“My only remaining marriage prospects were the head gardener, the vicar, and the steward. But how could I marry any of them when I was in love . . . with Lord Brookhaven?
Charlotte Robbins accepts a governess position for the Earl of Brookhaven's siblings despite rumors of the earl's severe and mysterious demeanor. As a lowly governess, Charlotte entertains thoughts of possible romance with an eligible servant until she does fall unexpectedly in love--with the pensive earl himself.
But love does not mean a match is possible, and the earl's friends warn Charlotte that if he were to fall for her, it would ruin him. Just as Charlotte resigns herself to the impossibility of her feelings, she receives news that she has inherited a fortune from a long-lost relative. Now thrust into London high society, Charlotte grapples with suitors vying for her attention, but her heart still belongs to the Earl of Brookhaven. As secrets unfold, she's no longer certain if her newfound fortune is a blessing--or if it is the very thing that threatens the love she's always longed for.”
Series: Unclear if it is part of a connecting series or not.
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, referenced, remembered, & quoted; Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God & His will; ’H’s are not capital when referring to God; Church going; Lord Brookhaven asks if Charlotte was taught to fear God and her sins being found out, but Charlotte responds that she was taught to fear God but because of reading the Bible for herself views it as more of a reverence (Lord Brookhaven asks if she uses her own sense to understand the Bible and Charlotte says she believes Scripture is true and helpful and likes to draw her “own conclusions about what it means”; This is a reference to men in this time believing that clergymen should explain the Bible to women, but Lord Brookhaven says he respects it); Charlotte imagines marrying a certain clergyman who think that his work is more important to him than her and is upset by the thought; Charlotte comments at the end that she can “literally feel God’s love” more after knowing what it’s like to be “loved deeply and well“ (by a man); Mentions of God, Jesus, His mercy and grace, His creations, & His will; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, clergymen, sermons, & men having the church be their occupation; A few mentions of Providence; A few mentions of Christian charity; A couple mentions of events in the Bible; A couple mentions of being blessed; A couple mentions of a cross necklace; A couple mentions of sins; A mention of comparing one’s self to others not being a Christian thing to do; A mention of christenings; A mention of spiritual epiphanies; A mention of someone trying to “eke [their] way into heaven”; A mention of someone’s concerning spiritual state based off a suggestion he gave; A mention of “hypocritical clergy” a man met who were “not particularly pious, too lazy for good deeds, and seeking an easy life”;
*Note: Charlotte thinks “Dear Lord” once and it does not seem to be a prayer or talking to God; A woman mumbles “Lord bless me” when startled; A couple mentions of luck & being lucky.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘damnable’ (used as an adjective to describe a strongly disliked man), a ‘blast’, and three ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling & sarcasm; A lie (by Charlotte, to get out of an awkward situation); Charlotte drinks watered-down wine at a dinner party; *Spoilers* About half-way, William blackmails a shady solicitor to say Charlotte was left a large sum of money an estranged uncle in order for her to be able to do anything she wants and to accepted into society; Towards the end, the solicitor tries to con the money out of Charlotte for himself, but William stops it from happening and the truth about the money is revealed to Charlotte *End of Spoilers*; William wishes to choke a man for his actions (but does not); William recalls feeling the “desire to erase his own existence” after his broken engagement; Mentions of deaths, those near death, illnesses, & grief (including of parents, an uncle); Mentions of a carriage accident, a child being ran over by a carriage, injuries, an injured child, pain, someone fainting when seeing blood, & blood/bleeding; Mentions of criminals, thieves, stealing, ploys to steal from another (acting hurt or distracting their victims), & children being used for begging and pickpocketing by adults; Mentions of orphaned children living on the street & being used and mistreated by evil people; Mentions of arrests & prisons/jails; Mentions of bullies, bulling, fighting, & physical fights between children; Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deceit/deception; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, someone drinking often, drunks, & others getting tipsy/drunk; Mentions of smoking, tobacco, & pipes (seen and done on-page by Lord Brookhaven; Charlotte hopes that her future husband smokes a pipe deeming it perhaps the “most masculine thing in the world”); A few mentions of blackmail; A few mentions of threats; A few mentions of gambling; A few mentions of hatred; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of an injured baby rabbit (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of children being beaten and punished at schools; A couple mentions of duels with pistols or swords; A mention of a woman dying in childbirth (to twins); A mention of a man abusing and trying to drag his daughter away (due to her withholding her wages from him); A mention of frostbite;
*Note: Charlotte is an orphan and feels alone in the world with no one to care for her (so she often has dreamed about falling in love, getting married, and having a family of her own); Charlotte is told about an injured young boy being screamed at and punished by his mother for embarrassing her in front of her friends (William); Side characters show prejudice to orphaned street children (including a woman speaks harshly about street children and says they will steal and attack others (calling them “vermin”, but Charlotte defends the children)); Mentions of orphaned children scarfing food as if it might disappear any moment and fearing that necessities can be withheld from them if they misbehaved or didn’t show gratitude; Mentions of classic authors, books, & fictional characters (Shakespeare, Burns, Wordsworth, Milton, Jonathan Swift, Thomas Gray, Jane Austen, Walter Scott); A couple mentions of it being expected for a titled man to not love his wife or children; A mention of a couple unable to have children of their own; A mention of a woman having no children that survived infancy; A mention of gypsies;
