Publisher: Avon (Harper Collins)
Pub Date: December 28, 2010
FTC: Digital ARC received from publisher through Netgalley
The Blurb:
Abandoned at the altar…
Lady Beatrix Danbury has always known she would marry William Mallory. She’d loved him forever, and she’d never doubted he loved her, too. But when she made him choose between their life together and his lifelong dream, Will chose the latter, and left two weeks before their wedding.
Return of the duke…
Will has no illusions that Beatrix will welcome him back with open arms, but six years has not diminished his love or his desire for her. The only problem is that she’s about to marry someone else. Someone safe and predictable… the complete opposite of Will. But can he stop the wedding of the season and win Beatrix back, or is it just too late?
Laura Lee Guhrke writes some of the most fun late 19th/early 20th century romances out there. They are wonderful, sweet, romantic, and sometimes very funny. Wedding of the Season definitely had its amusing parts, and it also had plenty of heart.
I love the second-chance-at-love trope. And there's plenty to love about Will and Beatrix. There really isn't a villain in this book. No third person who broke the young lovers apart. The parting was a result of mixed priorities, chance, and the naivete of youth. And pride. Lots and lots of pride. As I was reading the book, my sympathies swung from Will to Beatrix and back again. It's painful to watch these two wrestle with the realities of what drove them apart. And to watch them fight their attraction for each other.
It's unusual, but I like how so many of Guhrke's novels are set at the turn of the 20th century. Where old fashioned historical meets modernity. It allows her to play with changing gender roles, changing technology, and a shift in attitude. Her women are not stuck in just the domestic sphere. Although there's plenty of that. But they also DO things. Things that you don't normally see women in historical romances do. Like drive a motorcar or have an occupation.
Part of what sets Guhrke's books apart is the dialogue. I look forward to snappy banter between all of the characters. Siblings tease, lovers quarrel, but quite a lot of the story involves the characters talking to each other...and revealing bits and pieces of themselves in the process.
At its heart, this is a book about two people who grew up loving each other. Who parted when love just wasn't enough. And who discover, just in time, that they still love each other enough to try again. Poignant, sweet, funny, and genuine. I'll be rereading this one.
My Grade: A
Wedding of the Season is available from the Book Depository and other booksellers.
I've read other books by Laura Lee Guhrke, but hadn't heard of this one. I've been on a roll with some steamier romance books but I think I'll have to tone it down little and read this one since I liked Guhrke's writing so much.
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