For years, Kitty Fairwell was stuck on her family’s gloomy estate. Now, she’s started the life of her dreams in London society, dancing at the finest balls and flirting with the most handsome bachelors. She’s even attached a gentleman who seems to adore her—even if his kisses for some reason leave her cold.But when her friend is seduced by a blackguard, Kitty won’t hesitate to put friendship … friendship first. Hiding Louisa in the countryside also gives Kitty the opportunity to catch up with her beloved (if extremely grumpy) brother… and arrange his house to her satisfaction.
The life she wants is back in London. So why, every time she talks to her brother’s estate manager, does the country suddenly sound so tempting?
Seven years ago, tragedy struck John Stanger’s life. Needing to start fresh, he took a commission in the Army. He should have known that the gentlemen in the upper ranks would never accept a cloth merchant’s son as their equal.
At the bloody battle of Albuera, he saved his friend Ned Fairwell’s life. When Ned invited him to manage his estate, he saved John’s soul. Ned isn’t always the most charming man, but their loyalty to each other is unshakable.
John wouldn’t endanger his newfound serenity for anything. Especially not the tempting kisses of his best friend’s little sister….
Steam Level: 2.5 on a scale of 0 to 5. Sweet in tone, but not strictly clean.
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A historical novel with many moments where you get a smile on your face.
Kitty is the youngest in a family of 6 children, the oldest 3 of whom are her half-brothers and half-sister. As a well-behaved young woman, she has her season in London to find a man to marry. She finds this in Percy Wolcott. Although, when she kisses him she feels little. And she expected otherwise. It makes her think about love and passion. Then her friend comes to her. The man she felt lusted for and let go by hit her hard and she refuses to marry him. As a fallen woman, she has nowhere to go and Kitty decides to accommodate her with her brother Ned. Ned has returned badly wounded from the war and depends on his stewart in everything he has to do. And this John Stanger makes Kitty’s heart beat faster and when she is kissed by him ……
The story itself is already well set up. But what gives the book an extra star is the humorous dialogues and thoughts that are not spoken out loud. I found Kitty a brave lady who stands up for her feelings and the people around her. And very brave, for that time and in her class, to give in to a love under your class
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’m still trying to decide how this book sits with me. I loved the story, the dialogue was great. the setting was believable and fun to read about, the characters were intriguing with compelling stories; sounds awesome, right? 🙂 I think what tripped me up was that this was the first Regency Romance that I have read that falls in the category of ‘a bit more spicy’. I knew it wasn’t going to be a ‘romance romance’ because it didn’t have a racy cover photo, but I was a little caught off guard by the ‘lack of propriety’ of the characters and how sexuality was referenced at some points of the story. It seems like it was a modern story but with the characters speaking like they were from a different era and wearing different clothes (but the themes seemed of our day). Yes, there was anatomy mentioned in the love scenes, but it was actually very sweet and fun all in all. I think what I’m questioning is the validity of the ‘looseness’ because it goes against what ‘good society’ dictates regarding the time. I love to read Regency, I love the wit and plight of the characters, but I’m not sure whether to trust the authenticity of the experience of the heroin and hero. Yet, as I type that, I disagree with myself. They seem very authentic. Good for them. Yep, this story is a win. Whew. Sorry for the internal debate :).
I noticed that the author was very well versed in the clothing and comments of the time period. That was refreshing. She even used phrases I probably should have looked up (she seems smart, in other words). 🙂 Pretty cool.
Rough Beginning but Good Romance
I am of several minds of this book. I enjoyed the family aspect of it. The Fairwell siblings are a varied and somewhat contentious lot, which makes for good reading. I liked that the siblings were so distinct and that there was a clear power structure within the family, even though some were chafing against it. I enjoyed the romantic aspect of this story, as I particularly liked the hero. It is fun at times to have a hero who is not wealthy or of the nobility, which is the usual case in a Regency. He’s a good man of outstanding character who is able to keep his friend and employer—Ned Fairwell—in line (so much as anybody possibly could). Unfortunately, I found the book hard to get into because I felt like the author tried to give too much information right at the beginning that was just plain hard to follow. To her credit, she didn’t do it in standard information dump format, but it was still too much, too complicated, and too soon. Much could have been spread throughout the early chapters, which would have made it feel less confusing, as it unfortunately was. Another odd thing is that there seems to be a problem with semicolons. I will admit I’m a bit fanatical about correct grammar, punctuation, and usage. I usually see more issues with commas rather than semicolons, so these just jumped right out at me. At times, the author uses them as if they were commas, like to separate out of phrase—which isn’t proper use it all. There are other issues with semi-colons, but I won’t detail them here because I’m sure few care about them besides me. :=)
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
I loved the characters.
Augustine Lang is a new author for me and I enjoyed her book a great deal. I loved the characters Kitty Fairwell and John Stanger. The attraction between them was engaging and had me wishing the best for both of them. Kitty has such a giving heart and really a person you would love to have as a friend. The ending was so well-written and I look forward to other books by Ms. Lang. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.