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bellesmoma2021's review
5.0
A Great Novel
Oh my goodness. Where do I begin? This novel is beyond anything I imagined. The characters are so exquisitely written, the plot completely engaging, and the wit! The wit is so well executed. I love this story, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written Regency-Era story. This novel is a page-turner; when I had to put it down, I was sad to do so. I am very excited for June to come because book 2 in this series will be available. I cannot say enough positive about this book. So good! Ms. Miller is a fantastic writer, and I hope she will continue writing amazing stories for years and years to come!
Oh my goodness. Where do I begin? This novel is beyond anything I imagined. The characters are so exquisitely written, the plot completely engaging, and the wit! The wit is so well executed. I love this story, and highly recommend it to anyone looking for a well-written Regency-Era story. This novel is a page-turner; when I had to put it down, I was sad to do so. I am very excited for June to come because book 2 in this series will be available. I cannot say enough positive about this book. So good! Ms. Miller is a fantastic writer, and I hope she will continue writing amazing stories for years and years to come!
esmeralda's review against another edition
3.0
I got a large print version of this book, because that is all my library had, but the book wasn't interesting enough to put up with it.
fiction_aficionado's review against another edition
4.0
Readers of inspirational Regency romance have much to look forward to with this debut release from Australian author Carolyn Miller. It’s just the kind of unhurried excursion into Regency life that begs you to find a cozy book-nook to curl up in, so that the here and now can fade away for a few hours. And fade it will, for this is an easy story to be drawn into.
Carolyn Miller did a lovely job of evoking the Regency era in the style of her writing, and readers familiar with Austen’s works, particularly Pride & Prejudice, will recognize a few familiar lines here and there throughout the novel. The author also did a lovely job of bringing the country setting to life. I know London has all the glamour and excitement (and we do head that way toward the end of the novel), but there’s something about the English countryside and the lifestyle there that feels so cozy—provided you’re not a poor tenant waiting for necessary maintenance and improvements to be carried out, of course. And therein lies just one of the problems plaguing Lord Hawkesbury when he arrives in Gloucestershire.
Miss Lavinia Ellison makes quick work of becoming another of Lord Hawkesbury’s problems with her forthright opinions, independent ways, and determination to help those in need. And the fact that he doesn’t appear to be very attentive to her father’s sermons certainly doesn’t raise him in her estimation! The banter between Lord Hawkesbury and Lavinia was very enjoyable for the most part, but there were times when they came across as a little capricious and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them or their relationship. Both characters were aware of this to a certain extent, and I liked that part of Lavinia’s growth as a character was discovering that virtues can become stumbling blocks if we do not take care to examine our attitude, but I still felt that their relationship see-sawed more than was necessary.
The second half of the novel took a surprising turn that I thought could have been more convincing if it had been foreshadowed earlier in the novel. Nevertheless, the story held me firmly in its grasp until the end, and I look forward to reading the next two books in the series as they release later in the year.
I received a copy of this novel through Netgalley. This has not influenced the content of my review.
Carolyn Miller did a lovely job of evoking the Regency era in the style of her writing, and readers familiar with Austen’s works, particularly Pride & Prejudice, will recognize a few familiar lines here and there throughout the novel. The author also did a lovely job of bringing the country setting to life. I know London has all the glamour and excitement (and we do head that way toward the end of the novel), but there’s something about the English countryside and the lifestyle there that feels so cozy—provided you’re not a poor tenant waiting for necessary maintenance and improvements to be carried out, of course. And therein lies just one of the problems plaguing Lord Hawkesbury when he arrives in Gloucestershire.
Miss Lavinia Ellison makes quick work of becoming another of Lord Hawkesbury’s problems with her forthright opinions, independent ways, and determination to help those in need. And the fact that he doesn’t appear to be very attentive to her father’s sermons certainly doesn’t raise him in her estimation! The banter between Lord Hawkesbury and Lavinia was very enjoyable for the most part, but there were times when they came across as a little capricious and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of them or their relationship. Both characters were aware of this to a certain extent, and I liked that part of Lavinia’s growth as a character was discovering that virtues can become stumbling blocks if we do not take care to examine our attitude, but I still felt that their relationship see-sawed more than was necessary.
