too, and which is going to need some clever manouevering to work out.
The introduction of a bit of melodrama in the last quarter of the story is somewhat over the top, the single sex scene (which barely justifies the 'warm' rating) feels shoe-horned in for the sake of it, and the confidences Matt and Flora exchange in their very first conversation - Matt talking about his doomed love affair, for example – feel like too much, too soon. But even with those criticisms, A Kiss to Stop a Wedding is definitely a good bet if you’re after an historical romance featuring a well-matched couple who interact and communicate in a mature way, and have to overcome realistic impediments on the road to their HEA.
Flora Warenne has lived quietly in the Warwickshire countryside with her Aunt and Uncle Farnleigh since the tragic death of her parents when she was ten-years old. Now twenty-six, she is engaged to Viscount Whilton, and although she doesn’t love him, she likes and respects him and is sure that love will grow with time. Lately, however, she has begun to get a bit frustrated with the mundanity of her life; she has been engaged to the Viscount for over two years and they haven’t yet set a date – and she has hardly seem him for the past year. She knows that peers of the realm have to be in town when Parliament is sitting and that he no doubt has other business interests to attend to, but she’s restless and needs something to do while she waits for the next phase of her life to begin.
She is walking the grounds at Whilton Hall when she comes across a stranger, a well-dressed man with dark, curling hair and laughing eyes who introduces himself as Matthew Talacre and says he has business with Lord Whilton. He explains that, having received no reply to the letters he has sent, he decided to come to see him in person, and is obviously somewhat put out to learn that the gentleman is from home. Intrigued, Flora allows Mr. Talacre to tell her the reason for his ‘trespass’ – that the statue of Mars that now stands in the formal gardens of the Hall actually belongs to him; it was stolen from the pleasure garden he owns in Gloucestershire by a disgruntled former employee and sold on – and he wants to arrange to purchase it back. Flora is surpised to hear this and naturally feels her loyalty belongs with her fiancé; she should say goodbye to Mr. Talacre and send him on his way. But she’s been feeling so confined and bored of late that she allows herself to walk a little way with him and to talk a little about her plans for the gardens at Whilton – which have been sorely neglected – and asks about Bellemonte, the pleasure garden just outside of Bristol Matt co-owns with his good friend, the Earl of Dallamire.
Matt enjoyed the time spent walking and talking with Flora – although after they part he realises he should have asked her more about the Viscount. He goes back to the inn where he’s taken a room and decides to wait around a little longer, hoping for Whilton’s return, and is pleased to join a fishing party organised by an old acquaintance at the end of the week. From these gentlemen he learns that the Viscount is not held in especially high regard, that he considers himself far superior to his neighbours and is looking to improve his lineage by marriage – and Flora can trace her ancestors back to the Conqueror. When Mr. Fairleigh extends an invitation to dinner, Matt gratefully accepts, even though he suspects Flora may not be all that pleased to see him.
She isn’t – but not for the reasons Matt might think. Flora has been unable to put him completely out of her thoughts, and the rush of pleasure at seeing him again and the way her heart beats faster is not something she’s experienced before, not even with her fiancé. She determines to be on her guard, but when Matt makes clear that he’s not going to say anything about their meeting earlier in the week, and that he has no ulterior motives for coming to dinner, Flora starts to relax a little.
At the end of the evening, Matt realises he might be just a bit smitten with the lovely and intelligent Flora – she’s easy to talk to and flirt with… and he likes her. He knows she’s not for him, and that he really should leave Whilton and conduct his business with the Viscount through his lawyers. But he isn’t ready to go quite yet and thinks that perhaps, if he stays a little longer, he can make a ally of Flora Warenne and perhaps enlist her help in the matter of the statue.
Well, that’s what he tells himself, anyway.
