Janice -
Helpful Score: 1
This is a solid tale of redemption. Set in MidVictorian times - 1861 - but the mores are not much different than in your average regency. Trains for long distance travel instead of coaches, petticoats and crinolines instead of slim draped dresses. A familiar world for those who like historical romances set in England. All the elements - rakish hero on the verge of losing his soul, angelic heroine whose love can redeem him; theme of emptiness vs. fulfillment -- they're all there and none of them are new, but the author tells a compelling tale that held my interest to the end.
jjares reviewed The Viscount and the Vicar's Daughter: A Victorian Romance on + 3413 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is another beautiful story by Mimi Matthews. This story is even better than THE LOST LETTER. Tristan Sinclair is a debauched rake which is a disappointment to his father. He is attending a depraved house party where his father suddenly puts in an appearance. The members of this debauched group are disappointed because Tristan's father, the Earl of Lynden, won't allow the wife-swapping and room swapping to ensue while he's there.
Valentine March has lived a solemn life with a vicar who never let her forget how unworthy her mother was -- and by definition, Valentine is. Valentine's mother married the vicar three months before Valentine's birth when the vicar found the woman crying in his church. Valentine's mom dies in childbirth. When the old vicar dies, this gently-bred woman becomes a companion to a rude, loud woman and her daughter. The daughter has just destroyed some pages of Valentine's deceased mother's drawings. Valentine is devastated and crying in a folly on the property. Valentine and Tristan meet, and a sweet, complicated story unfolds.
The Earl of Lynley cuts Tristan off financially, and Valentine is fired without a reference because the house party caught Valentine and Tristan alone in the conservatory. Tristan leaves for his estate in Northumberland, and the Earl of Lynden accompanies Valentine to meet one of her cousins in London. There are lots of complications and problems, all leading to a great story.
Valentine March has lived a solemn life with a vicar who never let her forget how unworthy her mother was -- and by definition, Valentine is. Valentine's mother married the vicar three months before Valentine's birth when the vicar found the woman crying in his church. Valentine's mom dies in childbirth. When the old vicar dies, this gently-bred woman becomes a companion to a rude, loud woman and her daughter. The daughter has just destroyed some pages of Valentine's deceased mother's drawings. Valentine is devastated and crying in a folly on the property. Valentine and Tristan meet, and a sweet, complicated story unfolds.
The Earl of Lynley cuts Tristan off financially, and Valentine is fired without a reference because the house party caught Valentine and Tristan alone in the conservatory. Tristan leaves for his estate in Northumberland, and the Earl of Lynden accompanies Valentine to meet one of her cousins in London. There are lots of complications and problems, all leading to a great story.
