By: Alexandra Vasti
My photos are terrible. This is fine. You get it. I read the two books in the Halifax Hellions series by Alexandra Vasti, with mixed results. Margo was ehhh, fine, BUT Matilda was pretty good. While maybe you could read Matilda as a standalone, I think reading Margo first will help provide additional context for Matilda, which makes it a better overall reading experience. Luckily, the author, Alexandra Vasti, is giving away these two novellas FOR FREE so it is like a little gift to yourself.
First of all: a recap on my opinions on novellas. Usually an aggressive thumb’s down. They just don’t have the room to flush out the characters, their motivations, an actual fully realized plot, etc. (An exception to this is Mimi Matthews’s holiday novella A Holiday by Gaslight which is GREAT.) So, in fairness, I always pick up a novella with reservations.
Unfortunately, I do not recall where I saw the recommendation to pick up In Which Margo Halifax Earns Her Shocking Reputation, but I followed that recommendation and did, indeed, read it. And it was– fine. I really like Vasti’s writing style. She is a very good writer. I think the world she built felt realistic in terms of historical accuracy, but blended well with the interests of a modern reader. The plot is fairly simple: Margo and her twin, Matilda, are two fairly pampered, aristocratic young women, who enjoy pushing the boundaries to what is acceptable for polite behavior. They have ahem, reputations, but nothing that prevents them from mingling in respectable society. Margo, however, becomes alarmed when she learns that Matilda has eloped with a truly dangerous aristocrat. Her idea is to track down her sister and bring her back home, but in order to do that, she needs help. So, she enlists her older brother’s dependable best friend, Henry Mortimer. Against his better judgment, Henry allows Margo to convince him to join her on her wild hare, mainly because he has been quietly in love with her for years. The story follows them as they search for Matilda before it is too late.
Henry is truly lovely and is the best part of Margo. His character is fully developed and the reader can see all the reasons he loves Margo but also why he would never, ever tell her. It was extremely charming that it turns out he is the virgin in their romance. Margo, on the other hand, was a little grating to me. I felt she was pretty careless with other people’s feelings, including her beloved sister. But, I think my main problem is that Margo lives for the thrill and the fun, which is all lovely and fine! But when she finally understands that her sister has moved on from their silly, slightly reckless behavior, it leaves Margo adrift. She realizes that she is alone now, with no “partner in crime” and I felt that her “choice” to be with Henry seemed more like another quick, thoughtless decision. It prevented her from being alone, as opposed because she was actively choosing to be with Henry. I saw that Henry truly loved Margo, I just never got the sense that Margo reciprocated his feelings.
I read In Which Matilda Halifax Learns the Value of Restraint, honestly, because it was free. But! I also enjoyed Vasti’s writing style to give her another pass. I am very glad I did. Matilda felt much more like a true romance between the two main characters. These two actually seemed compatible and their pairing made sense. Matilda is set in a similar timeline to Margo, providing the reason why Matilda left and what happened to her after walks away from Margo in the woods.
Matilda is tired of participating in these silly, slightly risky games she and her sister play with society. She does not want to be known as a Halifax Hellion, and probably never wanted to be one in the first place. In her spare time, she draws erotic art (as one does) that she sells to publishers to be printed in various pamphlets throughout London. Unknown to her, one of her drawings is altered and made to resemble the Marquess of Ashford, Christian de Bord, an aristocrat with a reputation for murdering his first wife. The publication of this drawing causes the painting tutor of his younger sister, Bea, to quit. Due to his fierce reputation, and their remote location, Christian cannot find another teacher for his beloved sister. Christian, engraged, vows to track down the artist (I am assuming to exact revenge? Not sure Chris has a full plan here.). However, upon learning that the artist is Matilda, and that she, in fact, did not even draw him, he realizes his error. As a taciturn, private recluse, he folds into himself and tries to avoid further contact with Matilda at all costs. Matilda, however, like her sister, Margo before her, blows through this clear, personal boundary and does whatever she feels like doing instead. While it is clear she truly does feel extreme remorse about his sister’s tutor, Matilda is also intrigued by Christian because she has heard rumors of his use of bondage during sex, something she is interested in as well. Ergo, for REASONS, it makes perfect sense that Matilda will pretend to elope with Christian to his home in the north and become his sister’s painting tutor. And that he would agree to such a scheme. Obviously.
Bondage is not my personal jam, but I thought its use here was very light and tame. It also acted as a way for the characters to convey meaning to each other without using words. While outwardly different, Matilda and Christian, had similar personalities and seemed to fit well with each other. Christian is grumpy, curmudgeon, but he is never mean or cruel to Matilda. I feel a lot of authors mix up those characteristics, and Vasti does a very good job of making it clear that Christian is a good person. Matilda is also more cognizant of herself than Margo; she knows what she wants and that makes her way less of an annoying character.
These books are free if you sign up for the author’s newsletter. Check that out here. Otherwise, I will be waiting to read her upcoming novel, Ne’re Duke Well, to be released sometime in 2024.
Margo Rating: 🌟🌟/5
Matilda Rating: 🌟🌟🌟/5