Delilah Swanpoole, Countess of Derring, is recently widowed. Her husband has left her with nothing except a dirty building near the docks. She goes into business with her husband's former mistress running a boardinghouse and they have a series of interesting guests, including the wildly handsome Captain Tristan Hardy. Will Delilah be able to trust a man again?
Interesting characters: Look, I found Captain Hardy to be underdeveloped, but I loved the women in this book. Delilah, her business partner Angelique Breedlove, her lady's maid Dot and their fabulous cook made this book worth reading. Was I interested in the romance? Eh. I mean, sure, but what I loved about this book was the conversations between the women.
Believable conflict: I mean, some of the b-plot is absurd. Cross-dressing tenants, smuggling, and homeless countesses? But if you're willing to suspend your disbelief, it's all good.
Emotional tension: There was a moment when Delilah and Angelique had a fight and I was so upset. Would their partnership stay the course? Then they talked it out and what a true delight. Emotional tension between Tristan and Delilah? It was there. It just wasn't the main plot line, as far as I was concerned.
Happily ever after: Oh, our couple is together at the end. I am worried that Captain Hardy is going to be upset someday that he is prevented from his life on the sea in his fancy ship, but no one ever cares about my concerns. But the happiest news is that Angelique is the main character of our next book, so yay for more from her!
Look, this is not going to win any prizes, but I requested the next book in the series from the library, so I'm going to give it credit for reminding me that there are some historical romances out there for me. 4/5 stars
Hat mentions (there were quite a few, I'm just giving the highlights)
There sat Dorothy on her bed, holding a hat pin in one fist and a knitting needle in the other, like a Truk wielding two scimitars. (timestamp 26:29)
Then she saw the hat resting on the chair opposite the woman, a black one with a jaunty feather. (timestamp 47:04)
...but the tailoring was good, and his hat was brushed and tended and his greatcoat was new. (timestamp 2:54:41)
Lines of note:
"Guilt is ballast," Angelique said, startlingly firmly. "Release it. It won't serve you in your, our, current circumstances." (timestamp 1:00:46)
I really did love the relationships between the women in this book.
He missed a good ride. He missed action. One didn't wind up passionately kissing widows when one was galloping down Sussex roads in pursuit of smugglers. (timestamp 4:51:59)
This is the line that made me think that maybe the Captain is not going to be content running a boardinghouse for the rest of his life.
I love this series! Well the third book was kind of "meh" and I haven't read the latest two, but I'm I liked the three others that I've read. Delilah and Angelique running their boarding house is one of the best parts of all the novels. Even in the "meh" book, I liked reading about the boardinghouse antics, which are, I agree, kind of absurd. There are definitely parts where I think, "That was kind of a thin excuse to have someone end up the the Grand Palace, but okay!" And I think Long's writing is very good.
ReplyDelete100%. I'm in it for the boardinghouse antics and I hope the addition of a new building means we can explore the private lives of servants instead of always focusing on the aristocracy.
DeleteThis sounds really good! And I love when they do a second book on a character from the universe.
ReplyDeleteWhy do all the Libby holds come in at once? GAH! Same thing here.
I'm obviously not great at figuring out Libby holds. I am hesitant to use the "deliver later" options because then I end up waiting weeks or months to get the book again! I wish I had more of an idea of how long the waits would be, but I think they do their best by telling you your place in line and how many copies there are.
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