Lydia Bennet faces the music… expectations for the girls. They must share rooms, do chores, attend lessons, and engage in charitable work, no matter how well born they might be. She even forces them to wear mobcaps! Refusal could lead to finding themselves at the receiving end of Mrs. Drummond’s cane—if they were lucky. The unlucky ones could be dismissed and found a position … as a menial servant.
Everything and everyone at the school is uniformly horrid. Lydia hates them all, except possibly the music master, Mr. Amberson, who seems to have the oddest ideas about her. He might just understand her better than she understands herself.
Can she find a way to live up to his strange expectations, or will she spend the rest of her life as a scullery maid?
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Reviewed: March 30, 2016
Source: I received an ARC copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review.
Mr. Darcy has sent Lydia off to a girls boarding school in hopes that she may be reformed. Is her fate to be better than the wife of Mr. Wickham? Not in her mind it isn’t. The owner and mistress, Mrs. Drummond was starch and stiff in Lydia’s eyes and no one understood her…well maybe her new friends Amelia and Joan did. But are they really her friends? The music teacher, Mr. Amberson is odd but he nurtures talent and offers advice in a way that doesn’t come across as a lecture…”Condemnation is far easier than compassion…”
For me, this book was raw emotion. The first chapter alone sets the stage. Lydia is angry, afraid and refuses to face the consequences of her actions. You feel these emotions with her and when she sees the flash of red from her cape that Wickham bought her as her trunks are being unpacked, she breaks down and cries and so did I. Ms. Grace’s ability to have you feel empathy for Lydia as she learns some harsh lessons and some hard truths, is so beautifully done. Throughout this book, I was so choked up hoping Lydia would come to realize who her true friends were and that she still had choices. There are many powerful passages and evocative scenes to this story. There is such flow, like a wave, that carries this story to completion. Like Elizabeth in Book 1, the mental anguish inflicted by Dr. Bennet is heartbreaking, but there is an inner core to Lydia that one never suspects. Ms. Grace has given her wings and it’s a joy to see her fly.
The Trouble to Check Her is Book 2 in the Queen of Rosings Park series. It can be read as a stand alone but I recommend reading Book 1 to have a more clear understanding of the story line.
Book 2 The Queen of Rosings Park: OMG!!!
I put off reading this book 2 in The Queen of Rosings series by Maria Grace for the simple fact I didn’t care about the Lydia character and didn’t think I cared about what happened to her. I finally decided to bite the bullet and simply get it out of my TBR pile. Oh, my goodness, was I ever wrong.
I would suggest not skipping over book one. It is possible to read this as a stand-a-lone; there are enough hints at the back story to let the reader know what has gone on before. Having said that, if this were read first…you will definitely want to read book one in order to better understand the hints, flashbacks and reflections Lydia has regarding her parents, sisters and even Wickham.
Book one focused on Elizabeth, but it also laid the foundation for the character of Dr. and Mrs. Bennet and that… is the main thread that runs through both books. Based on that, it would be best to start with book one…Mistaking Her Character. The focus of this second book falls completely on Lydia with references to the rest of the family and their dynamics. Mr. and Mrs. Darcy do not appear again until the end.
Our story opens with a recalcitrant Lydia being shipped off to Mrs. Drummond’s boarding school for girls who have lost their virtue. She is not best pleased with her situation. She is rude to everyone, and blames all for her ill treatment. It proceeds as you would think. There is the usual resistance to doing chores that she feels are beneath her. She rebels and sulks using tactics that normally worked at home only to discover they will not work at Mrs. Drummond’s. No one cares what she thinks or feels. She is there to improve.
As we progress through our story we see the dynamics within the society of the other students as they too have had to adjust to their surroundings. Many have come from families within the various levels of society. They have shamed their families and have been cast aside in order to improve their situation/attitude. For some, if they improve, they will be received back into their family and society. If they fail to improve, then they will be dead to their family and forced into a life of service.
There are friends to be made in spite of her placement. Annabelle and Juliana are delightful characters. I just loved them. There are also those Caroline Bingley types that just grate the nerves and never seem to learn their lesson no matter the opportunities placed before them. They will always crash and burn. It was amazing to watch these girls do just that… and make life miserable for those around them.
You know we have to proceed through the angst and the sullen attitude that Lydia is known for. However, as we journey with her we see the façade surrounding her began to crack and crumble. Soon we begin to see a glimpse of a Lydia we have never known before. We are also privy to the impact her family had on her development. I was touched by how she perceived her place within the Bennet family. I ached with her as she began to realize the lax parenting from her mother and father. It was touching to watch as she began to emerge from the depths of her character and to surface as a new creation, a new Lydia that we could like and love.
Mr. Amberson was the music teacher that unlocked the door to Lydia’s creativity. How many times has a teacher had the privilege of unlocking the potential within their students? How delightful that we got to see this happen with Lydia. I was so moved by how the author evoked such powerful descriptive words to show us what was truly within Lydia Bennet. OMG!!! I was blown away. It was so moving being swept away with her art, her music and as love blossomed within a heart so sensitive to those around her.
I was mesmerized by the writing at this point. It was so different from the first of the book I couldn’t believe it was the same author. I simply could not put it down. I finally had to go to bed and finished it the next morning. OMG!!! I cannot tell you how expressive and emotional the glimpse we were given as Lydia and James [Amberson] played the pianoforte together… it was sensual, sexual, emotion evoking and I was almost embarrassed as we were privy to such soul rendering feelings that words could not express. I was speechless and moved to tears, it was so beautiful. Well done Maria Grace.
Perhaps this writing is too close to Father’s Day and I am too emotional. I so resent Dr. Bennet after reading these books. It is not canon and Dr. Bennet is definitely not our gentle Mr. Bennet. This man is someone completely different and his behavior is reprehensible. I cannot like him. I will not like him and his actions put into motion all that has happened to his family. It is sad and heartbreaking as Lizzy and Lydia reconcile and discuss what has gone on within their family since Lydia left. I wanted to cry for them and with them.
As we draw to the close of our story, Elizabeth and Lydia have an opportunity to discuss their sisters. Jane, in canon, was always portrayed as so perfect. Grace pulls back the outer layer that surrounds Jane and reveals the true inner core of what motivates her. It is shocking and yet so revealing. I hurt for these sisters. I am humbled by what Grace has written and [it must be the hormones] I simply want to cry my eyes out for them. WOW!!! What a story and I almost missed it.