I do enjoy looking back at a time when manners mattered. 3 gal pals dream of life as an adult. Finally that time has arrived. There are balls to attend and copious amount of rules to remember. And to find a match? I liked the story. Just happy I didn't live in those times. I don't think I would have been good about finding my match with so many rules in place. A good escape read.

Writing down your criteria for apurchase is a good thing. We wrote down our criteria for moving house, or when we bought household items. But husband criteria is something different. However, at this time, marriage was more about family status, politics, wealth or land than it is now - usually. But not always of course, as the adverts in the Times of India can testify.
So criteria made sense then, even if not always strictly adhered to!
Nice book.

London 1817 it is time for young ladies to make their debut to secure a husband. Three friends (Cynthia, Chloe and Ann) have set themselves guidelines on which they will stick in order to find their husbands.

The book was a pleasant read and didn't have too many twists and turns.

A charming Regency novel following cousins Cynthia, Chloe, and Ann across the Season, Catherine Kullmann has created a unique romance novel. Cynthia, Chloe, and Ann must navigate the London Season, the judgment of Society, and the marriage market. However, any future husbands must meet and pass their “husband criteria” -- officially or not. Kullmann’s characters are lively, engaging, and charming, and the supporting cast are equally well-developed despite their lack of page time. This novel is a whimsical, fun, easy-to-read page-turner, and the characters flit from page to page, bringing their charm and daily schedule to the reader. Kullmann’s prose and characters are engaging and immersive, with strong personalities of their own and quick wits to spar with Society’s best. Her settings, while not central to the story, reflect their inhabitants’ values and character, thriving in the cultured climate of London. Cynthia, Chloe, and Ann’s friendship has clearly survived a handful of social scandals and will weather the Social storm once again, as they are all willing to place their unity above social norms and privileges. Nicknamed the Three Graces, the three cousins and their families share strong bonds and familial ties, which, in addition to their Husband Criteria, help them emerge from the London Season.

Brace yourselves! This book has a lot of characters!

I liked the language in this book. It feels appropriate for its time period and has a strong sense of place. The ladies are lovely and the gentlemen are swoonworthy. The characters and the situations they find themselves in felt very much in the style of Jane Austen.

The author tries to alleviate the initial character overload by providing a List of Characters at the start of the book. However, I don’t enjoy having to navigate to the list in my Kindle app every time I come across a name I don’t remember - it is just too clunky for me.

Overall, I enjoyed this book for the language, the main characters, and its Austenesque style.

As sweet easy read, The Husband Criteria is the third in the Loring series and although I am sorry that I haven't read the first two it really doesn't matter. This book features three friends Chloe, Anne and Cynthia, referred to by the ton as the Three Graces. Initially I found myself a little confused as to who was related to whom but after untangling the relationships it's a great little read. The focus is on Cynthia in this book and her blossoming romance with Rafe. This is a gentle story with not a lot happening except how the higher classes behave in their society. Small niggle, there are some spelling errors but that's just my thing! Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an advance copy for review. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

The Husband Criteria by Catherine Kullmann is set in Regency London during the time of the Season, tons, balls and romance. The era, vernacular and setting are lovely and the writing contains fun quirky and witty bits which are appealing.

"Three Graces" Cynthia, Chloe and Ann feel they know what they desire in a husband and their eventual relationship choices are interesting to follow. The social aspects and mores of the time are always fascinating to become immersed in.

I look for light appetizer-y reading interspersed with heavier Nonfiction material so this appealed to me but the detailed wedding night description at the end was unnecessary and added nothing to the story in my view.

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this novel.

Thank you Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for this arc.

I agree that there are a lot of characters in this book and at first I felt a bit overwhelmed by them.

The reason behind Chloe, Ann, and Cynthia being worried about what a man might really be like outside of social engagements among the beau monde is mainly, I believe, due to Chloe’s parents. I read the blurbs for the other books and her parent’s marriage was acrimonious. The three young women have discussed marriage and hit upon the idea of listing the characteristics of what type of man they’re looking for. Looks and money are a factor as no one wants to be married to someone who physically repulses them and who wants to live in poverty but the most important things they’re looking for are compatibility, kindness, someone who listens to them, and respects them.