Matt and Flora are well-rounded and engaging and there's plenty of romantic chemistry zinging between them. I liked Flora’s pragmatism, her desire to do the right thing and desire to be useful; she’s a woman of her time, constrained by convention and possessed of a strong sense of familial duty but she’s no doormat. She’s intelligent and spirited and keen to find a sense of purpose at her affianced husband’s side – dismayed to discover he has no intention of allowing her to do so. And while Matt seems like he’s going to be one of those stereotypical historical heroes who has vowed never to love because a woman done him wrong in the past, that’s said and then forgotten as he falls under Flora’s spell without putting up too much of a fight. He’s a decent, honourable and generous man who makes a point of employing wounded veterans who would otherwise be on the streets, knowing he could easily have been one of them if not for a fortunate association with the man who became a friend and is now his business partner.
The book blurb talks about Flora’s husband-to-be’s cruel streak” making him “anything but desirable” – and yes, I know the author probably didn’t write the blurb – and fortunately, I didn’t read that before reading the book, otherwise I’d have been questioning Flora’s intelligence. Why, if this person is so cruel, is she going to marry him? Thankfully Ms. Mallory’s approach is rather more subtle; she makes it clear that Whilton is not right for Flora and takes time to reveal his true character, initially presenting him as reserved, snobbish, and jealous, but as having a degree of charm and an appearance of concern for her that goes some way towards explaining why Flora accepted his offer of marriage. It’s only as Flora comes to know Matt and to realise – by contrast - how little Whilton actually cares for her, how little store he sets by her opinions and her wishes, that she begins to realise that her fiancé’s outward charm and polish are a veneer, and that underneath is an unpleasant, selfish and controlling man who has no compunction about stooping to underhand methods to get what he wants.
Ms. Mallory also does a good job of providing a very real obstacle to Matt and Flora’s romance. So often these romance road-blocks are so inconsequential and easily overcome as to not have been much of an issue in the first case, but the spanner-in-the-works in this story is something that has the potential to ruin not only Flora’s life, but that of her aunt and uncle, too, and which is going to need some clever manouevering to work out.
The introduction of a bit of melodrama in the last quarter of the story is somewhat over the top, the single sex scene (which barely justifies the 'warm' rating) feels shoe-horned in for the sake of it, and the confidences Matt and Flora exchange in their very first conversation - Matt talking about his doomed love affair, for example – feel like too much, too soon. But even with those criticisms, A Kiss to Stop a Wedding is definitely a good bet if you’re after an historical romance featuring a well-matched couple who interact and communicate in a mature way, and have to overcome realistic impediments on the road to their HEA.
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July 25, 2025"A Kiss to Stop a Wedding is a charming, character-driven Regency romance featuring likeable, sensible leads in a slow-burn love story filled with longing and denial as they try to fight the impossible attraction growing between them." For full review go to All About Romance @ https://allaboutromance.com/book-revi...
August 14, 2025
She is a new to me author, and I enjoyed this book. Flora and Matt's HEA is well worth reading. Well written with a great cast except for the villain. I would recommend it.
June 19, 2025
When I read The Earl’s Marriage Dilemma, I took a real liking to one of the main supporting characters, Matt Talacre – he was a supportive friend to Conham and Rosina, and his efforts to revitalise the Bellemonte Pleasure Gardens made for a particularly engaging subplot. This time he takes centre stage, as likeable and personable as ever – pursuing the return of a missing statue, one of a pair, which brings him into conflict with the entitled and distinctly dangerous Lord Whilton.
But it also brings Flora into his life – living nearby with her aunt and uncle, enjoying her walks on the Whilton estate but dreading the forthcoming marriage that will make her the lady of the manor. And it’s certainly not a love match – she just has the right lineage to enhance the coat of arms he’s already commissioned. She has hopes that the marriage will bring her greater freedom, ease the boredom of life in the country – but it’s rapidly becoming clear that her husband-to-be has very different plans.
There’s an instant attraction between Matt and Flora, a chemistry you can really feel. He knows she’s out-of-bounds, but it doesn’t stop him seeking out her company – to her annoyance at first, but slowly winning her over. As the course of Flora’s life is already firmly set, there’s no real possibility of them finding happiness together – but she does want to find out more about the man who’s begun to win her heart, taking some real risks to break free of the constraints on her life for a little while. And in time, as well as attempting to secure the return of the statue, Matt hopes – with a little help from his friends – that he can also do something to loosen Lord Whilton’s hold over Flora, and perhaps win her hand as well as her heart.
