mistresses, misunderstandings and the misunderstood!

-


'Could a man not be snowbound with his wife without half of England arriving to interfere?'
And as I read along I certainly seconded the Duke of Claxton's sentiment.
The plot is thick with characters. their interplay is endearing, frustrating, humorous at times, sensual and sensitive at others. 
I quite like the major players, indeed I had moments of sympathy for both leads, 
The basic story line is couple marry, couple separate through misunderstanding and tragedy, couple have a chance to reconcile, more misunderstanding, progress is made hearts repaired, more misunderstanding, reconciliation. We see these things happening through the voices of both the Duke of Claxton, Vane Barwick, and that of his Duchess, Sophia.       
 
Certainly, the descriptive prose brings alive the winter scenes, the dashing around on sledges, the crunch of ice underfoot. The charming scene in the church of trying to find the third part of the quest is indeed humorous. The pain that both Vane and Sophia are feeling, the way they keep missing each other in their understandings is poignant. Their interplay with others is well done. All is good. Maybe there were just too many bedroom scenes but, for the characters themselves perhaps not enough!
The story line had interesting elements, the characters are believable and yes I did want to jump onstage and tell them both to listen to each other from time to time. There are some fine tension points throughout that maintained my interest.  All the elements are here and indeed this is for you if you're in the mood for something not too taxing.
I do think Dalton's 'baby' [read the forward] has a lot to recommend it despite my not being as enamoured of it as I really wanted to be.

A NetGalley ARC

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Things aren’t as they seem!

-
Image
A Murderous Tryst  (Beatrice Hyde-Care Mystery #11) by Lynn Messina    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Oh my! Bea certainly has a lot to contend with. Bea’s rattled! The Duke has been missing from their bed for a night. When a distraught Bea come downstairs the next morning she finds her beloved husband Damien clasped in the arms of a glamorous female. A female who turns out to be Kesgrave’s first mistress, Mrs. Penelope Taylor! What?! Of course Bea’s heart sinks and she falls back on her painful memories of Aunt Vera’s responses to such a situation. Bea is both shaken and traumatised, but determined not to show it.  It seems Penny has been accused of murder. Actually  Penny’s desperately trying to avoid Newgate.    As a former mistress Penny does the unthinkable thing in society’s eyes. She asks for help from Bea. Bea’s response is just as shocking. She says yes. Kesgrave is as usual inscrutable. Of course this is the beginning of a harebrained chase, complications between Bea  and Amien,  and an investiga
Read more

Women in war—Internment by the Japanese 1942-45.

-
Image
Sisters Under the Rising Sun  by Heather Morris    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ A fitting tribute to the women interred by the Japanese in Indonesia and Malaya during 1942 until liberation in 1945. Amongst the internees are a group of Australian Army nurses who were not given recognition by the Japanese as members of the armed forces and therefore not prisoners of war according to the Conventions of war.  Sister Vivian Bullwinkle is the only survivor of the massacre of a group of soldiers and nurses on Radji Beach, Bangka Island near Sumatra  in 1942, after the sinking of  HMS Vyner Brooke. There are a number of civilian prisoners in the camps like Norah Chambers and her sister Ena.  Combined, the story of these women interred under terrible conditions, their struggles and achievements are monumental.  Their gifts to their fellows beyond speech. Music plays an important part in uplifting the prisoners’ spirits. It’s truly a privilege to read about their plight, their vows to each other, and their braver
Read more

The Three Muscateers—three widows, three sets of different circumstances

-
Image
The Widows' Wine Club  by Julia Jarman    ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Different enough to be interesting but I kept losing which character was which. I almost feel I need to read it again to follow who’s who. I do know that three women came together to form a support group, going to the pub for lunch etc. Better than the local widow’s group in the church hall.  All three had recently lost their husbands and now had to find a way to face their new lives. Viv Halliday is a knowledgeable gardener. Zelda Fielding is setting herself up with internet dates and searching the web for her unknown father. Janet had a controlling husband who it turned out was having affairs, and their son is just as controlling. How their lives unfold is the new challenge. A Boldwood Books ARC via NetGalley.                                               Many thanks to the author and publisher.
Read more