The Rise and Fall of Reginald Everheart, by Victoria Alexander, was first published in November of 2017. Rise is a novella, #1.5, in Ms Alexanders Lady Travelers Society series. I've messed up and read some books in the series out of sequence. I may have to catch up but so far each story has been a very good stand-alone. There are connection characters and places but the main couples have been new and different.

The best recurring characters are three ladies who love to matchmake, interfere, eavesdrop, and wreak havoc with peoples lives. In other words, they are fabulous. I'm crazy about them and wish they were real. They decide that our couple need to be prodded along the path to happiness, they're not getting anywhere by themselves.

Michael Shepard and Dulcie Middleworth are both strong independent people who just happen to have fallen in love at first sight. Both are convinced that a relationship is pointless, Michael is leaving in a couple of months. I like that they try and stick to their guns but love always wins. Plans change and they come around. I didn't think either character became intense or too compelling, but it is after all a novella. Shallow or not, they were a cute couple, this was a quick read, and I enjoyed the journey.

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Short, sweet story of love in the library. Dulcie is on the shelf according to society's leaders. Instead of hunting for a husband, she spends her time in the library at the Explorers Club illustrating their artifacts. What they don't know is that she is already in love with the man who sits on the other side of the library, wannabe explorer Michael Shepard. It's a hopeless love as he has made it clear that he does not intend to marry.

I enjoyed the progress of the relationship between Dulcie and Michael. They spent months in the same space, intrigued by each other but never exchanging more than polite pleasantries. That doesn't stop them from watching each other, noting the little things that tug on their hearts. Dulcie's mother is determined to marry her off and constantly pushes one particular suitor forward. But Dulcie wants to marry for love, and Preston Drummond doesn't appeal in the slightest. Michael is intrigued and attracted to Dulcie, but long ago decided that a man who disappears for months or years at a time has no business subjecting a wife to that lifestyle. When Preston's attentions become more pointed, Michael can't let Dulcie be fooled into accepting the man. However, his attempt to help is not well received, and the resulting scene causes sparks to fly.

Poppy and her friends believe it is evident that Dulcie and Michael belong together and that they just need a little help to see it. Poppy resurrects an intrepid explorer from her past, one Reginald Everheart. He is very nearly perfect - and wholly a product of her imagination. With the help of Gwen and Effie, Poppy uses Reginald's "attentions" to Dulcie to provoke Michael's jealousy and motivate him toward accepting his feelings. The sparks continue to fly as Michael keeps saying things that rile Dulcie's independent nature. It takes advice from the experienced older ladies to get both Dulcie and Michael to realize that with love, anything is possible.

There were quite a few scenes that had me laughing out loud. Dulcie's rejections of Preston's proposals were great, as he had so much trouble believing anyone would turn him down. The scene with the arrival of the artifact from Reginald that Dulcie was to draw was hysterical, thanks to Michael's reaction to the baboon's "attributes." It was also fun to see Poppy and friends stumble over their invention in a case of "too many cooks." ( )

This frothy novella was a quick read. I ended up thoroughly enjoying it, even though I read it out of sequence in the series. It has much to say about living one's life, even though there are risks.

If you enjoy Victorian romances, you should really give this series a whirl. ( )