The second half of the novel took a surprising turn that I thought could have been more convincing if it had been foreshadowed earlier in the novel. Nevertheless, the story held me firmly in its grasp until the end, and I look forward to reading the next two books in the series as they release later in the year.
I received a copy of this novel through Netgalley. This has not influenced the content of my review.
kristin's review against another edition
3.0
I would like to thank netgalley and Kregel publications for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
This is a sweet romance. I liked the sense of mystery that runs throughout the book, but am not a fan of the toing and throwing that happens towards the end of the book. The religious ideas seem a little strong at times and the story could have worked with out them.
This is a sweet romance. I liked the sense of mystery that runs throughout the book, but am not a fan of the toing and throwing that happens towards the end of the book. The religious ideas seem a little strong at times and the story could have worked with out them.
jamesflint's review against another edition
3.0
Galley provided by publisher
I'm on something of a regency kick at the moment. No other books have appealed to me so much, so obviously I had to pick this one up.
And, while it shares a lot of similarities with Austen novels in particular, it is a good one. To start with the similarities, in the beginning, it is almost to a T, Pride and Prejudice (in fact, the blurb even makes that comparison as well). Then there are scenes which remind me of Emma (specifically, a certain picnic scene). But if you're going to write regency novels, you're obviously going to run the risk of having an Austenesque plot (which, honestly, is no bad thing, because Jane Austen is amazing).
If anything, the pacing in this book seems a little strange. There's a rapid transition from hate to friendship, followed by a lot slower transition into love. And there are long passages where nothing seems to happen, that feel unnecessary or at the very least, like they could have been shortened. Near the end, there's also 1) a kind of flipping back and forth between 'oh he likes me' and 'he only wants me for ___' which doesn't make sense, and 2) a scene of attempted sexual assault which I thought was pointless, frankly. I mean, it doesn't add anything to the storyline, only gives the male character the chance to rescue the female character, and show how disgusting another male character is, but that whole thing is possible without recourse to attempted rape.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the implication that one can only truly be good if one is religious. BeforeLavinia's miraculous recovery from severe influenza , which leads to Nicholas becoming a "believer", it's implied that she could never see him as a good person, because he doesn't believe in God. Which, honestly, is a load of bullshit, but one that I might overlook because it's set in regency times, and that's probably pretty close to what they believed. Even so, there was a whole section in the middle where it gets very religious all of a sudden, and I don't know how I felt about that.
But, in general, it was a great book, with wonderful characters, and I definitely can't wait for book two (especially to see if Nicholas and Lavinia show).
I'm on something of a regency kick at the moment. No other books have appealed to me so much, so obviously I had to pick this one up.
And, while it shares a lot of similarities with Austen novels in particular, it is a good one. To start with the similarities, in the beginning, it is almost to a T, Pride and Prejudice (in fact, the blurb even makes that comparison as well). Then there are scenes which remind me of Emma (specifically, a certain picnic scene). But if you're going to write regency novels, you're obviously going to run the risk of having an Austenesque plot (which, honestly, is no bad thing, because Jane Austen is amazing).
If anything, the pacing in this book seems a little strange. There's a rapid transition from hate to friendship, followed by a lot slower transition into love. And there are long passages where nothing seems to happen, that feel unnecessary or at the very least, like they could have been shortened. Near the end, there's also 1) a kind of flipping back and forth between 'oh he likes me' and 'he only wants me for ___' which doesn't make sense, and 2) a scene of attempted sexual assault which I thought was pointless, frankly. I mean, it doesn't add anything to the storyline, only gives the male character the chance to rescue the female character, and show how disgusting another male character is, but that whole thing is possible without recourse to attempted rape.
I also wasn't a huge fan of the implication that one can only truly be good if one is religious. Before
But, in general, it was a great book, with wonderful characters, and I definitely can't wait for book two (especially to see if Nicholas and Lavinia show).
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