Kathleen Shoop’s CINDER BELLA – An Unusual Sweet Christmas Story

 

This is a well-written tale set in Pennsylvania in the Victorian era (1893). It’s the story of Bella Darling and Bartholomew Baines, who are joined by a collection of individuals from various walks of life who find themselves poor at the Christmas season after the 1893 financial collapse.

 

Bella has a way with hens and hers produce miraculous eggs. Many threads come together to make for a charming Christmas story. However, it’s pretty secular. Still, the characters are delightful and the tale is enjoyable.

 

Lillian Marek’s LORD EDWARD’S MYSTERIOUS TREASURE – Romance and Treasure Hunt in Victorian France

 

Set in Brittany in 1871, this is the story of Lord Edward Tremaine, an Englishman summoned to the Chateau Morvan on the coast of Brittany by his friend Antoine (“Tony”) who claims there’s a treasure to find.

 

Ned travels to France where he discovers a strange collection of people. The old vicomte, who appears to be dying, insists Tony and his two cousins search for the treasure. One young cousin, Delphine, beautiful and captures Ned’s attention but, as time goes on, he notices there is something wrong with her. The other cousin, Marguerite, an accomplished pianist, appears stern and withdrawn. In truth, she worries about Delphine and providing for little family. Ned’s friend, Tony is worried about funding his steel factory and only seeks the treasure for what it can give him.

 

The story is well written but moves along rather slowly with a fair amount of repetition in motives and introspection. The romance between Ned and Marguerite develops only after he precipitously asks her to marry him. Marguerite is happy to share Ned’s bed but resists marriage because she is a commoner and he’s an aristocrat. (Ned and his family think nothing of it.) All that seemed a bit strange for the Victorian era.

 

The story picks up when a few secrets are revealed, Ned has an idea of how to find the treasure and his parents show up to find out what’s behind their son’s letters. All the threads come together for a satisfying end.

Victoria Holt’s THE SECRET WOMAN – Victorian Romance with Many Secrets and a Sail to the South Seas

 

First published in 1970, this is a wonderful story that begins in England but eventually sweeps you to the South Pacific. Set in the late 19^th century in the Victorian era, it’s the story of Anna Brett who was born in India but whose parents sent her to live with her maiden Aunt Charlotte, an antique dealer who populates her old house with furniture in the process of being sold.

 

Anna’s one solace is her friend Chantal Loman, the beautiful nurse who tends Anna’s ailing aunt. When Aunt Charlotte suddenly dies, Anna takes a job suggested by Chantel, as a governess in the home of a wealthy English family in the shipping business. The family has two sons, one legitimate, Rex Crediton, and one a bastard, Redvers Stretton. Anna is very attracted to Red, but then she learns he is married. 

 

Rex is the heir apparent, consumed with the business, but Red is not unhappy about that since he loves his ships and the sea. It was on one of those South Pacific islands, however, where Red met his wife, and island beauty whose family forced him to wed her when she came up pregnant.

 

In this fascinating story, it seemed everyone harbored secrets, even Anna, who hid from her friend her love for Red Stretton. And even though I knew Chantel was capable of doing wrong to accomplish her purposes, I was surprised at all the twists at the end.

 

Holt did a good job of bringing us into the drama and the places to which the characters traveled. I could feel the heat of the island and Anna’s exhilaration with the wind on her face while they were at sea. As she and Red finally admitted their love, I could feel her emotion at finding herself in love with another woman’s husband.

 

No one does Victorian suspense and mystery like Holt and this is a great one!

Betina Krahn’s THE LAST BACHELOR: Hilarious Victorian Romance!

This is one of my favorite Victorian romances. Betina writes detailed, well-crafted stories, all wonderful.

 

 

Set in London in 1882, this is the story of a beautiful young widow, Antonia, Lady Paxton, who occupies her time by saving widows and trapping gentlemen into marrying them by using their own perfidy against them. When a bachelor seeks to take a young widow's virtue--albeit a woman he's ostensibly been courting--Antonia follows them and, interrupting, forces the man to do the gentlemanly thing and marry the girl.