Flora is a fantastic character – outwardly compliant, her future already planned, but certainly not afraid to speak up for herself, feisty and determined, with a strong will of her own. She’s beautifully written – there’s nothing too modern about her, she’s very much true to her time, just struggling with the boundaries – and I very much hoped, however unlikely, that she and Matt would find a way to be together. And Matt himself is a quite perfect romantic hero – suitably handsome, but also gentle and caring, not without a sense of humour, and with a very strong sense of right and wrong. But as for Lord Whilton – my goodness, he’s a real piece of work, intensely dislikable, willing to go to any lengths to prevail, a particularly credible and loathsome villain. The relationships between them all really draw you into the story through its various twists and turns – and it was one I thoroughly enjoyed, the romance and tension steadily building, with moments of real drama and a very uncertain outcome.
I know I say it for every book, but I think this was my favourite from the author so far – a passionate love affair to believe in, wonderfully developed and very real central characters who won my heart, a world I felt entirely part of, and a well-told story that kept me enthralled to the very end. Regency romance at its very best, and a book I’d very much recommend.
But it also brings Flora into his life – living nearby with her aunt and uncle, enjoying her walks on the Whilton estate but dreading the forthcoming marriage that will make her the lady of the manor. And it’s certainly not a love match – she just has the right lineage to enhance the coat of arms he’s already commissioned. She has hopes that the marriage will bring her greater freedom, ease the boredom of life in the country – but it’s rapidly becoming clear that her husband-to-be has very different plans.
There’s an instant attraction between Matt and Flora, a chemistry you can really feel. He knows she’s out-of-bounds, but it doesn’t stop him seeking out her company – to her annoyance at first, but slowly winning her over. As the course of Flora’s life is already firmly set, there’s no real possibility of them finding happiness together – but she does want to find out more about the man who’s begun to win her heart, taking some real risks to break free of the constraints on her life for a little while. And in time, as well as attempting to secure the return of the statue, Matt hopes – with a little help from his friends – that he can also do something to loosen Lord Whilton’s hold over Flora, and perhaps win her hand as well as her heart.
Flora is a fantastic character – outwardly compliant, her future already planned, but certainly not afraid to speak up for herself, feisty and determined, with a strong will of her own. She’s beautifully written – there’s nothing too modern about her, she’s very much true to her time, just struggling with the boundaries – and I very much hoped, however unlikely, that she and Matt would find a way to be together. And Matt himself is a quite perfect romantic hero – suitably handsome, but also gentle and caring, not without a sense of humour, and with a very strong sense of right and wrong. But as for Lord Whilton – my goodness, he’s a real piece of work, intensely dislikable, willing to go to any lengths to prevail, a particularly credible and loathsome villain. The relationships between them all really draw you into the story through its various twists and turns – and it was one I thoroughly enjoyed, the romance and tension steadily building, with moments of real drama and a very uncertain outcome.
I know I say it for every book, but I think this was my favourite from the author so far – a passionate love affair to believe in, wonderfully developed and very real central characters who won my heart, a world I felt entirely part of, and a well-told story that kept me enthralled to the very end. Regency romance at its very best, and a book I’d very much recommend.
July 12, 2025
Austen-esque flirtatious fun!
I am thrilled to little biddy bits that Matt Talacre has his own story, the moment I ‘met’ him in The Earl’s Marriage Dilemma, I knew he had to have his own story, and here it is. Though at first I wasn’t 100% won over, I hate to say, it took a while for me to fully ‘get’ into the story, once I was there, I was fully in and thoroughly enjoyed spending my time with Flora and Matt.
Flora is easily one of my favourite heroines. I related to a lot of her life and character. When we meet Flora, she is feeling out of sorts. She’s feeling stuck in a rut, she’s frustrated and restless, especially with how her life living with her aunt and uncle has become. As much as she loves her elderly relatives, she is bored with the structured and regulated day-to-day life which her elderly aunt and uncle live.
She wants something else, she wants more, yet at the moment she can’t fathom out what that more is. True, she has big plans when she is married, but that’s the future; what is she to do now? She knows that she has become a hermit, someone who is always there, and she’s tired and yet she feels guilty that she feels this way towards the life her aunt and uncle have given her.
