Education of Pip (Meddle & Mend #3)

The Education of Pip by Sarah Wallace

I just cannot say enough how much I love Wallace's characters, and getting to read these books where good things happen to them is just the absolute best.

In this book, we get to see how Pip's life turns out after the events at the end of One Good Turn. Pip - a very endearing, gentle person with a difficult past who is not really comfortable being made a fuss over - finds himself in a house full of new friends who would really like to make a fuss, but choose to follow his lead and respect his boundaries while offering their support. It's all really very touching, and is an excellent literary example of just how valuable found family can be.

We also get lovely individual moments with Gerry, Gavin, Charles, The Dukex and especially Lord Finlington as Pip gets to know each one individually and settles into the family. It was nice to have a book that took us outside of London to enjoy some scenes of country living, to see Gerry's spell shop and to go riding with Charles again. I also really enjoyed the little dives into how the magic in this world works as we watch Pip's lessons.

One thing to be aware of for readers is that Pip carries a lot of guilt and shame for chunks of the book, which is both sad to read and easy to empathize with. While Wallace does always provide that 'happily ever after', her characters still have real experiences, and in Pip's case some of that is dealing with and confronting trauma. So just be sure to check the content warnings in the front of the book if that's something you'd be concerned about.

If you haven't read the other Meddle & Mend books, I would recommend starting at the beginning with Letters to Half Moon Street as events are sequential and the characters grow too as the series progresses. You don't want to miss falling in love with this regency-adjacent world and it's characters from the beginning.