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The Wallflowers of Wildwood #1
Daisy and the Duke
What does it take to turn a wallflower into a wildfire?
Miss Margaret Merriot is known as Daisy to her friends. But she is totally unknown by the larger world. Penniless, orphaned, and shy, Daisy is a true wallflower, destined to live out her days in the shadows, working for her thankless stepfamily. Living in the English countryside, Daisy knows that nothing special will happen to her…until she meets a most unusual duke.
Tristan Holbrook never wanted to become the Duke of Lyon, but when has fate ever favored him? Scarred by war, uneasy in his new life, and now saddled with a massive estate that can’t pay for itself, Tristan needs a miracle to turn things around. One day, his path leads him directly to Daisy, and now he can’t get his shy but sweet neighbor out of his mind.
Daisy is charmed by Tristan’s direct manner and his unpretentious ways, not to mention his brooding good looks. But he’s a duke, and must marry an heiress to fulfill his obligations. He’s expected to announce his choice at the harvest ball. Daisy seems doomed to loneliness…unless she can change her destiny during one magical night…
The Wallflowers of Wildwood follows five young women as they leave their beloved boarding school and venture out into the cutthroat world of the marriage mart. Get ready, London. These wallflowers are wilder than you think!
Miss Margaret Merriot is known as Daisy to her friends. But she is totally unknown by the larger world. Penniless, orphaned, and shy, Daisy is a true wallflower, destined to live out her days in the shadows, working for her thankless stepfamily. Living in the English countryside, Daisy knows that nothing special will happen to her…until she meets a most unusual duke.
Tristan Holbrook never wanted to become the Duke of Lyon, but when has fate ever favored him? Scarred by war, uneasy in his new life, and now saddled with a massive estate that can’t pay for itself, Tristan needs a miracle to turn things around. One day, his path leads him directly to Daisy, and now he can’t get his shy but sweet neighbor out of his mind.
Daisy is charmed by Tristan’s direct manner and his unpretentious ways, not to mention his brooding good looks. But he’s a duke, and must marry an heiress to fulfill his obligations. He’s expected to announce his choice at the harvest ball. Daisy seems doomed to loneliness…unless she can change her destiny during one magical night…
The Wallflowers of Wildwood follows five young women as they leave their beloved boarding school and venture out into the cutthroat world of the marriage mart. Get ready, London. These wallflowers are wilder than you think!
245 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2021
89 people are currently reading
106 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Cole
41 books162 followersElizabeth Cole is a romance author with a penchant for history, which is why she lives in an old house in an old city. She can be found hanging around libraries and archives, or curled in a corner reading, cat on lap. She believes in love at first sight. Then again, she also believes that mac 'n' cheese is a healthy breakfast, so don't trust her judgment on everything.
Get in touch with her at http://twitter.com/coleheartedgirl
Get in touch with her at http://twitter.com/coleheartedgirl
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 6, 2021
Read an early copy of this short historical romance and adored it! This book made me realize how much I love Cinderella stories. I enjoyed curling up and reading about the much-abused Daisy and her duke rescuer, alongside lovely descriptions of the forest surrounding their village which transported me like a fairy tale.
October 7, 2021
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Elizabeth Cole’s “Daisy and the Duke” is a spell-binding Regency Cinderella story, abandoned slipper and all.
Read full review in the 2021 October issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Elizabeth Cole’s “Daisy and the Duke” is a spell-binding Regency Cinderella story, abandoned slipper and all.
Read full review in the 2021 October issue of InD'tale Magazine.
October 22, 2022
I enjoyed this book, but...
But I didn't come away with anything particularly memorable. The characters changed way too fast and fell in love in a matter of three days--after the hero started off completely against love. I need the stories to be a little bit more realistic...
Still, it was a nice, light read when I'm under stress at work so there's that...
But I didn't come away with anything particularly memorable. The characters changed way too fast and fell in love in a matter of three days--after the hero started off completely against love. I need the stories to be a little bit more realistic...
Still, it was a nice, light read when I'm under stress at work so there's that...
October 6, 2021
It's a good thing this book wasn't any longer because there's barely any sensible plot to carry it.
This is a Cinderella retelling with a premise that makes exactly zero sense if you stop to think about it for even a second. The premise is that Daisy loses her 'Honourable' on the death of her father because her stepmother gets the baroness title, which is passable through the female line, and thus Daisy is now a glorified servant. Two things here: 1) even if she lost her inheritance, she wouldn't lose her title; that is hers through her father's status, and only being revealed as illegitimate would take that title from her; and 2) that inheritance loss can't possibly be a real thing anyway because the stepmother is only the baroness by marriage and thus wouldn't be considered an heir in any way, shape, or form. As you can see, we're not off to the best start here. The premise is ridiculously easy to poke holes in, and from the moment it's introduced, it's pretty clear how it'll end up.
