A Christina Dudley book is always a joy to read, that goes without saying, and this one was no different, but it has one major negative about it, which dragged it down to four stars for me.
Here’s the premise: widowed Sarah Barstow still grieves for her dead sailor husband, but at least she has her little son Sebastian (Bash) to console her, and she has a comfortable home with her husband’s family, under the benevolent patronage of their relation, Lord Dere. But when her husband’s best friend, Horace Langworthy, arrives on her doorstep, armed with her husband’s instruction to ensure that Sarah and Bash are well looked after, even to the extent of marrying Sarah, the even tenor of her life is upended. Horace’s proposal is duly made and just as duly rejected with extreme prejudice, even though he’s still heartbroken that the woman he loved and with whom he had an understanding, has jilted him during the two years he was away.
From then on, since Horace decides fr his own reasons to stay in the neighbourhood a bit longer, the two circle warily round each other and begin to appreciate the good qualities in each other. In particular, they both come to understand what it was that the dead Sebastian valued and loved in them. And so they inch towards valuing and loving each other too. I love these slow burn romances, and this is as good as they come.
Of course, the author’s great skill is in depicting large, rambustious families, full of personality and the usual disagreements, but also fiercely loyal, and the Barstows are a classic of the type. This series also has perhaps my favourite of all the characters, the mild-mannered Lord Dere, who meekly allows himself to be manipulated by his redoubtable sister-in-law, but who has a wonderfully soft heart. He acts as the fairy godfather of the series, stepping in to rescue our hapless heroes and heroines when they get into too much of a mess. Here he seems to be more proactive than previously, indulging in a spot of match-making.
As expected from Dudley, the book is beautifully written, laugh out loud funny in parts, and with the usual convoluted muddle to ensnare the main characters, beautifully resolved, and the romance is lovely. So why only four stars? Because with a romance, I expect the hero and heroine to be together at the end, not separated for months and years on end. I can see the logic behind it, it was consistent with the characters themselves and it’s perfectly true to the era, so rationally I can’t fault it, but the irrational part of me ended up rather grumpy about it. So four stars it is.
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