Ugly sisters and non conformity!

Edward and Amelia by Karen Thornell        

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Marriage of convenience trope is stretched to include a young woman, Lady Amelia Kennington, youngest daughter of the Duke of Stafford, who found herself forced to marry a stranger she’d met whilst investigating the cries of a child along the banks of the Serpentine River. Said young lady should not have been unchaperoned in the park without a maid, and should not have spoken alone to a gentleman who turned out to be the much vaunted rake, Edward Drayton, the Earl of Norwich. Falling into the waters of the Serpentine didn’t help, although really that was more Edward’s fault. So public a place and so damning when they were caught by other members of polite society.  The young woman is more a Cinderella figure with very superior twin sisters (stand-ins for the ugly sisters) and a father who has no patience with her (wicked step mother equivalent). Of course this is only half the story but the couple coming to an understanding after the wheat has been sorted from the chafe, including Amelia and Edwards personal  trials and tribulations, and the scandals and viciousness that surrounds the couple. I must admit to being frustrated on occasion by both characters, and the attempted excuses that neither had good role models for marriage became somewhat lame. I also become quite cross with the bullying Amelia received from her sisters, Edith in particular. I kept wanting Amelia to face Edith down. Alas, I’m not sure that even occurred. Still love triumphs, albeit awkwardly.

A Covenant Communications ARC via NetGalley