He discarded his dreams to hide what he’s become.She sacrificed everything to protect what’s most dear to her.Have they found family at last—or will their secrets drive them apart?Forever changed by a mysterious past, Hugh Pembroke has given up any thought of home and family until the death of an old friend makes him the guardian of a child he’s never seen. Little Lettie is frightened and alone, … guardian of a child he’s never seen. Little Lettie is frightened and alone, and he longs to give her the life she deserves.
Aoife Donnelly has given up everything: her name, her status, all she values most, to protect her own secret. Accepting a position at Juris Hall as governess to Mr. Pembroke’s ward seems to offer the security she seeks.
But Lettie’s grandfather, the vengeful Viscount Rainsford, will stop at nothing to ruin them all. It will take a miracle to save them—or perhaps just a little magic.
Can Hugh and Aoife trust each other enough to keep Lettie safe—and maybe find happiness as well?
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I Want To Know More About Felicia
Mr. Pembroke’s Ward is an action-packed page turner. It features a complex plot and a diverse range of characters, yet it never becomes confusing. Its themes of race and equality are fabulous, and the historical elements are wonderful.
The Opening
The prologue launches us into the story in medias res with a desperate escape in progress. It provides a great initial hook and introduces both an important character and a major conflict and theme of this novel.
One small thing that confused me was that Lettie sounds like a newborn baby in the prologue (her precious bundle), but a few months later she appears as a nine-year-old child. Until Hugh meets her, I was expecting a baby.
The Characters
Lettie is an instantly sympathetic character. Her color leads to prejudice, and her mistreatment by her grandfather is terrible. She is polite, bright, and one of my favorite characters in this novel. She has clear abandonment issues and a range of interests that make her truly three-dimensional.
Hugh is a werewolf, which isn’t a spoiler since it comes up pretty quickly in the story. He’s also a really likable guy with no prejudice and a lot of empathy for other people. His actions within the novel speak louder than words.
Aoife is another easily likable person because of how she is so sidelined by Mrs Nibley. I wish the author had made it clearer that she was Irish and spoke with an Irish accent because this isn’t raised until later. I love her interaction with Miss Felicia Nibley and Lettie.
Felicia is by far my favorite character. She bends over backward to keep every other character in the novel happy. She always goes the extra mile to do what’s right. I think there is hidden depth in Felicia that may be revealed in a later novel. It is possible she is asexual or a lesbian, but there is not enough information provided to be certain. She may merely yearn for independence more than for a relationship.
The Plot
There is a lot going on in this novel. It is action-packed from the very beginning. For the first half of the novel, I felt that the paranormal element was unnecessary. The story was already interesting and engaging enough without adding in any supernatural issues. However, the mythical creatures become more important to the story as it develops.
I found the ending most satisfying. The authors managed to round up all the various plots quite neatly.
I think that Hugh’s first visit to the cottage during a full moon should have been shown rather than glossed over. If it had been shown, then the paranormal element of the story would have been clearer, and it would have made the later more important transformations easier to visualize. The cottage presented an opportunity to demonstrate the various forms of transformation before they became important to the plot.
The Setting
The house and estate are generally well described as is the village. However, I would have liked more about the cottage. What is so special about that building? Presumably it is something to do with its isolation, but it might have been better to show it more within the narrative.
The Prose
The story was well narrated, but the prose didn’t have the Regency feel that you find in some other Regency Romances, such as Miss Isabella Thaws a Frosty Lord. I mean, the vocabulary didn’t sound like it belonged in the Regency. To me, Hugh’s voice just sounded modern northern English.
My Opinion
I enjoyed reading this paranormal Regency romance. While I felt that some of the paranormal elements could have been better shown, the plot and characters were wonderful.
I’m going to rate it as 9 out of 10, which will translate to 5 out of 5 on Goodreads and Amazon. If Lettie’s age had been clearer in the prologue and the first visit to the cottage had been detailed more, it would have been a 10.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Mr. Hugh Pembroke had bought an estate and settled down. He did not want a wife. He looked to be thirty with waving light brown hair and grey eyes. He was a gentleman and loved children. He had a modest income and he had trouble with the doting mamas. But he could have no children and he was very disappointed. One thing he was sort of glad for was that his friend died, but gave the guardianship to Hugh, of his daughter.
