Louisa Silverton knows what is expected of her in life. Her marriage is what will help her family succeed. In her search for a husband to fill this role however, Louisa realizes maybe there is something, and someone else, she should be looking for.
I admit I have a fondness for historical fiction, so already I knew I was going to enjoy myself starting this one. This book does stay a bit on the dry side of things. The writing is a wee bit stiff and a lot of the narrative tends to revolve around the financial struggles Louisa and her father are in more than the actual romance. I think this fact is what makes this book a four star for me instead of a five. I still enjoyed it, but I admit the romance didn’t feel like it got as much attention as it deserved. It focus a lot more on these bits of drama more than the growing relationship between Louisa and Sarah. Again, personally this wasn’t bad for me, but if you are reading this book for a sweeping romantic historical fiction you may be just a tad disappointed.
On that note, I did feel like the growing relationship between the two main characters needed a lot more. I felt like Sarah and Louisa didn’t actually spend very much time together and when they did there was little physical interaction. There wasn’t much here to tell me WHY the attraction was growing. I admit the conversations were interesting and flowed, but there just wasn’t enough there. This didn’t seem like a society that was accepting of sapphic relationships so I would expect there to be a bit more here to persuade them that this was in fact what they wanted, particularly in Louisa’s case. Her entire objective was finding a husband that had money to help her father with his debt. I had wanted to see a bit more drama in regards to what I expected to be more confusing feelings.
Looking at the non romantic parts of the book, I feel like the author’s writing really worked for this type of story. There was a lot of focus on finance and money and systems of that time, but the author did so well at not making these parts drag. I was fascinated and never felt bored or like the narrative was bogged down. This alone is what really sold me on this and why the romance feeling a bit minor didn’t bother in this case. Her secondary characters were also well written and added a lot of weight to the story. They served a purpose and helped moved things along smoothly.
If you are looking for a romantic tale that will sweep you off your feet, this might not be the book for you. If you enjoy a good historical fiction that feels like it holds some true to life facts, I can definitely recommend.
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