A second chance at her stolen future. A first chance at love. A long-held secret that could destroy it all… she need only find a husband and bear a son.
Convinced none could ignore her disfigurement and truly cherish her, she proposes a marriage of convenience to the charming and cryptic Captain Avebury. Despite her budding feelings for the naval officer, she’s petrified her own tawdry past could rip everything apart. And when she conceives, Lady Catherine fears her skeletons will spell exile for her and the unborn child…
Can Lady Catherine restore her name and secure her rightful destiny?
The Portrait is an authentically written historical novel with a dash of romance. If you like social intrigue, rich period settings, and lively heroines, then you’ll adore Cassandra Austen’s suspenseful tale.
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For years, I read historical romances, and then, after a breakup, I stopped reading romances all together for a while. But the cover of The Portrait caught my attention. The Portrait’s characters and the author’s writing really drew me back to this genre. I had forgotten what a wonderful escape this genre could be, and I’m grateful for Cassandra Austen. I hope she publishes more soon.
I first listened to this book on audible before reading the book. It was amazing to say the least and the narrator brought the book to life, making me feel all the longing and angst this story contains.
A woman who was disabled and hated by her father for not being a son, first of all and then being damaged. He put her down every chance he got and would not let her live a normal life. When he dies, she finds out that her mother was a Countess and had a holding in Wales.
She meets Captain Avebury, a naval officer who is on leave and she becomes very enamoured with him. He seems to see her as a person and not just her disability. She wants him to marry her and have a child so that the Countess line can continue.
But there are so many secrets she has and he a few of his own. Trust is a big issue and there are many twist and turns that I could not wait to find out what happened.
I would give this more than 5 stars if I could and I was very disappointed when I could not find more written by this author! Cannot wait to see if she writes more!!
Characters you will not forget.
This was the first book by Cassandra Austen I have read and it was such a pleasant surprise. The author has written a tale that has such intense emotions that the characters just jump off the pages and you will not want to put this book down. Lady Catherine, Captain Avebury and, Sir Lyle are characters you will not forget. There are secrets to be discovered so add danger to this romance. This book is really a must-read it was excellent. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Intensely Emotional!. A Portrait of Her Life..
Early Regency Romance and Mystery.
This is a very intensely emotional book. Actually much of The book is desperately depressing! Only the fact that it had to have a happy ending kept me going…
Lady Catherine was born with a twisted, weak leg, which ends up defining her life. She spends her life trying to prove she isn’t weak!
She is a countess in Her own right, as she inherited through Her mother. This makes Her even more desperate to make Her own way in the world.
Her eventual husband, Jocelyn, is a sea Captain, a hero who has his own secrets. He spends his young adult life proving he is worthy of his name.
They have a great love but make an angsty couple!
ARC Received from Booksprout
I got the ebook from Amazon for $.99.
If you love intensely emotional reads with some mystery, you will love this book!
Implausible Premise and Unsympathetic Heroine
What an odd collection of parts! Unfortunately, not necessarily a good one. I found the dialogue to be stilted and unnatural. The book suffered from info dumps, which I never like in the stories. This book is long enough that the author could have easily seeded the information that was dumped throughout the early part of the story. The book’s description of a countess’s titled being passed from mother to daughter intrigued me. I read a lot of historical romance, and I had never heard of such a thing. And given the quality of the rest of the book, I felt the need to research this to see how common this *heirs general* concept might be. It turns out that it is not common at all within the English and Welsh aristocracy, though there are some precedents in Scotland and with baronies. If the author had taken either of these routes, the story would have been at least plausible even if not probable. I did find this fact to be disturbing, that the author would give such a non-starter basis for her book.
The heroine should have been sympathetic given her past mistreatment by her own father and society because of her lame leg. Perhaps it was the poor dialogue, but I didn’t find her particularly sympathetic. Or perhaps the author should have shown us more of her maltreatment rather than just telling us about it. Supposedly, both the hero and the heroine have difficult pasts and are both of an age. Then why do they act so utterly silly at times? It just makes little sense. All in all, I found this to be a disappointing read.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
This was a fair read, a story about a woman determined to outlive her Father’s name and ensure her Mother’s live in. After all being treated like you are the worse thing just because of a damaged leg was harsh, however our heroine found a way to live with her injury and to still be a force to be reckoned with. For Avebury sometimes it seems he just went long with things and was very much waiting for things to happen to him and once they did, spent time trying to make up his mind about what next. His situation was oftentimes vague so the reader was just as clueless at the beginning to the end. Sometimes interesting especially was the two sides of Catherine, the one that the reader sees and the side which apparently happened off book and ensured that she could be blackmailed. Once again another set of people for whom whilst enjoyed each other in bed, could not find the courage to talk to each other instead of skirting around the floor.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Portrait by Cassandra Austen
One woman, two men who love her, secrets and potential scandal are the basis of this book. In a time when titles were passed down to the males a daughter would not do and a daughter with a limp…well…that daughter was exiled by her father. I enjoyed this somewhat predictable book but really did not warm to any of the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and Apollo Grannus Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.
3 Stars