As a carer, I understand that it’s difficult to juggle their needs and your own. You fall into a routine which benefits those you care for, with little or no thought for your wants. Your day is structured for others, and when you do, do something for yourself, there is so much guilt that you’re being selfish. So, yes, I understand her completely, it’s not just a day-to-day juggling act, it’s also an emotional one too!
Flora has watched all of those her age go off, following routine; get married, have kids and so on and Flora does feel a little out of sorts, not so much left behind as she knows she will venture down that path, eventually, but there is a certain restlessness and loneliness to Flora. Though her betrothal to the horrid Whilton is one of convenience, I think she is looking forward to the freedoms she thinks it will bring her, though her intended has other ideas of how their marriage will be.
She is very typical of the era in her thoughts and ways; she is a stereotypical Regency lady, but with strong determination and at times she’s very feisty, which I really enjoyed, especially with the banter between her and Matt.
Honestly, I have never met a character I hate as much as I hated him. Where is Sharpe when I need him? he would have had a few choice words for that cretin😜
Bravo to Sarah Mallory for creating a great vile character, whether intentionally or not, I loved hating him!
Matt is every inch the charismatic and flirtatious scoundrel I thought him to be. He’s a lot of fun, and I loved that cheeky twinkle when he’s flirting and playing with Flora. There are so many layers to him: the charmer, the rogue, the ex-soldier, the flirt, the intellect. He’s passionate, seductive and knowledgeable. I loved his zest for life, the way he is so determined to return the statues to where they belong. He doesn’t take any sh*te from anyone, he’s compassionate and caring, considerate to everyone around him and ever so gentle, especially with his not-so-subtle flirtation with Flora, you can almost see the sparks fly when he’s on full throttle charm.
Though I wish he were a little less Darcy and more rough and ready rake!
I love that we have a brief visit from Conham; those who have read The Earl’s Marriage Dilemma will already know Conhan and Rosina. I love this couple, I loved them in the previous book, and I love them just as much now. It’s great to see the solid friendship between Conham and Matt; they are as different as you can get, yet they have this unbreakable bond, which really warms the heart.
I hate being negative, but I vowed that I would always be honest. Though it has all the ingredients: a charming couple, forbidden love, friends to lovers, an intriguing subplot, villains and old friends popping in to say hello, it felt as though there was something that needed tweaking. It was the pacing that got to me, the first chapter was wonderful, straight into the story got to know Flora and Matt and their individual histories and I loved that aspect, but unfortunately by the third chapter onwards the pacing slowed right down and it did feel like a bit of a slog (sorry). I persevered, and it did pick up a few chapters later, and then turned around to become an enchanting love story.
Personally speaking, I think there was too much too-ing and fro-ing between Flora and Matt, I need action people, action! Yes, it’s very nice flirting while she plays the pain,o and I adored the subtle seductive twinkling glances between them while they danced, but the whole Pride and Prejudice style slow burn and Austen-esque chatter just didn’t do it for me.
Again apologies. What can I say, I’m no P&P superfan; give me Sharpe over Darcy any day. I do think that the devoted P&P fans will absolutely adore this, though, as it screams Darcy and Lizzie (well, it does to me!)
Anyhow, apart from my personal reservations, I did enjoy the story, it’s definitely one of those books which builds steadily, the slow seduction, the will-they-won’t they (or can they?), the clever entanglements around them, it makes for enjoyable reading. I also loved how elements in the story are interlinked together, and a little twist in regards to Whilton, Matt really showed him (don’t you love it when an arrogant tosser gets what he deserves and starts blubbering like a baby?)
Overall, I did enjoy it. I can’t say it’s one of my favourites, but it did eventually grow on me. The romance is second to none; it’s tantalising, and the chemistry is right on the mark. From the second they meet, there is a sprinkling of magic in the air.
For me, the real winners of the story have to be Matt and Flora themselves; they are such a cute couple, and the interactions between them are real and sprinkled with forbidden passion.