Daisy and Tristan are two-dimensional characters whose romance is mired by nothing but some Cinderella-stepmother scheming. Thankfully, there's no evil stepsisters here, just a single silly girl who believes her mother (stupidly). That being said, the stepmother is so transparent with her bad actions that it's entirely unbelievable that anyone ever believed her. Really, the whole thing is toddlers' fairytale levels of obvious. It was actually sometimes painful to read. Beyond the scheming and the light-hearted romance (that was a little *too* light-hearted to make me root for them), there's not really much. The characters are essentially stock characters. I liked Tristan's friend, Jack, the most of all the characters, and he had the most potential, but everyone else is checking off the list of fairytale characters. There's even a magical witch-type in the woods.
And this isn't necessarily a *bad* thing because tropes can be fun and stock characters can be good. It's just that this wasn't a shining example of how to do it. Everything is obvious, there's no depth in the characters or their relationships, and while it was fine to while away a couple of hours with, it wasn't anything memorable.
This is a Cinderella retelling with a premise that makes exactly zero sense if you stop to think about it for even a second. The premise is that Daisy loses her 'Honourable' on the death of her father because her stepmother gets the baroness title, which is passable through the female line, and thus Daisy is now a glorified servant. Two things here: 1) even if she lost her inheritance, she wouldn't lose her title; that is hers through her father's status, and only being revealed as illegitimate would take that title from her; and 2) that inheritance loss can't possibly be a real thing anyway because the stepmother is only the baroness by marriage and thus wouldn't be considered an heir in any way, shape, or form. As you can see, we're not off to the best start here. The premise is ridiculously easy to poke holes in, and from the moment it's introduced, it's pretty clear how it'll end up.
Daisy and Tristan are two-dimensional characters whose romance is mired by nothing but some Cinderella-stepmother scheming. Thankfully, there's no evil stepsisters here, just a single silly girl who believes her mother (stupidly). That being said, the stepmother is so transparent with her bad actions that it's entirely unbelievable that anyone ever believed her. Really, the whole thing is toddlers' fairytale levels of obvious. It was actually sometimes painful to read. Beyond the scheming and the light-hearted romance (that was a little *too* light-hearted to make me root for them), there's not really much. The characters are essentially stock characters. I liked Tristan's friend, Jack, the most of all the characters, and he had the most potential, but everyone else is checking off the list of fairytale characters. There's even a magical witch-type in the woods.
And this isn't necessarily a *bad* thing because tropes can be fun and stock characters can be good. It's just that this wasn't a shining example of how to do it. Everything is obvious, there's no depth in the characters or their relationships, and while it was fine to while away a couple of hours with, it wasn't anything memorable.
October 18, 2021
This Regency version of a Cinderella tale is replete with a wicked stepmother, Lady Rutherford; the stepdaughter turned servant, Daisy; a mystery benefactor for a dress to a ball and a lost slipper. The evil stepsister is replaced here with the oblivious but meek Bella and the Prince has become a reluctant Duke, Tristan. Add in a solicitor friend of the Duke’s, Jack, and a mysterious cabin in the woods complete with a kindly old woman, Tabitha, and you have the makings of a wonderful story. I found this story very quick and easy to read but it captured my imagination and made me smile - definitely my goal when reading a romance. This is the first book in a new series by Elizabeth Cole that will follow the lives of a group friends who attended Mrs. Bloomfield’s Academy for Young Ladies at Wildwood Hall. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of book 2 to get lost in a smile inducing romance.
May 3, 2022
I didn't realize I was reading a Cinderella adjacent plot until I got to the very wicked stepmother, and then I felt some apprehension and delight.
My worry was that the author would give a play-by-play of the original fairy tale while inserting her own characters. She did do this to some extent with characters that had the traits of the fairy godmother, stepmother, and so on; but, there was enough deviation from the fairy tale that I didn't feel like I was reading a regurgitated story.
The enjoyable aspect of this tale was the built-in angst. I could see the wreck coming and it was a delight to bask in the foreboding because I knew how it all was going to play out. There really were no surprises.
There were certain aspects of the story that felt disconnected from a historical perspective. I think this is due to integrating historical characters into a fantasy/fairy tale structure versus historical fantasy romance that does the work of world building to more fluidly enmesh the characters in the social stratum and make it feel more authentic.
I did find that while I did not entirely connect with these characters, I was immensely entertained.
I would recommend this book if you are interested in a loose fairy tale retelling.
3.5 stars!
My worry was that the author would give a play-by-play of the original fairy tale while inserting her own characters. She did do this to some extent with characters that had the traits of the fairy godmother, stepmother, and so on; but, there was enough deviation from the fairy tale that I didn't feel like I was reading a regurgitated story.
The enjoyable aspect of this tale was the built-in angst. I could see the wreck coming and it was a delight to bask in the foreboding because I knew how it all was going to play out. There really were no surprises.
There were certain aspects of the story that felt disconnected from a historical perspective. I think this is due to integrating historical characters into a fantasy/fairy tale structure versus historical fantasy romance that does the work of world building to more fluidly enmesh the characters in the social stratum and make it feel more authentic.
I did find that while I did not entirely connect with these characters, I was immensely entertained.
I would recommend this book if you are interested in a loose fairy tale retelling.
3.5 stars!