Sexual Content- Three hand kisses (one is barely-above-not-detailed), a fingers-to-lips touch, and three semi-detailed kisses; Wanting to kiss & Staring at lips (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Dancing, Tingles/Shivers, Warmth, Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes, Winks, & Flirting; Noticing & Staring (including the hair on his chest a few times, barely-above-not-detailed); Flirting & Jealousy; Charlotte has a moment of concern about someone thinking that William is setting her up to be his paramour (which she would never agree to be and does not think that is his intent); William’s friends suggest setting Charlotte up in her own house (as his mistress) because no one will judge him for it as long as he is discreet, but William is appalled by their suggestion of ruining her and leading her to “a life of degradation and sin” (one friend says for him to “enjoy life a little” with her before he has to get married and produce an heir; William is upset at the friends for suggesting it and says Charlotte would not allow it; *Spoilers* His friends tell Charlotte that she must reject him if he confesses or it will ruin his standing in society *End of Spoilers*; As a note, one of these friends plans to have a career in the church); Charlotte enjoys a man flirting with her (thinking it makes her feel “alive and…pretty”) but knows he is after her fortune; A married woman invites William to her home and says she’s been lonely (he is shocked by her suggestion and leaves without a response to her comment); Mentions of married and unmarried people having paramours (including William’s parents having “numerous paramours”); Mentions of reputations & chaperones; Mentions of an engaged woman running off with another man; Mentions of love & there being little affection between some married couples; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of “evil men” who prey on women; A few mentions of a man showing unwanted attention and smiling in a “predatory” way towards Charlotte; A few mentions of men’s chest hair; A couple mentions of married couples separating and having lovers; A couple mentions of an affair; A couple mentions of kisses; A mention of a man marrying a much younger woman; A mention of a lovesick man; A mention of someone of “questionable birth”; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: Charlotte wishes to marry for love and will not settle for less; A friend of Charlotte tells her that her mother says that love comes after marriage which makes Charlotte wonder if that is right as she’s known that to be the case for some couples and others whose love died after originally being a love match; There are a few conversations and suggestions about doing what Charlotte’s heart tells her to do when faced with a proposal; Charlotte notes that she’s not willing to overlook a large age difference like other women who marry “someone old enough to be their grandfather”.
-Charlotte Robbins, age 25
-William/Lord Brookhaven
P.O.V. switches between them (Charlotte in 1st person, William in 3rd person)
Set in 1814 (Epilogue in 1815)
320 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Charlotte is a unique character. She’s not the typical regency female main character. She’s a bit…overeager to fall in love, down to her list of potential husbands at her new position. She’s a dreamer, but also sensible. She has a love for life and a sunshine personality which added to the book’s springtime setting like a swirl of fresh air. She wears her heart on her sleeve and cries quite a bit, but it’s because of caring for others and her own dreams. I liked her and how she desired to be married and have a family of her own, but I wanted to tell her to seek God’s will for her life rather than focusing on her goal for her life. She reminded me a bit of myself as a teenager, so I think that’s why this element was more noticeable to me when I was reading. Charlotte has a desire to be married and fall in love which is wonderful, but I would be a bit concerned for a young preteen reading this book and developing (or highlighting) the longing for the future or looking for a husband around every corner. That said, as someone who was that way as a teenager, I probably would have loved this book and felt a kinship to Charlotte because of it.
While Charlotte falls quick for William, it didn’t feel like insta-love or attraction based only on physical appearances because they had some personal conversations where they shared their feelings on different topics, so that felt more believable to me. I didn’t personally love how she noticed and thought about his chest hair a few times—I feel like I’m as red as a tomato just typing those words—but other than that, they do not feel like they were overly admiring the other’s appearance. I wish there had been a little more descriptions used for Charlotte and William: It’s noted that they are both kind and good multiple times. It became a little repetitive and made me think that everyone else around them must have been either stuck-up snobs or awfully mean (neither which seems to be the fully case).
Because of her chapters being in first person and we get a lot about her feelings and emotions, it almost felt like a diary at times. This will probably be a pro or a con for some readers.
I didn’t love the conversations about doing what Charlotte’s heart tells her to do when regarding a potential marriage. I wish there had been more discussion about praying for the right path and trusting God rather than trusting her heart and what would please her. The only potential suitor who brings up about praying about her answer to his proposal wasn’t William, which was a bit disappointing. There’s a comment from Charlotte that marrying the man is all she needs to make her happy. These few technical parts aside, I did enjoy this book and Charlotte’s caring nature, especially towards the children she meets.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.