I am thrilled to little biddy bits that Matt Talacre has his own story, the moment I ‘met’ him in The Earl’s Marriage Dilemma, I knew he had to have his own story, and here it is. Though at first I wasn’t 100% won over, I hate to say, it took a while for me to fully ‘get’ into the story, once I was there, I was fully in and thoroughly enjoyed spending my time with Flora and Matt.
Flora is easily one of my favourite heroines. I related to a lot of her life and character. When we meet Flora, she is feeling out of sorts. She’s feeling stuck in a rut, she’s frustrated and restless, especially with how her life living with her aunt and uncle has become. As much as she loves her elderly relatives, she is bored with the structured and regulated day-to-day life which her elderly aunt and uncle live.
She wants something else, she wants more, yet at the moment she can’t fathom out what that more is. True, she has big plans when she is married, but that’s the future; what is she to do now? She knows that she has become a hermit, someone who is always there, and she’s tired and yet she feels guilty that she feels this way towards the life her aunt and uncle have given her.
As a carer, I understand that it’s difficult to juggle their needs and your own. You fall into a routine which benefits those you care for, with little or no thought for your wants. Your day is structured for others, and when you do, do something for yourself, there is so much guilt that you’re being selfish. So, yes, I understand her completely, it’s not just a day-to-day juggling act, it’s also an emotional one too!
Flora has watched all of those her age go off, following routine; get married, have kids and so on and Flora does feel a little out of sorts, not so much left behind as she knows she will venture down that path, eventually, but there is a certain restlessness and loneliness to Flora. Though her betrothal to the horrid Whilton is one of convenience, I think she is looking forward to the freedoms she thinks it will bring her, though her intended has other ideas of how their marriage will be.
She is very typical of the era in her thoughts and ways; she is a stereotypical Regency lady, but with strong determination and at times she’s very feisty, which I really enjoyed, especially with the banter between her and Matt.
Honestly, I have never met a character I hate as much as I hated him. Where is Sharpe when I need him? he would have had a few choice words for that cretin😜
Bravo to Sarah Mallory for creating a great vile character, whether intentionally or not, I loved hating him!
Matt is every inch the charismatic and flirtatious scoundrel I thought him to be. He’s a lot of fun, and I loved that cheeky twinkle when he’s flirting and playing with Flora. There are so many layers to him: the charmer, the rogue, the ex-soldier, the flirt, the intellect. He’s passionate, seductive and knowledgeable. I loved his zest for life, the way he is so determined to return the statues to where they belong. He doesn’t take any sh*te from anyone, he’s compassionate and caring, considerate to everyone around him and ever so gentle, especially with his not-so-subtle flirtation with Flora, you can almost see the sparks fly when he’s on full throttle charm.
Though I wish he were a little less Darcy and more rough and ready rake!
I love that we have a brief visit from Conham; those who have read The Earl’s Marriage Dilemma will already know Conhan and Rosina. I love this couple, I loved them in the previous book, and I love them just as much now. It’s great to see the solid friendship between Conham and Matt; they are as different as you can get, yet they have this unbreakable bond, which really warms the heart.
I hate being negative, but I vowed that I would always be honest. Though it has all the ingredients: a charming couple, forbidden love, friends to lovers, an intriguing subplot, villains and old friends popping in to say hello, it felt as though there was something that needed tweaking. It was the pacing that got to me, the first chapter was wonderful, straight into the story got to know Flora and Matt and their individual histories and I loved that aspect, but unfortunately by the third chapter onwards the pacing slowed right down and it did feel like a bit of a slog (sorry). I persevered, and it did pick up a few chapters later, and then turned around to become an enchanting love story.
Personally speaking, I think there was too much too-ing and fro-ing between Flora and Matt, I need action people, action! Yes, it’s very nice flirting while she plays the pain,o and I adored the subtle seductive twinkling glances between them while they danced, but the whole Pride and Prejudice style slow burn and Austen-esque chatter just didn’t do it for me.
Again apologies. What can I say, I’m no P&P superfan; give me Sharpe over Darcy any day. I do think that the devoted P&P fans will absolutely adore this, though, as it screams Darcy and Lizzie (well, it does to me!)