 

With 13 marriages to her credit, the men of White's club in London become concerned. They decide they must see “The Dragon Lady of Matrimonia” brought down, and what better man to do it than Remington Carr, Lord Landon? A confirmed bachelor, handsome as the devil, who advocates the vote for women and sending "surplus women" off to work to earn their keep, he is definitely against marriage. Antonia, on the other hand, believes marriage is a noble state and the salvation of many a widow.

 

Antonia offers Remington a wager...two weeks of women's work to change his mind about a woman's place. And if his mind isn't changed, she will do two weeks of a man's work. He accepts the wager, thinking to seduce her, but Antonia has her own plans.

Krahn had me laughing out loud when Remington put on a corset (after all, how could he do work as a woman does without having to bear the restrictive garment?). You will be amazed at the history contained in this seemingly light romance. It isn't really light at all. It's a meaningful tale of what widows suffered in Victorian times, when they were raised to be wives and mothers but were left bereft with no way to earn income.

 

Remington is an intelligent rake you will come to love and Antonia is a woman we would all want to know...a woman with a kind heart and a good mind who crafts devious plans to prove the damn men wrong. Even Queen Victoria supports her. Remington and Antonia are well matched and in an ironic twist will end up advocating each other's positions. The story is detailed, historically accurate and charming. I highly recommend it.

 

 

Meredith Duran’s A LADY’S LESSON IN SCANDAL, Captivating Victorian…My Fair Lady with a Twist!

November is Victorian romances month. I’m starting with one by Meredith Duran. Her writing is unique, detailed, word intensive, impeccably researched, and so captivating I couldn’t put it down.

 

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is a Victorian romance, a sort of My Fair Lady with an inheritance twist. It introduces us to Cornelia (“Nell”), who was born a twin, the daughters of the Earl of Rushden. As a young child, Nell was stolen by a nanny who was half crazy, and hidden away in the East End of London. Raised in poverty, she became a factory girl, though she loved books, and in that, was well educated. She survived by her wits and her determination, but suffered terribly from too little food and too little care.

 

Just before the woman Nell called “Mum” died, she told Nell her father was Lord Rushden, and encouraged her to find him. Nell goes in search of the man she thought did her Mum wrong, intending to shoot him. But she finds instead a new, young Lord Rushden (the earl’s heir), Simon St. Maur, who is her 3^rd cousin. Simon, a handsome rake who has inherited the title and lands but no wealth to support them (all the money was left to the earl’s two daughters), recognizes Nell for who she is immediately. He offers to wed her, thereby helping her to become a lady and regain her rightful place and wealth, enriching both their coffers. Nell agrees, realizing only too late she has given Simon her heart.

 

Simon is fascinated by Nell who is so different from the superficial ladies of society he is used to, but if he cannot persuade the court to accept her as the lost twin, he intends to annul the marriage.

 

Duran weaves a suspenseful, believable romance, a story of two people caught between a life of wealth and a life of poverty, neither one comfortable in the other’s world, yet perfect together.

 

M.A. Nichols’ A STOLEN KISS – Victorian Tale with an Insecure Heroine and a Hardened Hero

Set in 1848, this is the story of Lily Kingsley, who is insecure and believes herself unlovely because she is plump and has attracted few suitors. Her one desire is to experience a kiss before she accepts her spinsterhood, so she writes a worthy gentleman a letter asking him to meet her in a room where she is attending a ball. Little does she realize in the dim light that she has mistaken him for another man.

 

Throwing herself into his arms and relishing the kiss, they are soon discovered and a scandal ensues. Meantime, the hardened, overbearing businessman decides to marry her. But Lily doesn’t want an ill-tempered fiancé who’s only doing his duty.

 

But is Jack Hatcher doing his duty or is he falling for Lily?

 

Nichols writes well and the story quickly comes together as Lily and Hatch spend more and more time together. Soon love grows between them despite obstacles. Secondary characters add to the mix for a well-crafted tale. Not much history to this historical but the setting is realistic and the story enjoyable.

