Lady Sophronia Sorrow considers herself an unlikely heroine. Why, just her name alone proves this. Sophronia Sorrow sounds like a girl from a gothic penny novel—the foolish miss who falls prey to a rake and becomes an object lesson for the true heroine to avoid. No, despite her mawkish name, Sophie refuses to spend her life invisible and unwanted, relegated to the margin of the text. Despite her … her eccentric, bluestocking ways, there must be a place where she is wanted. If only she could uncover the identity of her natural father, perhaps she would belong there?
But one thing Sophie knows for sure—unlike that foolhardy miss in a novel, she will not succumb to a rake. No matter how thoroughly the rakish Lord Rafe Gilbert may tempt her.
Lord Rafe Gilbert longs for freedom—freedom from his controlling father, freedom to live his life as he chooses. He knows playing the rake keeps his autocratic father in check, but Rafe longs to determine his own destiny. Case in point, he fell in love with Lady Sophie years ago, but his father’s threats and his mother’s health prevent him from pursuing Lady Sophie in earnest. So when Fate thrusts Sophie into his path, Rafe knows he must turn her away and distance himself. But doing the right thing has never been so impossibly difficult.
Sophie and Rafe soon find themselves on a journey together from London to a castle in the Scottish Highlands. Along the way, can two kindred souls heal from past hurts and seize a second chance to write a love story of their own?
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Lady Sophronia “Sophie” Sorrow considers herself an unlikely heroine. Despite her mawkish name, she refuses to spend her life invisible and unwanted. She is eccentric and has bluestocking ways. She feels there must be a place where she feels wanted if only she could uncover the identity of her natural father. Lord Rafe Gilbert tempts her, but she will not succumb to a rake. He longs for freedom from his controlling father. Playing the rake keeps his autocratic father in check, but Rafe longs to determine his own destiny. He fell in love with Sophie years ago, but his father’s threats and his mother’s health prevent Rafe from pursuing Sophie in earnest. When fate thrusts Sophie into Rafe’s path, he knows he must turn her away and distance himself. Doing the right thing has never been so impossibly difficult. Sophie and Rafe soon find themselves on a journey together from London to a castle in the Scottish highlands. Along the way, two kindred souls may heal from the past hurts and seize a second chance to write a love story of their own. – I loved the connection between Sophie and Rafe. They were perfect for each other. Her family was unusual. Rafe’s father was cruel and manipulative, an unlikeable character. The story was a little long and frustrating at times, but I enjoyed the book.
A good story.
I have read all of her books. She is such a great writer!!!!!!
Funny, sad but good characters
This is an amazing book.
I’ve always enjoyed a Nichole Van book. The stories always have a way of drawing me in & really holding my interest. The h was quirky and fun. I thought the tension and problems the couple had to overcome was written well and unfolded nicely. I wasn’t sure if how if the way a few things were written to fit in to the time period but it’s fiction and a fun read so it’s all just fine! I enjoyed how there was a bit of history woven into the story. Nichole Van is a wonderful story teller with layered charachters & showing not telling the reader the emotions, motivations of the h & H. The H was sweet and endearing. Had some good food for thought & good character growth. The romance was complete but there still is a bit of mystery that was introduced in book 1 that continues. Can’t wait for book 3!
I really enjoyed this book by Nichole Van. The story was intriguing and I loved the characters of Rafe and Sophie. This is the second book I have recently read with a character in the story who is suffering from “melancholy” at a time when mental illnesses were much less understood and often treated harshly.
This book had a lot of romance as well as a good bit of mystery. It also had a rather unique conclusion to the story line as well as lead-ins to potential sequels to the series. I will definitely be planning to continue with this series And I hope that perhaps these books will eventually be available in audiobook format as well.
Enjoyed the charicter development but a little slow at times.
Romance,clean; series but stand alone read
Lovely, honest, hurting, healing, and hopeful romance. Beautifully crafted, strong side characters, and sweet romance with a lovely chemistry between the two main characters. N.V. Does a wonderful job creating this world, set partially in England and partially in Scotland. The Brotherhood saga continuing in this novel. Loved reading this, an can’t wait for the next installment in the next novel in this series.
Interesting story. I loved Sophie from the start, she was smart and funny and resourceful. Rafe I struggled liking until I realized there was another main character, a faceless one – mental and emotional abuse. It affected Rafe and held him back from his full potential and from Sophie. Theirs was a hard won HEA. I liked Rafe better with that understanding. The Brotherhood of the Black Tartan had a minimal roll, still this is not a standalone. The ending seemed to come very quickly. There was a smattering of modern terminology. Also one very violent fistfight or rather, beating.