Cynthia’s first meeting with Marfield (or Rafe as she finally learns his Christian name after they are tentatively edging into a relationship) is at Gunter’s (the book makes good use of the standard “Season” events and places). Something makes her maintain eye contact with him instead of dropping her eyes with maidenly blushes which makes him decide to saunter over. When he is asked a question to which he replies a bit dismissively (he honestly didn’t have an answer to it), Cynthia springs to her friend’s defense and firmly puts him in his place. Intrigued he later asks her to dance at a ball and the two find themselves beautifully matched while waltzing. As this is her second Season, Cynthia knows the rules and doesn’t seek to snag his attention unlike other debs in the hunt for his (future) title. She also doesn’t simper nor bat her eyes at him. Rafe finds this refreshing, thinks Cynthia is unique among women, and begins to seek her out. But with the ton watching, how can they truly get to know each other and be sure they’ll match for life?

There are many things I enjoyed about the book. We get Cynthia’s brother’s and Rafe’s PsOV on how the men see the Season. At first Rafe isn’t looking for a bride but after his father indicates that he wants Rafe to take over a family property, Rafe begins to change his mind thinking that having a wife would help that. Neither his parent’s nor Cynthia’s met during a Season so they don’t have first hand knowledge of trying to court and be courted in public. Cynthia advises another deb to try and develop topics for conversation as her brother has told her that when a deb says little beyond “yes” or “no” it appears to others that she thinks him a dull fellow. There’s also the intimidation of approaching a young woman across a dance floor.

Cynthia and Rafe actually talk. At first he’s surprised by her frankness and honesty but soon finds he looks forward to hearing what she has to say. They astonish their parents by stating they want to spend time together before entering into any agreement and that either one should be able to back out. This shows readers how hampering the rules of Polite Society were. The darker sides of the London events are shown by how Cynthia’s mother’s request for vouchers to Almacks is capriciously denied while those for Chloe and Ann are approved. The three are determined to stick together and various family members of them all send theirs back after a discussion of how this could affect the young women’s popularity and invitations. Newspaper gossip threatens reputations as well but once Rafe and Cynthia are sure (to the delight of their parents) Rafe’s mother has the perfect polite revenge for the Patronesses.

There is no plot other than the Season and how marriage and prospects affect the lives of the ton. What is shown is how people navigated this important Social event, how reputations needed to be protected, how eyes were watching everything to sniff out intentions and tittle-tattle, and how important finding your feet and having friends were to enjoying the balls, routs, drives in the Park, and musicales. The Rules were paramount and flouted at risk. I didn’t feel, despite the discussions the debs have about women being able to support themselves or Cynthia and her brother have about social order, that these are twenty-first century people dressed in period costume. This felt like a refreshing return to the type of historical books that pay attention to detail and being authentic. I enjoyed it so much that I’m looking into acquiring and reading the first two books. B

A sweet easy read following the friendship of three friends and the romance of one no real issue's just the ladies wanting to make sure they consider what they want in a husband which is not about rank but about them being themselves. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Decision by list!

Refreshing Regency tale exploring the thoughts and feelings of three young women who are making their Presentation to the aging Queen Charlotte.
The three are fast friends, have supportive families, and enhance each other with their looks. So much so that the Ton have taken to calling them the ‘Three Graces.’
When younger they had made a list, their criteria for husbands. What to look for, how the gentleman treated them. In general they were looking to get behind the facile surface to a truer knowing. Very difficult! The list contained “not the obvious things like birth and wealth, but whether he was kind, a good listener, generous or mean-spirited, or a fortune-hunter. [The girls] said the artificiality of the Season [made] it difficult to assess a fellow’s character and to weed out those who might ignore or mistreat their wives.”
The Husband Criteria mainly follows Cynthia Glazebrook. She meets a man, Lord Rafe Marfield who might stand the test. Unfortunately, because her grandfather was a nabob, the patronesses of Almack’s have refused her a voucher. Her friends Chloe and Ann returned theirs, no explanation given.
That of course is not the end of the drama.
Cynthia is attracted to Rafe, heir to the Earl of Benton. Even so can she trust him enough to give up her independence?
Ann Overton is a very gifted musician. Her battles are around being able to play her music and not have it become second place to maintaining a home. She is delighted when she’s invited to join a musicians’ working group, but in the end that betrays her.
Chloe Loring has feelings for tutor Thomas Musgrave. Unfortunately his interests appear to be engaged elsewhere.
A charming tale of supportive friendship and young women taking as much control as they can in learning about potential partners.
Of course the ton learn of the ladies’ list and more than one lady enquires about it.
Enjoyable read if you can keep in mind the various moving parts.