Anyhow, apart from my personal reservations, I did enjoy the story, it’s definitely one of those books which builds steadily, the slow seduction, the will-they-won’t they (or can they?), the clever entanglements around them, it makes for enjoyable reading. I also loved how elements in the story are interlinked together, and a little twist in regards to Whilton, Matt really showed him (don’t you love it when an arrogant tosser gets what he deserves and starts blubbering like a baby?)
Overall, I did enjoy it. I can’t say it’s one of my favourites, but it did eventually grow on me. The romance is second to none; it’s tantalising, and the chemistry is right on the mark. From the second they meet, there is a sprinkling of magic in the air.
For me, the real winners of the story have to be Matt and Flora themselves; they are such a cute couple, and the interactions between them are real and sprinkled with forbidden passion.
June 18, 2025
Earlier in the year I read The Earl’s Marriage Dilemma is which Matt Talacre had a peripheral role, I was delighted therefore to discover that Matt has been given a wonderful story of his own and his beguilement with the beautiful, Flora Warenne is obvious from he moment he meets her. However, Flora is betrothed to the odious Lord Whilton, but with no date set for her wedding Florence remains living with her aunt and uncle, and yet her momentous meeting with Matt Talacre is about to upset everything about her ordered, and rather boring, life in the country. Both Matt and Flora are characters to fall in love with, their will they, won’t they, relationship is beset with problems from the very start but with steely determination Flora shows that she no simpering miss but a passionate woman who is more than a match for the devilishly handsome Matt Talacre.
The restrictions placed upon women in the Regency world is beautifully explored and whilst Flora doesn’t always follow convention she is still at the mercy of an unscrupulous fiancée who sees her as little more than attractive appendage with an impeccable bloodline. Brooding heroes and dastardly villains are what this author does so well and in this lovely story we certainly have both extremes but what also shines through is the author’s creative ability to bring such passion to her characters that you can’t help but fall in love with them and be drawn deeper into the stories they have to tell.
A Kiss to Stop a Wedding is a beautifully written, passionate romance, with memorable characters, and a realistic sense of time, place and memories.
November 3, 2025
Flora is an orphaned young woman in the care of her aunt and uncle and engaged to a viscount. It’s most definitely not a love match as far as she’s concerned but she is relatively content to accept that that is the way of society and what is expected of her. Content that is until she meets dashing Matt Talacre! The attraction between them was obvious but with Flora already engaged, a relationship is impossible. With standards being what they were at this time, even talking with each other unaccompanied is quite scandalous.
I really liked Flora. She is a spirited heroine somewhat trapped by societal expectations and family pressures. When she decides to stand up to her fiance, Whilton, she discovers just what a cruel and manipulative person he can be and feels duty bound to go through with the wedding. Matt was an interesting character too. He’s got a bit of a reputation as someone who isn’t the marrying type so being attracted to him comes with all kinds of dangers for a young lady’s reputation! A kiss in the moonlight makes Flora and Matt both realise what could be and what they really want.
The historical setting and well written dialogue give an authentic feel to the era and there is sparkling chemistry between the main characters. With forbidden love, a villainous fiance, some danger, a handsome hero and feisty heroine, A Kiss To Stop a Wedding will surely please fans of Regency romances.
I really liked Flora. She is a spirited heroine somewhat trapped by societal expectations and family pressures. When she decides to stand up to her fiance, Whilton, she discovers just what a cruel and manipulative person he can be and feels duty bound to go through with the wedding. Matt was an interesting character too. He’s got a bit of a reputation as someone who isn’t the marrying type so being attracted to him comes with all kinds of dangers for a young lady’s reputation! A kiss in the moonlight makes Flora and Matt both realise what could be and what they really want.
The historical setting and well written dialogue give an authentic feel to the era and there is sparkling chemistry between the main characters. With forbidden love, a villainous fiance, some danger, a handsome hero and feisty heroine, A Kiss To Stop a Wedding will surely please fans of Regency romances.
July 14, 2025
Great story! This is a charming read with wonderful characters.
July 25, 2025
At first I thought this was going to be good but around the 1/3 mark things became boring and the repetitive inner thoughts began to get annoying. 2.5 stars
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