The Prettier Sister

by Suzanne G. Rogers

Tired of being unfavorably compared to her beautiful younger sister, Melanie travels to a distant city for a lengthy visit with her stylish aunt. She throws herself into volunteer work and settles into her new life—only to get caught trespassing on Lord Peyton’s neighboring property. Lord Peyton is the most arrogant, aggravating, conceited, and condescending man she’s ever met, but women seem to fall at his feet. As Melanie and Lord Peyton work together to help a local orphanage, will the cold enmity between them ever thaw?

The Prettier Sister is a standalone novel that shares a common world with the Mannequin Series!

Genres: Historical

324 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 26, 2022

About the author

Suzanne G. Rogers is a California native, but she changed coastlines and now lives in romantic Savannah, Georgia, on an island populated by deer, exotic birds, turtles, and the occasional gator. Writing blush-free young adult fiction is her passion.

Find her Historical Romance blog at https://suzannegrogers.com/
Find her Fantasy blog at https://childofyden.wordpress.com/

Reviews

[Vibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

(4.5 stars) - Absolutely wonderful!

Into my overstressed life comes the latest dose of happily-ever-after happiness from Suzanne Rogers!

Melanie has been living in the shadow of her sister's beauty and fighting resentment. She receives an opportunity to escape by visiting her aunt & eagerly accepts.

I love enemies-to-lovers stories & this is an entertaining one. Melanie encounters Lord Peyton in a less than ideal introduction & it's all downhill from there. At least initially it seems so. He seems to despise her, but he also enjoys teasing her, & sometimes it almost seems like there's something more in his eyes ...

I do wish there had been a little bit fuller explanation of some of their negative encounters, nevertheless, we are given enough information to be able to reasonably fill in the blanks.

While the story wraps up a little too perfectly, it was just what my stressed out, cynical heart needed to lift me up!

*Romance level: passionate kisses, nothing graphic (better for older teens, though, as the kissing is a little spicy at the end)

[Patricia Kiyono · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Suzanne G. Rogers’ sweet romances for many years, so when I learned about this new release, I had to purchase it immediately. Set in rural England in 1886, Melanie Starhope is a bright young woman, an accomplished pianist and seamstress, but she’s always overshadowed by her younger sister. She takes the opportunity to stay with her widowed aunt at her estate in the country, where she immediately gets involved teaching piano lessons at the local orphanage. Her aunt’s neighbor, Lord Peyton, directs the boy’s chorus, and the two immediately clash. But when the orphanage is in danger of being shut down, they work together to help the children find new homes. As always, I was totally engrossed in this lovely story and finished reading it in two evenings, so I’ll be ready for the next one!

[ꕥ Ange_Lives_To_Read ꕥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

What it's about: Melanie is tired of being overshadowed by her beautiful, younger sister Blanche. She jumps at the chance for an extended stay at the home of her wealthy, widowed aunt, who lives far out in the British country side. Melanie hopes to renew her confidence and be judged on her own merit. A romance is not on her to-do list, but a chance encounter with Lord Peyton, her Aunt's neighbor, may change that. But what will happen at the end of the summer when her parents and Blanche come to stay? Will Lord Peyton's head be turned by Blanche, just like all her previous suitors?

What I thought: Okay. So now I officially know that this author writes "blush-free young adult fiction." And I'm over 50. But I don't care, I love her books anyway. In addition to the very likeable hero and heroine that I have come to expect, this one had beautiful clothes, charming orphans, a kitten, and a very gratifying late-in-life romance. I read it in a day and loved every minute of it. I've decided these will be my summer counterpoint to the serial killer series I'm currently reading.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story seems to exist in a timeless sort of movie atmosphere set a small English village in 1885, where everyone is middle class, well intentioned, and speak American. The village boasts a government funded public school that the children attend for 9 months and have the summer off, just like a modern American public school, and there are many well stocked shops including a fine music store that sells pianos to the villagers. A most unusual place to be sure. I read the Mannequin series and don't remember those books having this sort of Twilight Zone feeling.

The story is about the effort to find guardians for the children at the local orphanage since it is to be closed. Naturally there is a vanilla ending to a vanilla story of happenings to the vanilla inhabitants of the vanilla village. Despite that the best thing about the book is the title, I didn't hate it. It had low drama which I like, and the oddities were so odd that they almost didn't annoy me. I found it entertaining enough. I have started on the follow up volume out of curiosity as to its peculiarity.

[Juli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melanie never could live up to her sister, in beauty. So a trip to the country affords her a chance to just be herself. But she takes a post teaching music at a local orphanage and thrives there. She doesn't expect a handsome, infuriating neighbor to turn her life on its head.

As with all the novels Suzanne G. Rogers writes, The Prettier Sister, is sweet with humorous touches. I enjoyed Melanie and her aunt's independent streak and was surprised by the hero's guitar talent. You don't often see guitar in historical romance and I thought it was a very nice touch. Bravo, Ms. Rogers! I enjoyed the book very much!

[MEF · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolute charm of a book

I really enjoyed reading the book . It’s a delightful read with attractive, well described characters and a hint of vulnerability that makes you like them all the more.
I like the social background which adds depth and Melanie and Cedric are very entertaining in their verbal sparring. I found it hard to put down.
Overall it’s a charming , well written read that lives up to the cover.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice sweet read

A very nice read that focused on several people and their personalities thus giving insight to the various relationships they ultimately cultivated and then after all was done we see several hea

[Kiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me a good regency book and this was one of them! The "ugly" sister needed to figure out how to be her own person and she met a lot of different types of people along the way. There was so much adventure and learning in this book! It was cute and good overall!

[Sharon Rudolph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

This was such a fun book to read! I enjoyed every minute of it. Lord Peyton and Melanie made me laugh and smile. I would love to read more about the other characters.

[Karen Huebert · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fairy Tale comes true

Even though her younger sister always seems to put her beauty to shame, Melanie overcomes adversity and wins in the end!

[Kasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charming story, very naive and platonic, but heartwarming.