2017, 336p, Clean Historical Romance
My Rating=5 Stars
Source: I received an ARC from the publisher, which did not affect my review in any way
One is his first love.
The other is his best love.
Which will be Walter’s true love?
Walter Scott has three passions: Scotland, poetry, and Mina Stuart. Though she is young and they are from different stations in society, Walter is certain their love is meant to be. For years, he has courted her through love letters. She is the sunshine of his soul.
Though Mina shares Walter’s love of literature and romantic temperament, it’s hard for her to know if she truly loves him or if she has only been dazzled by his flattery. When she meets the handsome and charming William Forbes, her heart is challenged. Who will she choose?
But as every poet knows, “the course of true love never did run smooth,” and on a windy morning in the lake country, Walter meets Charlotte.
At twenty-six, Charlotte Carpenter believes she will never find love. After all, she is a Catholic-born Frenchwoman living in London with a family history shadowed by scandal. Though quiet, practical, and determined to live a life of independence, her heart longs for someone to love her and a place to call home.
Passion and promises collide as Walter, Mina, and Charlotte must each decide the course for their futures. What are they each willing to risk to find love and be loved in return?
I didn't know much about Sir Walter Scott prior to reading this book. From the summary, I knew his path to finding love wouldn't be easy. Walter Scott lost his heart to Williamina (Mina) Belshes (later changed to Stuart) the first time he met her. She was young at the time and flattered by his attention. As she got older, though, she met someone else and started to question what she felt for Walter.
Though it was tough on Walter to learn that Williamina didn't end up sharing his affection, it wasn't hard on the reader as it became easy to see that they weren't a good fit for each other. I love the way this author approached this book and it couldn't have been an easy task. There are certain facts she can't change and needs to fill in the rest to make the story flow and be interesting. I thought she did a fantastic job! There are notes at the end where she shares what the facts are and what she made up so the overall story would make sense. There's also a timeline at the end which gives the bigger picture of what happened throughout his life (like how he became "Sir" Walter Scott).
I loved this book! There were times when it moved slowly but I found what was happening to be so interesting that it didn't bother me at all. I kept looking forward to when he would meet Charlotte and what would happen from there. If you enjoy historical romance, based on a true story, you will want to read this one!
Josi S. Kilpack has written twenty-five novels, a cookbook, and several novellas. She is a four-time Whitney award winner, including Best Novel 2015 for "Lord Fenton's Folly," and has been a Best of State winner for Fiction. Josi loves to bake, sleep, eat, read, travel, and watch TV--none of which she gets to do as much as she would like. She hates to talk on the phone, learn how to do new things, and sweep--all of which she gets to do a lot :-)
Josi and her husband, Lee, have four children and live in Northern Utah.
0 comments:
Post a Comment