Dorothy Eden’s SLEEP IN THE WOODS – Absorbing Story from New Zealand in the Late Victorian Era

Though it was first published in 1960, it is now on Kindle. A worthy story readers will enjoy today (with possibly one caveat you’ll see below).

 

Set in the late Victorian period, the story tells of Briar Johnson, who as a baby was found in a cold ditch by the side of the road clutched in the arms of what was presumably her dead mother. Briar was fortunate to be raised in the home of a schoolmaster who found her intelligent and taught her to speak well and read the classics. When he dies, she takes a position as a maid and sails away to New Zealand with two young ladies sent by their family to find proper husbands.

 

Beautiful Briar (named after the briar rose) determines she will one day have the finer things in life, the life she believes she was meant for. So, when the opportunity comes, she attends a ball that would be forbidden to her and dons a mask for a masked game that has the men picking prospective brides. Alas, she did not get the man she wanted. Instead, she got the hard Saul Whitmore, cousin to an earl and wealthy in his own right with a sheep ranch and the finest house in the area deep in the wild country.

 

Saul, at his mother’s urging, intends to take a wife, but most of the women he meets are insipid creatures who can only talk of gowns and parties. In Briar, he sees a woman who has a fire in her green eyes that intrigues him. So he determines to have her. With few options and urged on by all, Briar accepts his proposal of marriage even though she hates the hard man who mocks her at every turn.

The title, “Sleep in the Woods” was used twice in the book, once as a euphemism for death, the death that was all around the pioneers living in Taranaki in the shadow of Mt. Egmont on the North Island of New Zealand. When they were under siege by a renegade band of Maoris, the Reverend prayed: “Grant us to live, and not to sleep in these woods, unless that be Thy will. If we must die, let us do so bravely…” But then later, Briar remembers a passage from Ezekiel 34: “…they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods,” which gives a more favorable aspect to the title and comports with the excellent and very happy ending.

Suspenseful action is infused throughout this well-researched story. Wonderful characters populate every page. Beautiful descriptions of both flora and fauna are tucked in without you really being aware. And the hero and heroine are striking. Saul, a man whose strength enabled him to carve out a destiny in New Zealand’s wild country, was a worthy hero, though often harsh. Briar, grasping at the security Saul’s wealth provided, had a tender heart for all. She was the mistress of his house and the courage of the people as they faced hardship and death. I could not help but love her.

 

The only thing this story lacked—and might have been better for it—were love scenes. So much emotion was left in the dark. What Saul and Briar shared in their intimate moments might have told us their real feelings for each other when their words did not. An entire wedding night was summed up with one word, “Afterward.” There is even a bodice-ripping scene rather late in the book but, without the follow through, it was a bit obscure. But one must make allowances for its year of publication—1960.

 

A great classic and a worthy read!

 

Betina Krahn’s THE LAST BACHELOR: Hilarious Victorian Romance!

This is one of my favorite Victorian romances. Betina writes detailed, well-crafted stories, all wonderful.

 

Set in London in 1882, this is the story of a beautiful young widow, Antonia, Lady Paxton, who occupies her time by saving widows and trapping gentlemen into marrying them by using their own perfidy against them. When a bachelor seeks to take a young widow's virtue--albeit a woman he's ostensibly been courting--Antonia follows them and, interrupting, forces the man to do the gentlemanly thing and marry the girl.

 

With 13 marriages to her credit, the men of White's club in London become concerned. They decide they must see “The Dragon Lady of Matrimonia” brought down, and what better man to do it than Remington Carr, Lord Landon? A confirmed bachelor, handsome as the devil, who advocates the vote for women and sending "surplus women" off to work to earn their keep, he is definitely against marriage. Antonia, on the other hand, believes marriage is a noble state and the salvation of many a widow.

 

Antonia offers Remington a wager...two weeks of women's work to change his mind about a woman's place. And if his mind isn't changed, she will do two weeks of a man's work. He accepts the wager, thinking to seduce her, but Antonia has her own plans.

