STORY: The countryside of England provided an idyllic backdrop for Charles Brumley’s and Leah Hasting’s childhood. Neighbors and best friends, the pair passed many happy days racing through the rolling hills of Derbyshire. Everything was perfect—until Charles ruined it all and abandoned Leah for university.
Six years later, the former friends are thrust into each other’s paths once more. Leah had been looking forward to the ball, an opportunity to further her acquaintance with the handsome Mr. Wilkins—but when she sees Charles’s familiar face through the crowd, her traitorous heart leaps.
Charles faces his own struggle: he has loved Leah since he was fifteen years old, yet it seems he is too late—it appears that her affections are otherwise engaged. As the pair tentatively renews their friendship, the spark between them in undeniable.
After so many years apart, leah endeavors to reconcile her feelings toward her once cherished companion. But when a conniving revival for Charles’s attention approaches Leah, the threat is clear: give up her association with Charles or a devastating secret about her family will be revealed. Faced with an impossible decision, Leah must make a choice—the ruin of her family or the ruin of her heart?
REVIEW: Derbyshire England – 1811
Charles Christopher Brumley, age 15, is teasing Leah Hastings as they race each other. Charles and Leah have played together for many years as they live on neighboring estates. But today, Charles has come to tell Leah that he is leaving to attend Cambridge which leaves Leah crushed.
Derbyshire – 1817
Charles has studied hard at Cambridge secretly knowing he has missed Leah. In the years he was away, he saw Leah on occasion, but only briefly. Now, Charles’s father has passed away and his mother is not well. He has been tasked with escorting his sister, Rachel, to a dance. There he sees Leah and realizes that she has always owned his heart. But Leah appears to be enjoying the attentions of Captain Wilkins, leaving Charles seething with jealousy. Leah tells Charles that her life did not stop when he left for Cambridge. Now that he is back, he knows that he must work hard to win Leah’s hand.
A house party is planned at Charles’s home and many people are invited. One person is a lovely young lady and her overbearing mother who is determined to see her daughter marry Charles. While at the party, Leah’s father is accidentally shot and injured while hunting. It appears that Charles may have been the one to shoot him. This bring about hard feelings between Charles and Leah and he fears that he will never have the woman he loves.
This story started off well but seemed to stumble along quickly running out of steam. I understand that it a debut novel, but the author needs to do some work on her writing to make her story run smoothly.
Complimentary copy provided by the publisher
Connie for b2b
