My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The Finishing of Lady Amelia by Scarlett Rains is a 2012 Artemis Books publication. I was provided a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The last we touched base with Amelia it had been decided that she should attend finishing school. The sheltered Amelia was terrified of leaving home and fought tooth and nail against having to go to school.
Amelia arrives at school to find she is to have a roommate- Lydia, a girl that does not come from aristocrasy. Lydia has a cat and this helps to break the ice between them, although it takes some time before the girls bond since Lydia has chip on her shoulder.
Lydia, Josie, Anne and Amelia become good friends and join forces against another student that is forever trying to cause trouble for them. The girls learn needle work , dancing and various other things they are supposed to know in order to procure a good marriage and become a lady.
While at first hating the idea, when her term is up Amelia is happy about going home but finds she is very sad indeed that she and her friends will be parting ways.
This novella sets the stage for the next book in the series- "Betrayals of the Heart". So, it seems we are moving a little bit away from the story of Rachel and William and will once more focus on Amelia. Being sent to an all girls school, the girls never come in contact with the opposite sex so there is no romance in this one. I am very curious in what direction the series is taking. For me this one read more like a YA novel than a historical fiction/ romance novel. Amelia was supposed to have done a little growing up and settle down just a little, but I don't know if the school helped her with that. For the most part Amelia is frustrated by the activities she is required to participate in except for writing. Everything else she considers a waste of time. The main thing for Amelia was being able to bond with girls her own age and experience things she was not exposed to while at home with William and Rachel. This also gave her time away from Alex and John so she wouldn't have to dwell on those unsettling feelings she was having before leaving for school. There were some really funny moments and some eye rolling times too when the girls are told which way to hold their fans to signal to the fellows whether or not they were single or married and so on. I have no doubt this was correct procedure, but you have to laugh at the absurdity of those times. No wonder Amelia thought she was wasting her time!
I was a little disappointed that the situation with Alex and John was not addressed since I was dying to know if Amelia still had feelings for them or if it was just a passing thing. I suppose we will have to wait for the next book to find out what happens with that... even if the title sounds a little ominous.
I wasn't sure how to rate this one. I'm going to give this one a B. ( 3.5 stars)