Krahn had me laughing out loud when Remington put on a corset (after all, how could he do work as a woman does without having to bear the restrictive garment?). You will be amazed at the history contained in this seemingly light romance. It isn't really light at all. It's a meaningful tale of what widows suffered in Victorian times, when they were raised to be wives and mothers but were left bereft with no way to earn income.

 

Remington is an intelligent rake you will come to love and Antonia is a woman we would all want to know...a woman with a kind heart and a good mind who crafts devious plans to prove the damn men wrong. Even Queen Victoria supports her. Remington and Antonia are well matched and in an ironic twist will end up advocating each other's positions. The story is detailed, historically accurate and charming. I highly recommend it.

 

 

Mary Jo Putney’s SILK AND SECRETS – An Exciting Victorian Adventure in Uzbekistan

This is book 2 of the Victorian Silk trilogy and tells the exciting story of Lord Ross Carlisle, younger son of the Duke of Windemere, and friend to Mikahl Khanauri (now Connery), the hero in book 1. Ross is a world traveler and adventurer and now returns to Central Asia.

 

Though it is set in Bokhara, Uzbekistan in 1841, it begins in Constantinople where Ross learns that his brother has died and he is now the Marquess of Kilburn, his father’s heir. And it is there we discover that Ross is actually married—to Juliet Cameron, daughter of a Scottish diplomat. They married young and Juliet left him six months later feeling that she could not handle London Society. When Juliet’s mother asks Ross to go to Bokhara to find her son, Ian, he agrees, never knowing he will soon find his estranged wife.

 

Juliet is an adventurer in her own right, winning the respect of the Persians where she rules a people. Ross, a splendid hero everyone seems to love, admires her as she admires him. They seemed perfect for each other and Juliet’s leaving a man she clearly loved was a bit mystifying. They do have a “big conversation” at the end but it wasn’t that surprising as Putney dropped large hints as the story developed.

 

Putney has done much research for this story and she brings the culture of Central Asia to life. It is rich in historical detail—the sight, sounds, dress and food. The scene of the Uzbek equivalent of polo, played with the body of a dead goat, was thrilling. Lots of action here as we dive into the mystery surrounding Juliet’s missing brother and Ross and Juliet together fight off the bad guys who are trying to kill them.

 

An exciting adventure and a dive into a truly exotic locale.

 

The Silk Trilogy:

 

Silk and Shadows

Silk and Secrets

Veils of Silk

Lillian Marek’s LORD EDWARD’S MYSTERIOUS TREASURE – Romance and Treasure Hunt in Victorian France

 

Set in Brittany in 1871, this is the story of Lord Edward Tremaine, an Englishman summoned to the Chateau Morvan on the coast of Brittany by his friend Antoine (“Tony”) who claims there’s a treasure to find.

 

Ned travels to France where he discovers a strange collection of people. The old vicomte, who appears to be dying, insists Tony and his two cousins search for the treasure. One young cousin, Delphine, beautiful and captures Ned’s attention but, as time goes on, he notices there is something wrong with her. The other cousin, Marguerite, an accomplished pianist, appears stern and withdrawn. In truth, she worries about Delphine and providing for little family. Ned’s friend, Tony is worried about funding his steel factory and only seeks the treasure for what it can give him.

 

The story is well written but moves along rather slowly with a fair amount of repetition in motives and introspection. The romance between Ned and Marguerite develops only after he precipitously asks her to marry him. Marguerite is happy to share Ned’s bed but resists marriage because she is a commoner and he’s an aristocrat. (Ned and his family think nothing of it.) All that seemed a bit strange for the Victorian era.

 

The story picks up when a few secrets are revealed, Ned has an idea of how to find the treasure and his parents show up to find out what’s behind their son’s letters. All the threads come together for a satisfying end.

 

Meredith Duran’s A LADY’S LESSON IN SCANDAL - Captivating Victorian…My Fair Lady with a Twist!

It’s Victorian romance month on the blog and I’m starting with a good one. Meredith Duran’s writing is unique, detailed, word intensive, impeccably researched, and so captivating I couldn’t put this story down.

 

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is a Victorian romance, a sort of My Fair Lady with an inheritance twist. It introduces us to Cornelia (“Nell”), who was born a twin, the daughters of the Earl of Rushden. As a young child, Nell was stolen by a nanny who was half crazy, and hidden away in the East End of London. Raised in poverty, she became a factory girl, though she loved books, and in that, was well educated. She survived by her wits and her determination, but suffered terribly from too little food and too little care.

 

Just before the woman Nell called “Mum” died, she told Nell her father was Lord Rushden, and encouraged her to find him. Nell goes in search of the man she thought did her Mum wrong, intending to shoot him. But she finds instead a new, young Lord Rushden (the earl’s heir), Simon St. Maur, who is her 3^rd cousin. Simon, a handsome rake who has inherited the title and lands but no wealth to support them (all the money was left to the earl’s two daughters), recognizes Nell for who she is immediately. He offers to wed her, thereby helping her to become a lady and regain her rightful place and wealth, enriching both their coffers. Nell agrees, realizing only too late she has given Simon her heart.

 

Simon is fascinated by Nell who is so different from the superficial ladies of society he is used to, but if he cannot persuade the court to accept her as the lost twin, he intends to annul the marriage.

 

Duran weaves a suspenseful, believable romance, a story of two people caught between a life of wealth and a life of poverty, neither one comfortable in the other’s world, yet perfect together.

 

Penelope Williamson’s ONCE IN A BLUE MOON – Heart-rending Story of a Truly Great Love!

If you've read Keeper of the Dream, you're already a fan of Penelope Williamson. Once in a Blue Moon, which was her next book is equally wonderful—and it’s one of my Top 20. It's the story of unrequited love that refuses to die no matter the tests it must endure. And nobody does unrequited love like Williamson.

 

The story was inspired by the love of Williamson’s grandparents who were kept apart for 6 years, but then came together to love for another 65 years. Here’s what she had to say about them (get out the Kleenex):

 

“It was in 1902 that Elizabeth and Peter first met and fell in love. But Elizabeth’s father forbade the match for six long years, until Peter could prove himself good enough for his daughter. Together at last, they had nine children and sixty-five wonderful years as husband and wife. They died in their nineties, within two years of each other, as much in love as they had always been. A love that wouldn’t give up…”

 

The story of ONCE IN A BLUE MOON begins in 1815 when Jessalyn Letty is 16—a wild flame-haired girl raised by her grandmother on the Cornish highlands above the sea, a young woman of character with a brave heart that never varies throughout the story. I loved her for that.

 

While Jessalyn is still a tall gawky teenager, she meets McCady Trelawny, then in his early 20s, and the youngest brother of the infamous Trelawny noblemen, known for living lives of debauchery and dying young and in debt. McCady was wounded while becoming a war hero defeating Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo. He returns home to Cornwall with a vision for a steam locomotive that can carry passengers, but he’s too poor to invest much in the idea. His cousin, Clarence, who could be his illegitimate half-brother, joins McCady in the venture, but stands in McCady's shadow, determined to one day gain great wealth that will bring him the status he craves and the woman he wants—Jessalyn.

 

But once Jessalyn meets McCady, her heart is lost forever to the handsome dark-haired rogue. And McCady wants Jessalyn but he is too poor to have her and too honorable to take what he knows she would give. Jessalyn’s love will be tested by years of separation and so much more as the story transitions into the early Victorian era.

This is a compelling, well-told tale with many twists and turns, all woven in with great characters and details set against the vivid beauty of Cornwall. You will feel like you're living it. You will laugh at Jessalyn’s 16-year-old antics, and you will cry as you endure her years of loving and losing McCady.

 

You simply must read this one. Trust me, you won't be disappointed! It’s a keeper and a classic.

Betina Krahn’s THE BOOK OF THE SEVEN DELIGHTS – Victorian Adventure and Love in Morocco!

Want to take a trip to Morocco searching for the remnants of the Library of Alexandria? Want to do it with a sexy, funny hero with a name like Apollo Smith? Then this is the romance for you!

 

Betina Krahn has become a favorite of mine. This book is the first in her Library of Alexandria duology. (The Book of True Desires is the second.)

 

In this first one, set in the Victorian era, we meet librarian Abigail Merchant (“Educated, opinionated, respectable, headstrong and too caught up in her high-minded pursuits to recognize, much less respond to the lust she inspired”), who is traveling to Marrakech to find what she believes will be some lost volumes from the famed Library of Alexandria. On her way, she encounters Apollo Smith, who due to treachery, was forced to serve 5 years in the French Foreign Legion and, having escaped, has returned for some mysterious “family matter.” He agrees to help Abigail reach her goal for half the prize she uncovers.

 

Krahn does a superb job of bringing the Moroccan desert to life, the Berber tribes, the Legionnaires, and the hazards of travel at the end of the 19^th century in such parts of the world. Very cleverly she helps us experience the mind of a librarian, who catalogs everything she thinks of under various numbered library categories.

 

Then there is Apollo. Had to love the guy who described Abigail as a woman “who had a way of finding every sensitive nerve in his body and every sore subject on his mind.”

 

Great writing and a great story. A worthy romp.

 

 

Victoria Holt’s THE TIME OF THE HUNTER'S MOON – Engaging Victorian Romance with a Mystery

 

This is the story of Cordelia Grant, raised by her beloved Aunt Patty when her missionary parents died in Africa. Aunt Patty was a joy to live with. She ran a school for girls that Cordelia was educated to one day take over. But events led to another route and Cordelia ends up teaching at a different school.

According to legend, a girl will see her future husband at the time of the hunter's moon. When she was still in Germany where she had gone to a school to be “finished”, Cordelia meets a handsome stranger who told her he was Edward Compton. She later learns that the young man of that name died 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, while teaching at the new school, she meets the landlord, Sir Jason Verringer, a wealthy, compelling man about whom swirl rumors of his having murdered his wife. And he wants Cordelia for his next wife.

Holt does a wonderful job of bringing Cordelia’s world to life. Told in the first person, we are only ever in Cordelia’s head so we feel her emotions. She is a wise young woman, discerning others’ intent. She deals well with her students and the determined Sir Jason though she finds him intriguing. As always with Holt’s stories, there is mystery. Whatever happened to Edward, the man to whom she was drawn like no other?

If you like Victoria Holt, you’ll enjoy this one.

Meredith Duran’s A LADY’S LESSON IN SCANDAL - Captivating Victorian…My Fair Lady with a Twist!

 

Meredith Duran’s writing is unique, detailed, word intensive, impeccably researched, and so captivating I couldn’t put this story down.

A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal is a Victorian romance, a sort of My Fair Lady with an inheritance twist. It introduces us to Cornelia (“Nell”), who was born a twin, the daughters of the Earl of Rushden. As a young child, Nell was stolen by a nanny who was half crazy, and hidden away in the East End of London. Raised in poverty, she became a factory girl, though she loved books, and in that, was well educated. She survived by her wits and her determination, but suffered terribly from too little food and too little care.

 

Just before the woman Nell called “Mum” died, she told Nell her father was Lord Rushden, and encouraged her to find him. Nell goes in search of the man she thought did her Mum wrong, intending to shoot him. But she finds instead a new, young Lord Rushden (the earl’s heir), Simon St. Maur, who is her 3^rd cousin. Simon, a handsome rake who has inherited the title and lands but no wealth to support them (all the money was left to the earl’s two daughters), recognizes Nell for who she is immediately. He offers to wed her, thereby helping her to become a lady and regain her rightful place and wealth, enriching both their coffers. Nell agrees, realizing only too late she has given Simon her heart.

 

Simon is fascinated by Nell who is so different from the superficial ladies of society he is used to, but if he cannot persuade the court to accept her as the lost twin, he intends to annul the marriage.

Duran weaves a suspenseful, believable romance, a story of two people caught between a life of wealth and a life of poverty, neither one comfortable in the other’s world, yet perfect together.

Kaki Warner’s WHERE THE HORSES RUN – Great Western Historical—and this one has Victorian England & Scotland, too!

 

Set 1871 in England and Scotland (bracketed by scenes from Texas and Colorado) this is the story of Rafford Jessup (“Rafe”), the former lawman we met in Behind His Blue Eyes.

 

Rafe is the wrangler Ash (Lord Kirkwell) hires to go with him to England to procure breeding stock for his thoroughbred ranch in Heartbreak Creek. One of the places they hope to buy horses is in Penrith, England where a former coal miner who became wealthy is being forced to sell his stock. His daughter, Josephine Cathcart, is a ruined woman who had a son by her baron lover who deserted her to marry someone of higher rank. Sadly, Josephine must go along with selling her prized stallion “Pens” unless her father can marry her off to a wealthy man. And so they travel to America. On the ship sailing back to England, they all come together.

 

Warner serves up a wonderful cast of characters with this installment in the series: cowboys, Scots, the Cheyenne Indian Thomas Redstone, who we have come to love from Warner’s other books, an Irish maid, and some irascible Englishmen, including the valet, Pringle who continually banters with Ash—all wrapped around a love story between two unlikely people in Victorian England who share a passion for horses.

 

Rafe is the 19^th century equivalent of a Texas “horse whisperer,” and Josephine is an Englishwoman who has borne her shame with dignity. I loved them both. And I was delighted to see that Warner brought back Ash and his countess.

 

The humor and emotion will have you laughing one moment and crying the next. And did I mention that there’s lots of fun in this most unusual tale. You can enjoy it alone, but it’s best devoured with the rest of Warner’s Heartbreak Creek stories: the Runaway Brides trilogy and the Heroes of Heartbreak Creek. I recommend them all!

 

Victoria Holt’s THE PRIDE OF THE PEACOCK –Mystery, Opals and Love with a Peacock in Victorian Australia

Set in the Victorian era (about 1880), beginning in England, this is the story of Opal Jessica Clavering, the youngest daughter in a family that treats her as if she doesn’t belong. At one time the family was wealthy, but now they live in the Dower House next to the estate, Oakland Hall, they once called their own.

 

When she is 16, Jessica makes friends with the owner of Oakland Hall, Ben Henniker, an opal miner who made his money in the mines of New South Wales. Ben offers her the chance for a new life and Jessica takes it even though it includes a marriage of convenience to his illegitimate son, Josslyn Madden (“Joss”), called “the Peacock” for his pride and his home, Peacocks, in Australia.

 

Once married, Joss returns to Australia with Jessica, who begins to wonder if her husband isn’t planning to kill her. The famous jewel called the Green Flash at Sunset goes missing and there are no clues as to who took it. And then someone is murdered.

 

Holt is a great storyteller and immediately had me deeply involved in Jessica’s life. Jessica is a woman who has a curious mind, an adventurous spirit and is courageous to the core. I liked her very much. Joss is arrogant, like a peacock, but he also has depth. Since we are never in his mind, his thoughts remain a mystery except for what he tells Jessica. The fact he wants to see how Jessica changes as she “grows up” suggests he might like her after all.

 

The characters are richly drawn, the story absorbing and the excitement subtle as Jessica takes on the mystery of the missing jewel, the murder and her husband.

 

Megan Bryce’s TO WED THE WIDOW – Early Victorian with a Seductive Widow and an Earl’s heir, both want a child and marriage but not with each other

George Sinclair loved India but when his brother’s wife gave birth to a fourth daughter, Sebastian, the earl, demanded his brother return to England as his heir. And he wanted George to marry. Any respectable woman would do, but not “The Widow”, Elinor, Lady Haywood. She’s been widowed five times and with no children to show for it. She is a distraction George very much wants in his bed, but what he needs is a wife from a good family. What Lady Haywood wants is a child and her next husband.

 

The story is well told with rich emotion and some great characters, even a villain in Elinor’s brother. No real history here except the references to India and trade, which George was once engaged in. But it’s a delightful story of the tug of war between George and his staid brother, the earl, that will draw you in. And there is a side story of the earl and his wife, who befriends Elinor. I recommend it.