Lord Fenton's Folly by Josi S. Kilpack

Lord Fenton's Folly

I discovered Shadow Mountain Publishing and their Proper Romance collection in the fall of last year. What a find! Wholesome romances, great stories. And look at that cover!

Let’s begin with the summary:

 Lord Fenton is a gambler and a dandy, and he will be stripped of his wealth and position unless he rises to his responsibility—one of which is to marry. Far from being a giddy groom, Fenton chooses the unobjectionable Alice Stanbridge simply because he had known her as a young girl and his mother feels Alice would make a good wife.

Alice, however, has harbored feelings for Fenton since their first meeting years ago, and his proposal is a dream come true. Not only would a match with the most-eligible bachelor in London secure her future, but it will also give her a place of distinction and admiration. Had anyone admired Alice for anything before now?

When Alice learns that she is not only an unwanted wife, but a demanded one, however, she closes her heart. Only when Lord Fenton faces the greatest trial of his life does he begin to find love beyond the folly. Could a great love come from a beginning such as this?

And now, my review:

As I mentioned, I enjoy these Proper Romances. When I read the summary for this story, I had certain expectations. The summary implies a pining heroine, and we had a taste of that, but Alice (our “heroine”) didn’t pine away the entire story. This showed her strength, which I liked. Yet both main characters, in their hateful bickering, chose a base response.

As this story moved into the second act, the heroine made a heart choice to interact with the hero in a certain way. At this point, I almost gave up on her. There had to be a way for her to show strength and not be a doormat for the hero, but in a noble way. Either way, at that point in the story neither main character is acting nobly or heroically. Readers will see the characters’ motives and weaknesses but it’s challenging to root for either one, to respect or admire either one because neither took the high road.

Lord Fenton has a drinking problem, which element carried on far into the story. The title warns us this character acts foolishly and believes lies, but there was a lot of focus on this alcoholic aspect, which made this unheroic character even more so. Fenton took a lot longer to transform, which wore on me as I read.

Now for some positive elements: I liked how the hero and heroine brought out the best in each other, eventually. I enjoyed the regency time period, the prose, the settings, the evident research of the author. The story was multi-layered, and I could imagine the novel playing out as a movie as I read. Well done.

Fenton was a character! He’s a dandy—a clown, a macaroni—following through on ridiculous bets and living a lifestyle that shames his father. Fenton’s highly entertaining as the early London scenes play out. At first, I liked his clowning around. It’s well-written and unusual in novels that I’ve read. But as in all books in the romance genre, I longed for his heroic side to appear in his adult years.

His mother, in her warm, loving way, makes a match for him. She is admirable, dignified and respectable. The story would have lacked redemptive qualities without her, for most of the story (until the hero and heroine turned).

Fenton struggles to be an adult, to face the tough elements of life, to be decisive. For a while he blames this on his need to shame his father, but all that tactic has done is deny him the process of growing up. He has sabotaged himself. I enjoyed his relationship with his mother—again a redemptive element in the story. He trusts Mom to advise him. And his mother’s love helps him commit to change. This relationship demonstrated Fenton’s human side, which was key in showing elements of him that we could cheer.

Overall, despite my long critique, I enjoyed this story. The novel was highly entertaining, even if outside the traditional genre box with all its accompanying expectations. If readers aren’t expecting heroism, they may not mind the delay toward both MC’s (main characters) acting heroically. And the read is fun while we get there, which is the point of a keeping readers hooked.

Watching for more Proper Romances from Shadow Mountain. 

A Noble Masquerade by Kristi Ann Hunter

A Noble Masquerade

Oh, what a fun story by a new-to-me author! And, as I put this blog post together I found her novella free for Kindle on Amazon. Find A Lady of Esteem: a Hawthorne House novella here. Can't wait to read it! Now, back to this story.

Here’s the summary:

Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside she longs to be bold and carefree. Approaching spinsterhood in the eyes of society, she pours her innermost feelings out not in a diary but in letters to her brother’s old school friend, the Duke of Marshington. Since she’s never actually met the man she has no intention of ever sending the letters and is mortified when her brother’s mysterious new valet, Marlow, mistakenly mails one of the letters to the unsuspecting duke.

Shockingly, this breach of etiquette results in a reply from the duke that soon leads to a lively correspondence. Insecurity about her previous lack of suitors soon becomes confusion as Miranda finds herself equally intrigued by Marlow, a man she has come to depend upon but whose behavior grows more suspicious by the day. As the secret goings-on at her family's estate come to light, one thing is certain: Miranda’s heart is far from all that’s at risk for the Hawthornes and those they love.

And now, my review:

This poor heroine has strong emotions, but being a lady means holding those emotions in check, especially in the Regency days. So she pours out her heart to “Marsh” in letters as a form of diary. They’ve never met, so having him see any of them is a terrifying thought. She’d make a fool of herself and all of her mother’s “ladyship training” would be for naught in the downfall of her reputation as a foolish and silly girl. What a hook, then, for all of that to be at stake.

I laughed aloud over a few scenes and remained hooked through the entire story. The author did a great job with pacing and including engaging elements. I did find some POV missteps, but I’ve seen those before in this publisher’s books of the same genre. (The editor in me snags on those instances every time. I'm guessing their style guide leaves room for non-purist POV.) Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this story! (Let me say, I enjoy this publisher's fiction, whether historical or contemporary. They've found another winner in this author.)

I loved the undertones, the understated but strong romance—which is indicative of regencies, I think. The male banter between Ryland and the heroine’s brothers was fun, and it was easy to picture the characters carrying on.

I’m excited to watch this new author’s career. Loved this book. Looking forward to her next one. And I'm thrilled to read her novella for free on Kindle (see link above for info).

Highly recommended!

The Proposal by Becky Wade

The Proposal: A Christmas short story

I enjoy Becky’s writing. This short story was a fun read to follow Undeniably Yours (a Kindle freebie at the writing of this blog post). 

Let’s get to the summary:

A cold night in Texas, a dream of marriage, a happily ever after....

Single mom Amber Richardson spends every holiday season working to give her young son the best Christmas possible and striving to ignore the empty chairs around her table, chairs she wishes her mother and father and extended family occupied.

She'd hoped that this holiday would be fuller and happier than the rest. Her handsome firefighter boyfriend, Will McGrath, has brought immeasurable joy and love into her life. Up until recently, they'd even been talking about a future that included wedding bells. Lately, though, the wedding talk has been nonexistent and Amber can’t help but worry that Will's starting to have second thoughts....

Until a fire station surprise brings very good tidings.

And now, my review:

This short story is an addendum—an epilogue to Undeniably Yours. I read the novel a long while ago with several books between then and now, so it was difficult to recall the characters and the story. For that reason, I recommend reading them in order.

Loved how the author kept coming back to the phrase that December 20^th was or wasn’t a good day for this or that. Cute, recurring words, reminding us of the date/season.

There was a Christian bridal theme in the heroine’s words to the hero. I’ll let you find it.

This short (story) had a story arc, and in that way it stands alone. But since this e-book is centered on one main event, and because I couldn’t quite recall the earlier story, I was a little disengaged (sorry for the pun). At the same time, she did touch my emotions near the end. Good writing does that. Overall, this is a feel-good story Becky’s fans will enjoy.