A BokksGoSocial ARC via NetGalley.
Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change
(Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I really enjoyed this classic styled historical romance. We follow three young ladies starting with their presentation to the Queen and on to their first season as debutantes in the marriage market, the non-stop rounds of balls, parties, and soirees attended every season by London's aristocrats.
Each girl has different expectations for their season but all would love to find a true love match. They develop a list of criteria their gentleman callers must meet in order to be acceptable as "husband material".
This is an utterly charming, delightful look into the lives of the beau monde and the "season", designed to produce good matches for the young ladies of the ton. This did not include love, the matches were mostly made based on status, amount of wealth, land etc. that one was bringing to the marriage. One did not marry down, always looking to make a match that would lift one above one's present status and rise above.
If you like reading novels rich in historical detail, a lovely storyline and truly likeable characters, then this one is for you. I loved it, now I must go back and read the first in this series, only because this one was so good, but it definitely works as a stand-alone. I highly recommend and give 5 stars.
Thank you to Books Go Social and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

This is a delightful story following three young ladies as they navigate the maze of the London season and the Mariage Mart, They are aware marriage to a suitable husband is really their only option, but they have given much careful thought to their ideal There were strict rules young ladies had to follow, not to mention anxious moments waiting to learn if they had obtained vouchers to attend the all important club, Almacks., but like today, some acquaintances were only too happy to be nasty and spread damaging lies and gossip.
The characters, female and male, come across as real people, individuals, with their own hopes and wishes for their future. The author entertains while keeping the characters within the social conventions of the day .I enjoy discovering how lives were in the early nineteenth century not todays attitudes in long skirts.
The book can be read as a stand alone novel, but an added bonus were the glimpses of characters met in the author’s previous novels. I have enjoyed all the author’s previous books, however the opening paragraph of this novel caught me immediately, what a homage to Jane Austen.
Another keeper

This book was a DNF for me. I found the abundance of characters hard to keep straight, and found the plot to be slow and lacking in depth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’ve not been quite sure what to make of this third novel in the Loring series. I very much enjoyed the first two books, but this one left me slightly puzzled. There is no drama (not of itself a problem, I’m not a fan of muddles and misunderstandings created purely to spin a story out) but it doesn’t have quite the depth of "A Comfortable Alliance" or " Lady Loring’s Dilemma". Although billed as the story of three young women making their way together in society, much of the story is about one of them - I’m assuming that the other two will have their own volumes in due course.

Mrs Kullmann returns to her theme – reflected in most of her previous novels – of how even upper class women are at a disadvantage and therefore potentially vulnerable in the early 19th century. She does have a tendency to become slightly polemical about it, though you get her drift. This is a romantic story – Rafe in some ways is far too good to be true – but the Finale is best ignored by anyone wishing to avoid ‘spice’.

It is as ever well-written and based on sound and thorough research. It is also pleasing to read little updates about people from earlier books. The list of characters at the beginning is somewhat daunting, but useful once you get into the story, because (as was the case in real life) families who were members of the ton were hugely inter-connected in all sorts of ways.

I received an ARC in return for writing this review. I would normally post this review on Amazon.co.uk but the system is not allowing that at the moment.

