4.5 stars
It took me about fifty pages to warm up to this book and its characters but once I did I fell in love with their story and the relationships between them. Harriet Wolf had a heartbreaking childhood that later propelled her to write a series of much beloved and praised books. After her death there was clamor for a much wanted seventh volume that no one appears to know for sure really exists. This novel follows four different perspectives; Harriet, her daughter Eleanor and her granddaughters Tilton and Ruthie. Each character offers a completely unique perspective to the story and while Harriet's seventh book plays out, you find yourself routing for the complex love between these mothers and daughters. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
First Season/Bride to Be by Jane Ashford
Pub. Date - October 6, 2015
2 stars/4.5 stars
This is a hard book to rank because it is a bind up of two very distinct novels. The first of which I did not care for and the second of which I thoroughly enjoyed. First Season stars with an intriguing story line. Anabel is the young widowed mother of three precocious children. She entered into an arranged marriage very young and was denied the chance at her own season or the chance to make some of her own life decisions. Her mother decides to bring her to London to offer her a first season. Anabel is immediately noticed by a notorious rake who pursues a woman for the first time in his life. Around this time, family friend Christopher Hanford appears in town after some time abroad. His steady presence relaxes Anabel but also introduces new feelings. The story is good but Anabel might be one of the most infuriating heroines that I have come across in the historical romance genre. She is so naïve and foolish that it is really hard to root for her and her constant confusion and lack of backbone makes her unlikable. I almost put the entire volume down... but I am glad that I didn't because the second book was much, much better.
In Bride to Be, notorious London dandy Richard has just returned from being shipwrecked in South America for a year. His whole personality has changed and he dreads going back into the society that he once ruled. On his way back he is attacked by two men and would have drowned were it not for Emily boldly rescuing him and dragging him to safety. Emily lives with her two very bohemian, social outcast parents and longs for a more stable existence. She is sent to spend the season with her aunt, a duchess, and attempt to impersonate a demure society lady. Her attempts come to naught when she is forced into contact once again with handsome Richard and realizes that his life might be in very much danger. As they work together to discover who is behind the attacks, they realize they might just be meant for each other. This is pretty much a perfect romance read for me, with complex yet likable characters, interesting backstory and just enough danger. I especially liked Richard's story and his unlikely transformation and would have liked even more insight to his former existence as the town wit. I'm not sure why these two books were bound together but I would suggest reading the second even if you are not a fan of the first as it is the much better of the two. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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