Pantaloons and Petticoats by Ellie Thomas

Novella, set in the 12 Letters and Town Bronze series, Pantaloons and Petticoats, may look like an MF book from the cover, but looks are deceiving. 

From the blurb:

Sequel to Town Bronze

Barney Marshall, the son of a wealthy manufacturer, is tolerated by London high society for his great wealth. In the autumn of 1812, Barney relishes all the high living and low indulgences of a young man about town in the fleshpots of Covent Garden.

In one of the many surrounding taverns, he encounters Rose. They spend a memorable night together despite Barney’s initial surprise that Rose is not all she seems.

Rose leads a double life as Ross, a respectable clerk at Coutts Bank. When Barney comes across Ross in his work setting and recognises him, complications abound.

Can these two find their way through the twist and turns on the path to true love?

Sheena's Review:

Pantaloons and Petticoats is a novella set in the same world as the 12 Letters series, and a sequel to Town Bronze. It's not necessary to have read any of the others, but it would help with the world building and incidental characters. I'd especially recommend Town Bronze before this, as the protagonist from that story appears here too.

This is Ross/Rose and Barney's story, and I really enjoyed it. We did meet Barney in Town Bronze and while I wasn't sure if I liked him in that book, getting to know him here made all the difference. I think there's much more to Barney's group of men about town than I originally thought, and I have a feeling there may be more stories with them (and I'm here for it). I loved how open-minded Barney was when he discovered Rose wasn't exactly what he originally thought, and that he didn't even blink on finding out. I liked the development of the relationship between them. Rose/Ross is understandably wary, and I loved seeing him open up to Barney and start to learn to trust him.

This is sweet and altogether too short. It just left me wanting more.

Rating: 4 Stars

Pantaloons and Petticoats is available to buy in Kindle format.