The Finishing Touches by Hester Browne

Betsy Phillimore returns to London for a sad occasion.  Her adoptive mother, Lady Phillimore has passed away and this is the memorial, held at the finishing school that was her love and passion.  Betsy came to the Phillimores when she was left on the doorstep in a box with a note asking them to raise her as a lady.  The Phillimores adopted her and she was raised at the school.  Betsy had a happy childhood but now lives in Edinburgh as she wanted to make it on her own.

Things have changed or more accurately, haven't changed along with the world which did.  The furnishings are looking a bit tatty.  The hordes of elegant women who have returned to honor Franny Phillimore are much more put together than the house which is tired looking.  When Betsy talks with Lord Phillimore, she finds that the school is having financial difficulties.  The curriculum is as tired as the house and is still teaching the students how to be a lady according to etiquette and standards of the sixties and seventies.  As the world changed, fewer and fewer families want that standard for their children and attendance is down.

Betsy resolves to do something to help.  She also wants to stick around and see if she can finally find out anything about her birth parents.  With the help of her best friend Liz, Matt who is the bursar of the academy and Jamie, Liz's dreamy brother who Betsy has always had a crush on, she works on updating the curriculum to offer advice on what a young professional women newly out on her own needs to know.  The lessons seem to be catching on but there are existing administrative employees that work to undermine Betsy and her ideas.  Can she turn around the school and discover her own life story?

This is an interesting, light-hearted romance that will have readers smiling as they read.  Betsy is an indomitable spirit who anyone would love to call their friend.  The tension between Betsy and Matt and Betsy and Jamie is delicious as there is more than a hint of love in the air.  The reader is also compelled to find out along with Betsy the story of her origins.  This book is recommended for romance readers.