Series: Holt Sisters Trilogy, #1
Traits & Tropes: spies; titled hero; mystery; reformed rake
Publication Date: 03.01.06
Genre/Setting: Historical; Regency; London/Barnstable, England, 1820
Heat Level: 2
Rating: 4/5
Susannah Makepeace has always been the toast of the ton, until her father dies, and she’s left with nothing but a few gowns and sent to live with her aunt in the small village of Barnstable. Susannah is expecting abject boredom but is surprised to find the country offers delights she’d never have found in London, the first of which is a beautiful man enjoying a naked swim in a pond near her house. Of course, she has to draw him in detail, and he catches her watching him.
Christopher Whitelaw, Viscount Grantham, is known as a playboy amongst the ton, which he is, but he’s also a highly skilled spy in His Majesty’s service. Unfortunately, his rakish reputation has gotten a bit out of hand, and he’s been sent to rusticate at a small estate his family owns near Barnstable. He’s meant to be preparing a naturalistic folio on the flora and fauna of the area and Susannah’s artistic talents make her the perfect assistant to help with his illustrations.
After several potentially fatal accidents around Susannah, Kit realizes they aren’t accidents at all and sets out to solve the mystery that began during her childhood, all that while he avoids succumbing to the allure she holds for him.
I’ve been working my way through the Pennyroyal Green series lately so I have to say you can definitely tell this book is an earlier work. The writing is still excellent, but I don’t think this will make my list of new favorites. That said, I really enjoyed the characterization of both Susannah and Kit, as they felt very real and well-developed. I think what didn’t jive for me here was the incredibly slow burn and equally slow pacing. I struggled to stay invested, which is clear if you look at the date I marked this one as currently reading; it took me quite a while to finish. I also think Kit went on a bit too long noticing the attractiveness of other women, especially doing so openly in front of Susannah. Of course, this is realistic, but I’m not a fan of it in my real-life men or fictional heroes. It also frustrated me that Susannah did eventually tell Kit how she felt, but he struggled mightily to give her the actual words and now I can’t remember if he ever even did. However, I must say that despite his lack of verbosity and tendency to let his eyes/thoughts stray, Kit’s feelings for Susannah were made clear by his actions, probably even before he admitted them to himself. In that respect, I did come to appreciate the simplicity of the admission of feelings between these two, nothing dramatic, no big declaration, just a quiet acceptance of the inevitable. I’m not saying I want this in all my romance, but I’m surprised at myself for finding it romantic in hindsight, even if it was a bit underwhelming while reading.
I think the mystery/spy aspect here was well done and gave me just enough answers to satisfy me as to the HEA for Susannah and Kit while still leaving me with questions that make me want to continue the series. I have this as a two in one novel so I will definitely at least read the next book, likely after the Christmas romance reading season. Anyway, I think the best feature here was the fact that Susannah and Kit both learned who they truly were when their circumstances changed and they wound up in the country, so I really enjoyed that they found their true selves and found love at the same time. I loved that there was never any question about Kit’s intentions toward Susannah, i.e., they weren’t intimate before they’d acknowledged their feelings and he never asked her to be his mistress (I hate that!) and I think Susannah’s aunt stole the show in her scenes, so I was happy she was included in their HEA. All in all, I enjoyed this story and Julie’s excellent writing.
I voluntarily read and reviewed a gifted copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2160971955
https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/2921190855
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