Miss Aoife Donnelly was from Ireland and worked for the Nibleys, as their daughter’s governess and then her companion. Miss Felicia Nibley was a lovely girl, who was as gentle and kind as few were at this time. Her mother was afraid Aoife would take away attention from her daughter, she was that breathtaking.
It was a charming story of how a man fell in love and by his evil father who would not allow him to love. There are some surprises and a few twists. It kept me up reading until I was finished. It was interesting, entertaining, and whimsical. The main characters were wonderful. The other characters were spread over the emotional spectrum. Slavery is spoken about and the evil things Charles’s father does to try to take from his son. There is some crying involved, mine. I am so glad I got the chance to read this excellent book, it gives you some things to think about.
I received this ARC from the author and voluntarily reviewed it.
Odd, But Interesting Book
I am not quite sure how to review this book. When I first read the book description, it sounded like a typical Regency with a very slight twist (the ward). But the book certainly has more than a slight twist! I was surprised at the strong paranormal element. I do love a good paranormal story, like paranormal cozy mysteries or romances. Perhaps if I had been warned in the book’s description, I would have been more accepting of it in this book. But as a historical author might say, my eyebrows literally flew to my hairline when I first read that the hero was concerned about having a ward because he’s a werewolf. Oh, my goodness!
Honestly, I do not feel like this story was in any way made better by the paranormal element, which I think is key to the inclusion of one in a book like this. It seemed, frankly, irrelevant, and I felt it got in the way of the bigger story, which is about slavery. The authors clearly did a lot of research about what slavery was like in the West Indies at the time. I was surprised by it and felt very sorry for the “freed” woman left behind and her poor young daughter. While slavery was not allowed in England itself, its West Indian colonies allowed it. People could be free Negroes, but they had to be under the domain of a white master or mistress: free but not freed. One needed to have papers stating your freedom, and if those became lost or there was any question, a certain number of white witnesses had to attest to the fact that you were, in fact, free. A bad system that, of course, led to abuses, as we see in this story.
The best part about the story was the relationship between the little girl and her new guardian who she called Uncle. She is a total sweetheart, with an absolute terror of abandonment, having her father leave when she was quite young and being separated from her mother. The hero, because of his werewolf nature (I can’t quite believe I’m dictating that), cannot have children though he likes them and has always wished he could have some. They both find solace with each other, and the way he treats her is so sweet. She is like the daughter he never had, and she gets treated like a young gentlewoman (her father was a younger son of an earl) for the first time in her life, though not everyone in the environs of the hero’s manor treats this slightly dark-skinned little girl well.
Other than the odd paranormal aspect that just didn’t seem to fit, I enjoyed this book. I thought that the pacing was incredibly slow at times, though, especially at the beginning. It felt as though we were often just seeing slices of daily life, one day after another, with little really interesting happening besides watching the development of the hero’s relationship with his new ward. I did feel like the book needed to be more tightly focused.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
A Regency romance full of mystery and suspense. Really entertaining to read.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Well let me tell you what a surprise this historical romance was. So many lies to cover dark secrets. Fascinating characters. Unexpected and unpredictable. This is an unusual story. I desperately want to give you a few spoilers but it would really disappoint you when you read it. It would not be as exciting if you knew what was to occur. This is well written, the characters are well developed, full of life and personalities. The little ones in the story were adorable. I highly recommend this story for those into the unusual and things that are otherworldly and mystical.
This really is a sweet story. Lord Pembroke has a big heart full of compassion. The “fatherly” role he so willingly and instantly eases into with his ward is so touching. Aoife has like characteristics and they make a great team. The story is informative without being boring, a bit of the expected society drama, mystery and romance is clean & not rushed. Very interesting characters and I hope the authors will write stories for the supporting characters as well and expound on the paranormal elements.
I was provided a free copy without obligation and I am voluntarily reviewing.