September 29, 2021
Daisy’s stepmother is wicked. Just how wicked, Daisy doesn’t really know. She treats her stepdaughter like a servant, while lavishing her own daughter with all the things she might need to snare an aristocratic husband. Tristan is a soldier wounded in the war with Napoleon and the reluctant new Duke of Lyon. He comes across Daisy while riding his estate and they immediately like each other. Sound familiar? This is a wonderful Cinderella story complete with the wicked stepmother, not so wicked stepsister, a handsome duke, a fairy godmother (of sorts), and a ball. The first story in the Wildwood Wallflowers brings together two wonderful people in Daisy and Tristan and introduces us to the other girls from Wildwood School. This promises to be an interesting and entertaining series. I look forward to Rose’s story (next) and the rest.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.
September 26, 2021
This is a lovely start to a new series. It is a very different direction from the usual spy and medieval stories she usually writes but I found it to be delightful. I found it hard to put down and loved the cinderella theme. The characters were wonderfully written and the story had you turning the page. I will be looking forward to reading about the other girls from her school. I received this as an ARC and freely give my review.
October 7, 2021
You will find in here Daisy is a wallflower and why. Also a bit like Cinderella stuck working for the stepfamily. One day she meets the Duke in her hum drum life. Tristan had not wanted to be the Duke but here he is. After meeting Daisy she stays on his mind. Alas though a heiress is his duty to marry. There is to be a ball for it. Wait though can something magical happen for Daisy? Turn the pages to see if this wallflower can turn into a blazing bouquet?
February 18, 2024
Daisy and the Duke
This has got nothing to do with those good old boys Bo and Luke, but it is a fairly sweet Regency romance with a lot of influence from the story of Cinderella.
The late Baron's daughter is hard done by her wicked stepmother, their new neighbour is a handsome duke who hosts a grand ball from which Daisy flees, losing a shoe in the process. Pumpkins are also involved.
Like a pantomime the story has you cheering the heroes and hoping the villains.
This has got nothing to do with those good old boys Bo and Luke, but it is a fairly sweet Regency romance with a lot of influence from the story of Cinderella.
The late Baron's daughter is hard done by her wicked stepmother, their new neighbour is a handsome duke who hosts a grand ball from which Daisy flees, losing a shoe in the process. Pumpkins are also involved.
Like a pantomime the story has you cheering the heroes and hoping the villains.
July 3, 2024
Entertaining but predictable
The author is somehow less subtle than a sledgehammer. Her supposed plot twists leave me feeling vaguely insulted, since I can see them coming a mile off. Still, the book was captivating enough that I'm going to buy the next book in the series. And the author does seem to be making an effort at inclusion. No queer characters as far as I can tell (unfortunately), but the hero has a wartime injury and one of his friends is half-Indian.
The author is somehow less subtle than a sledgehammer. Her supposed plot twists leave me feeling vaguely insulted, since I can see them coming a mile off. Still, the book was captivating enough that I'm going to buy the next book in the series. And the author does seem to be making an effort at inclusion. No queer characters as far as I can tell (unfortunately), but the hero has a wartime injury and one of his friends is half-Indian.
October 27, 2022
I enjoyed this book. It felt like a Cinderella story, minus the ugly sisters. Daisy is such a a lovely character, seeing the best in everyone. Tristan is trying to get his head around suddenly becoming a Duke. I suspected Daisy’s step mum of being a shifty character and wasn’t disappointed. All in all an enjoyable read.
October 22, 2021
A fun read..!
Looking forward to reading the stories of Daisy’s school friends, and how they tackle the events in their lives. Will the mysterious Tabitha be making appearances? Hope so.Everyone needs a Fairy Godmother in their lives.
Looking forward to reading the stories of Daisy’s school friends, and how they tackle the events in their lives. Will the mysterious Tabitha be making appearances? Hope so.Everyone needs a Fairy Godmother in their lives.
October 27, 2021
A quick, easy read.
A vey simple telling (with a few changes) of a Cinderella story. Some good characters as well as not so good and all with little depth and most with fine moral values.
A vey simple telling (with a few changes) of a Cinderella story. Some good characters as well as not so good and all with little depth and most with fine moral values.
November 18, 2023
A pleasant Regency romance. Daisy is a sweet girl who is taken advantage of by a selfish, greedy stepmother. Sounds like Cinderella? This romance is like a cross between Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast, only with a Regency twist. It's an enjoyable read.
March 29, 2022
Inspired by Cinderella, this was a very lovely read. Even though the hero was of no help to the heroine throughout the book, he acquitted himself well in the end.
April 25, 2022
great story
Loved this book, the characters and story are really easy to follow and the story
is great. Love the ending and cannot wait to read Roses story next
Loved this book, the characters and story are really easy to follow and the story
is great. Love the ending and cannot wait to read Roses story next
May 22, 2022
Great read!
Great, well written love story. Daisy and Tristan we're perfect for each other. A true Cinderella story, happy ever after
Great, well written love story. Daisy and Tristan we're perfect for each other. A true Cinderella story, happy ever after
January 1, 2023
Detailed review to come...
July 25, 2023
I read this story twice and it is great I love it. The characters are perfect. I was so drawn in Daisy was perfect I admired her character.
August 2, 2024
Enjoyed reading
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews