First sentence: Elliott Mayfield, the fifth Viscount Howardsford, looked across the desk at Peter, his eldest nephew and heir. Destiny and opportunity are not that different, he reminded himself in an effort to bolster his courage.
Premise/plot: Elliott Mayfield has decided that his nieces and nephews need a little extra help in making good matches and settling down. Emphasis on good. Their parents--his brother and sisters--made bad matches, regrettable matches leading to scandalous talk--either before or after. Peter is perhaps his favorite.
Peter is a widower with two young children--daughters. He's not looking to marry a second time. His first marriage was not a mistake: she was the love of his life. The idea of marrying to please his uncle and to set a 'good example' for his cousins is ridiculous. NO THANK YOU.
Yet it isn't long after his uncle's suggestion that he hires a new governess, Julia Hollingsworth. She wasn't his first or even second choice--she is young and beautiful. But she's a perfect fit for his household. She's great with his daughters. And she is knowledgeable about dogs too. He's newly in the breeding business and he could use her help.
But Julia's mother is ANGRY--disgruntled. When she finds out WHO hired her daughter, she takes steps to intervene. She seeks out Elliott Mayfield to enlist his help. Julia must not be allowed to remain in a Mayfield residence.
Can Peter change Amelia Hollingsworth's mind? Will he realize just what Julia is becoming to mean to him in time?
My thoughts: I loved, loved, LOVED this one. It's set in England--in the countryside--in 1822. It is written from four perspectives: Elliott, Peter, Julia, and Amelia. It was a nice touch including Elliott and Amelia's point of view. Julia has a hard time understanding or appreciating her mother. If one didn't get Amelia's point of view as well, one would leap to conclusions about her character. As it is, there are four well-developed four very-human characters for readers to get to know.
I love romance. I don't read it all that often because I prefer clean romances to smutty ones. When I find an author or in this case a publishing company that is reliably clean I get excited. I would definitely recommend this one!
© 2018 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
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