Despite being the daughter of a duke, shy Elizabeth Barrington becomes a target for the cruel whisperings of the ton. She would rather stay at home with her sketchbook indefinitely than give them more to gossip about, but when a dashing new earl arrives, everything changes. His Scottish brogue and easy acceptance draw her in and she finds herself falling in love. Before she can act on her feelings, however, her father promises her to a man who hides his cruel behavior behind a mask of civility. With her future at stake, Elizabeth must make a choice—do her duty or choose a love that could cost her everything.
Alec Ramsay never expected to inherit an earldom or settle in England, but he leaves behind his life in the Scottish Highlands and comes to London. After meeting his new neighbor, the beautiful and soft-spoken Lady Elizabeth, Alec can’t wait to further their acquaintance. It doesn’t take long in her company, however, for Alec to see he’s in danger of losing his heart. But when long-held prejudices rear their ugly head, Alec is caught between doing what is right and his new role as an English gentleman. Has he finally found the love he’s waited his whole life for, only to lose her in the web of unfair judgments and proper English traditions?
It's always fun to see an author you love branch out and do something new. Over the years I have loved Julie Bellon and her military suspense romance books. They are some of my favorites! This book is quite outside that genre. A complete one-eighty. And while I did enjoy this book, I'm still the biggest fan of those military romances! I hope a get a new one of those soon! (Plus, as a little side note here, I feel like so many authors are switching to write in this "regency" genre and there are SO many of them out there right now. I'm longing for a good, clean romantic military suspense which there aren't nearly as many of.)
I think what I loved most about this book was Alec. He meets Elizabeth and is completely unfazed by her obvious struggles. His acceptance of her is instant and heart warming. Alec is fiercely loyal and he is, above all else, a true gentleman. I loved him. Well, the thought of him in a kilt, sporting the strong Scottish brogue didn't hurt anything either. 😉
I didn't completely buy into how everything went down with Elizabeth's father but other than that, this was a sweet story with characters that are easy to root for.
This is a short book (maybe novella size) but the story felt whole and complete.
Content: clean, some kissing
- I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.
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Thank you for your review. I have it on my TEL and look forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteCarol Luciano
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