I read this book a while ago, but I have been really bad at getting my reads reviewed and posted. Life has been crazy, and I have been so behind on the not necessary. Anyways, I’m really excited to share this little gem with you.
Book
After an uneventful season in Bath, Miss Charlotte Rosebury returns home to Warwickshire, looking forward to a visit from her mother’s friend. Their expected guest, Mrs. Worthington, has promised that her son will be accompanying her, and as Charlotte has only ever heard stories of the gentleman who rarely leaves his Yorkshire estate, she is most pleased to meet him. However, when her warm welcome is returned with a fierce frown from the handsome man, she cannot help but long to be free of him and his blue-eyed glare.
Despite his mother’s protests, Mr. Gabriel Worthington had made the decision long ago to remain unmarried, but when he meets Charlotte, doubts about his decision creep into his fearful mind, and he wishes for nothing more than to flee from the woman and never return.
For weeks, the two are forced to live within the same home, and though they provoke one another with teasing and stolen glances, an unlikely friendship blossoms between them, a friendship that grows stronger than either of them had expected. Will Gabriel concede to the choices binding his heart, or can Charlotte’s warmth be just the thing to strengthen their love and, at last, end their fears?
Review
This book is a true find for lovers or the Regency find and fans of Pride and Prejudice, as I feel this tale has a lot of similar elements to its’ story.
Charlotte is sweet, kind young girl, eager to welcome Gabriel into her home for a visit with is mother.
Gabriel on the other hand, is not in the mood for another setup with an eligible female, and takes it upon himself to set her straight right from the start. Charlotte, who genuinely was only offering him friendship, is taken aback by his bluntness, and immediately stays away from the brooding Gabriel, leaving him to regret his harsh behaviour and rash assumptions.
As time passes, and he sees more of the real Charlotte, he is forced to admit to himself that he was an idiot to assume her friendliness was anything more than that, as he sees her kindness directed to all around her. And he starts to feel that the allurement he feels towards Charlotte is more than just a keen interest in her, but might just been true feelings he has convinced himself for years he would never feel.
This story had me immersed in the pages, rooting for the two of them, getting upset with Gabriel many, many times (wanting to slap him several times), and smiling in pride at the splendidness of Charlotte. She truly has the power to warm that man’s wintered heart, and luckily enough the right dose of patience to hang on for the long run it takes to get there.
This book had me eagerly reading, getting frustrated at times, laughing at the cleverness of Charlotte, and sometimes left me with that deep piercing pain of empathy as I experienced the loss, confusion and despair the characters went through. I enjoyed it immensely, and would recommend this book to any fans of this genre, of any readers out there looking to broaden their reading range. This is definitely a good Regency read to start with, with a good dose of the details specific to the era, without detracting from the core of the romance.
About the Author
Deborah M. Hathaway graduated from Utah State University with a bachelor’s degree in English and an emphasis in Creative Writing. As a young girl, she watched her first regency romance (Pride and Prejudice, 1940), before devouring Jane Austen’s novels and being captured by all things Regency. After falling madly in love with, and then marrying, her English husband, Deborah traveled to the United Kingdom, spending time in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. While exploring the beauty of the countryside, she received inspiration within cities such as York and Stratford-upon-Avon, the latter being one of her favorite places in the world. She is thrilled to have three novels out and is already working on her next clean romance.