The year 1817 the setting the London debut of young ladies mainly intent on securing a catch. In the matrimonial stakes that is. Three of them good friends have slightly loftier ambitions. They have within themselves set guidelines which they will stick to. The criteria would hold good even today other than the need for a comfortable lifestyle (they’ve not known anything else) . They are loyal to each other and when one of their group is refused vouchers at Almacks (a necessity of approval from the social powers that be)they take the highly irregular step of all three boycotting events hosted there.

Cynthia finds herself drawn to the very eligible Earl of Marfield and finds that she is very much in tune to his own views and ways of life. Chloe finds herself drawn to Thomas Musgrave but is hesitant, andAnn must decide whether music as a career is more important than marriage however impecunious the circumstances she may find herself in.

The book was a pleasant read for those who like romance in an uncomplicated manner without too many twists and turns.

The 3rd book in the Lorings series, in this novel we follow cousins Cynthia, Chloe and Ann as they traverse a London season. This is a quiet, well researched historical romance with a gentle feminist interpretation of making a match that would suit fans of Georgette Heyer.

A classic historical romance. It was so effortlessly authentic I had to double check the author was contemporary! As this is the second book in a series, I was delighted that I could enjoy reading it as a stand-alone. It immediately made me want to read “A Suggestion of Scandal“ and all her other books.

Three cousins and friends embark on the London season. Their staunch friendship supports them through this trial by fire where every misstep can mean tragedy. Their wit and humour was refreshing. No insipid misses here. And their desire for a love match is helped by their “list” of criteria, certainly a protection from scoundrels and bounders. This list is the only thing missing as would have loved to read it in full.

The large cast of characters is a bit confusing at first but they quickly slot into place. If you’re inclined, there is a character list at the beginning.

The “spice” at the end took me a bit by surprise. But as one fellow reviewer mentioned it was short, sweet and not terribly explicit.

Well written and entertaining Thank you NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review. Highly recommend.

Husband Criteria

Fans of Jane Austin will thoroughly enjoy this story of three young women going through a London Regency era debutante season looking for very particular traits in future husbands. Austin’s book Pride and Prejudice is referenced in this book. As they negotiate the charms and pitfalls of the many social activities available to them, they come to the unsurprising conclusion that candor is one of the most important qualities in a suitor. What happens as a result of this candor is a delightful event.

This seems like the beginning of a series that readers will love.

Catherine Kullmann is one of my favorite historical romance authors. As in her other books, the narrative has well-developed characters and detailed descriptions of the settings and the fashions of the day. Kullmann does research to insure the authenticity of the historical elements, but she incorporates them in a skillful manner that enhances rather than interrupts the flow of the story. I often felt like I was in the rooms the characters inhabit.

The “The Husband Criteria '' follows three debutants entering the infamous “marriage mart” that readers of Regency romances know well. The so-called husband criteria develops out of a discussion these friends have about the most essential characteristics that they desire in a mate. Chloe Loring (first seen in “A Suggestion of Scandal”) and Ann Overton are in their first season. Cynthia Glazebrook is embarking on her second season. We learn about what each young woman desires but the main action focuses on Cynthia.

Cynthia's first meeting with the main male character, Lord Marfield, is not a “meet cute” scene. It demonstrates that Cynthia speaks her mind. Lord Marfield is not charmed, but as the story unfolds he comes to appreciate her directness. I enjoyed how Kullman shows their physical attraction. At the same time they get to know each other in family settings, not just in the ballrooms.

There are not any real villains, except for the cruelties of the “ton.” Ann and Chloe have some disappointments and I hope Kullman gives us stories about them in future books. I never felt like the characters in the book are perfect people but for the most part the main characters and their families are kind and supportive.

There is a long list of characters at the beginning of the book that I start to read. But after the first few pages in the Kindle edition I decided to just plunge in and enjoy the story. I got confused a few times about whose brother someone was, but by reading along it became clear.

I received an ARC from the author via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This was a DNF for me. I found there were too many characters in it, and although author has written an extensive list at the start of who was whom, it was too hard to remember and keep track of, and the story felt very slow to progress, so I gave up after a few chapters