My Dear Miss Dupré

Author: Grace Hitchcock
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: American Royalty #1
Release Date: March 2, 2021

Willow Dupré never thought she would have to marry, but with her father's unexpected retirement from running the prosperous Dupré sugar refinery, she is forced into a different future. The shareholders are unwilling to allow a female to take over the company without a man at her side, so her parents devise a plan--find Willow a spokesman king in order for her to become queen of the business empire.

Willow is presented with thirty potential suitors from the families of New York society's elite group called the Four Hundred. She has six months to court the group and is told to to eliminate men each month to narrow her beaus until she chooses one to marry, ending the competition with a wedding. Willow reluctantly agrees, knowing she must do what is best for the business. She doesn't expect to find anything other than a proxy . . . until she meets a gentleman who captures her attention, and she must discover for herself if his motives are pure.

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Reviewer: Laura J. Davis

My Dear Miss Dupré by Grace Hitchcock is a glimpse into what T.V's The Bachelorette might have looked light in the 1800s. It's not pretty.

The book cover drew me in right away as it gave me the impression our main character, Willow Dupré, was sassy and shrewd. Instead, she is portrayed as a gullible but dutiful daughter. She reluctantly agrees to her parent's plan of finding her a husband to appease her father's company's shareholders. Willow could do the job without a man by her side, but it's the 1800s, and draconian standards say she needs a man. 

I could not keep track of all the suitors, and therefore had no favourite. But it was clear from the outset who the front-runners would be. While the author tried to throw in a redemption theme, it, combined with the lack of character and story development, made it impossible for me to care who Willow picked in the end. 

Willow is portrayed as a strong, business-savvy woman. But when it comes to men, she is incredibly naïve, making it clear that she is not suitable at all to run her father's business. If she cannot detect falsehood and lies in the men she is dating, how can she keep from being deceived in weightier matters while running a business?

There is a mystery to be solved and a surprise, but I felt everything wrapped up so quickly that the entire book felt flat. The concept was promising, but its execution lacked the depth needed for this reader to connect with the characters. 

I received this book courtesy of Bethany House through NetGalley for my honest opinion.

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