From grieving widow… 1851. After her merchant husband saved her from a life of prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol. But then a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath the only things she has left of him. And now the debt collectors will come calling. To a new life as a madam. … calling.
To a new life as a madam.
Forced to leave everything she knows behind, Louisa finds more painful betrayals waiting for her in the house in Bath. Left with no means of income, Louisa knows she has nothing to turn to but her old way of life. But this time, she’ll do it on her own terms – by turning her home into a brothel for upper class gentleman. And she’s determined to spare the girls she saves from the street the horrors she endured in the past.
Enlisting the help of Jacob Jackson, a quiet but feared boxer, to watch over the house, Louisa is about to embark on a life she never envisaged. Can she find the courage to forge this new path?
A Widow’s Vowis the first in a gripping and gritty new Victorian saga series from Rachel Brimble. You won’t be able to put it down.
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This is actually one of only a small few I’ve read where the leading lady is actually…well to put it delicately, though the book does not mince words…a lady of the night, or rather was, and is forced to be once more.
I was actually surprised by how much I loved the characters because the story line was giving me fits along the way. It’s not that I was judging them, they did what they needed to do, and seeing it through their eyes made you respect them more for it, but it’s certainly one that if you can’t suspend your own beliefs about the subject matter, it might not be a perfect match for you. That being said, it’s handled tastefully, no intimate scenes in actual detail of that nature though again their trade is not minced in words between themselves or simply on the page, as the author chose to focus more on the mental and emotional turmoil it caused the characters having to turn to this in the first place and what darkness first landed them there.
The only drawbacks I experienced where a small hole or two along the story line, a desire for a more complete ending, and a name mentioned that I’m daring to say was probably fixed between the eARC and the final edition. So ultimately, it was an unusually charming read with a cast you won’t be able to turn away from despite your actual feelings about what they carry on at because through their eyes, you can see the greener side of things, the determination to be self sufficient, the desire to not be under another’s control, and that in doing what they do, it could possibly afford them those ends.
Recommended for Historical Fiction fans that desire a leading lady with a backbone of steel, a leading man with firsts of fury, and an unexpected sharing of two hearts of gold.
**ecopy received for review; opinions are my own
This is not my first encounter with Rachel Brimble’s work as I have had the pleasure to have read many of her past historical novels and also a few of her contemporary ones too. I have always found her storytelling to be completely captivating, exciting to read and over brimming with drama. I have found that each and every story is really well researched, so that it gives you a real insight into the time period each story is set., A Widow’s Vow lives up to that very same standard that I now have come to expect from this author. As a first book in this new series it gives you a real taste of what life was like for a woman trying to survive in harsher times.
The women of this story, Louisa, Nancy and Octavia are all such amazing strong characters, each one of them written to have a different personality and yet they still form a true bond by always looking out for each other. Jacob is a man of honour that will have you swooning all over him. He’s a loyal true friend that finds something he never thought he wanted until he meets the beautiful Louisa.
The story was such a a wonderfully gripping read that I read it all in one sunny afternoon. I was so taken in by the lives of these characters, from reading about the darker seedier side of Jacob’s life as a boxer to following which path that Louisa and her friends chose to go down. This was such a compelling read. One of Rachel Brimble’s finest yet!
4.25 Stars
1851. After her merchant husband Anthony saved her from a life of prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol along with her friend Nancy acting as maid come companion. But then a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath the only things she has left of him. And now the debt collectors will come calling. Forced to leave everything she knows behind, Louisa finds more painful betrayals waiting for her in the house in Bath. Left with no means of income, Louisa knows she has nothing to turn to but her old way of life. But this time, she’ll do it on her own terms – by turning her home into a brothel for upper class gentleman. Enlisting the help of Jacob Jackson, a quiet but feared boxer, to watch over the house, Louisa is about to embark on a life she never envisaged she’d have to live again.
A very well written book that drew me in from the start, very well paced with strong characters of depth. I loved Louisa who’d managed to survive being abandoned & then she thought she’d married an honourable man only to have the rug pulled from under her feet again but she’s a survivor. I also loved Jacob who whilst a fearful boxer was honourable & desperate to protect women in order to assuage his guilt over his mother’s murder. This wasn’t a run of the mill romance but it was heart warming & I loved how they fell in love. The road to their HEA wasn’t easy & was almost derailed a few times but it made for an engrossing read. I hope this is the start of a series as I’d love both Nancy & Octavia to find love & also to find out more about Octavia as I was left wanting more & wanting some questions to be answered hence I had to only give it 4 stars because the ending left lots of loose ends.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read