This book releases today! It is the 6th book in this series, and a real Regency read!
Book
Irish heiress Caroline Fulton knows this house party, ostensibly celebrating the victory of Waterloo, is really an audition: will she make a suitable wife? Her host, an English lord, has already won over her father, who’s determined to buy a title with Caroline’s dowry. She is far from taken with the baron, however, especially once she meets Niall Doherty, the impoverished, perceptive tutor to her host’s younger brothers. He shares her love of Irish fairy tales and seems to guard a troubled past…but neither quality will earn Caroline’s father’s approval.
Review
This book is the 6th book in the series of the Power of the Matchmaker. The more books you read, the more you come to understand that each author puts their own spin on the character of Miss Pearl. The one may have her play a fairly important role, reoccurring many times throughout the book, the other has her simply making a small appearance to play her role at implying a match.
I fell in love with the notion of the Miss Pearl who has this magical essence that can’t be explained. She strongly senses this perfect match that is not the easy route, but the lasting one worth fighting for. In each book so far you see that the love stories come with their own amount of hardship and struggle, and in the end, the match is worth fighting for.
In this book, Miss Pearl makes a small appearance at the start of this story, yet her impression is a lasting one. I personally missed her influence a little throughout the book. The Miss Pearl I have come to know and look for throughout this series has this way about her that doesn’t make her an interfering character, but rather someone very skillful at guiding the couple in the right direction, helping them to figure the path out leading to each other.
In this book we go back to the Regency era, but meet two very Irish people both trying to fit in with the British. Miss Fulton, Caroline, is trying to form a match with a man of title to please her father, but can’t help but be captivated by the tutor of the house, Niall Doherty.
They spend five days getting to know each other and fall in love. Alas they are torn apart, and end up separated for almost a year. Circumstances and the inevitability of their match bring them back together, where they are offered a new chance. This time around the odds have turned, and Caroline finds herself in the less promising position.
This book was a pleasant read, but for me it wasn’t perfectly balanced. I found the start a little slow, and also hard at parts. I read regency, but not all the time, so certain phrases and expressions were a little unfamiliar to me. Then when we get past the first five days, the connection is made, time seems to speed up, and a lot is missed for me. I felt many questions were left unanswered in that part of the story. The book in and of itself was long enough, but to my opinion could have been a little more balanced out.
About the Author
Heidi Ashworth, best-selling, award-winning author of traditional regency romance, lives in the San Francisco bay area, but she lost her heart across the pond when she was very young. She read her first regency romance when she was four years old (just a few words, but it was enough). The first one she wrote took place in Paris circa 1974 but such gaffes are mere trifles when you are only ten. Since then she has sharpened her skills and garnered a few accolades; Miss Delacourt Speaks Her Mind hit the number one spot on several of Amazon’s regency romance lists in both the U.S. and England, while its sequel earned a finalist position in the Whitney Awards (both are available via Montlake Romance).Her novella, It Happened Twelfth Night, is one of six short stories in the first volume of the award-winning, best-selling series, A Timeless Romance Anthology, via Mirror Press, and the third book in her Miss Delacourt series, Lord Haversham Takes Command, was re-released in a box set entitled “Every Hope: A Triple Treat Romance”, in December 2014, also via Mirror Press. Her latest in the Miss Delacourt series, Miss Armistead Makes Her Choice, garnered a 4.5 star Crowned Heart review from InD’tale Magazine and is currently a 2015 RONE Award finalist. Coming December 2015, A Midwinter Ball from the Timeless Regency Collection by Mirror Press and O’er the River Liffey in June 2016.
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