Books for Christian Girls: "The Captivating Lady Charlotte" by Carolyn Miller

About this book:

“Her heart is her own--but her hand in marriage is another matter
Lady Charlotte Featherington is destined for great things on the marriage market. After all, as the beautiful daughter of a marquess, she should have her pick of the eligible nobility hen she debuts. She, however, has love at the top of her list of marriageable attributes. And her romantic heart falls hard for one particularly dashing, attentive suitor. Sadly for Charlotte, her noble father intends her betrothed to be someone far more dull.
William Hartwell may be a duke, but he knows he was Charlotte's father's pick, not the young lady's own choice. And the captivating Lady Charlotte does not strike him as a woman who will be wooed by his wealth or title. While she has captured his heart, he has no idea how to win hers in return--and the betrayal and scandal his first wife put him through makes it difficult for him to believe that love can ever be trusted. His only hope is that Charlotte's sense of responsibility will win out over her romantic notions.
Can a widowed duke and a romantically inclined lady negotiate a future and discover love beyond duty? Will they be able to find healing and hope from the legacy of grace?”

Series: Book #2 in the “Regency Brides: A Legacy of Grace” series. Review of the Book #1 Here!

Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned, remembered, thought over, & talked about; Bible reading; Many prayers; Being witnessed to & discussions; Talks about God, trusting Him, Christians, & Jesus’ teachings; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; William doesn’t feel God’ s presences recently; Many mentions of God & trusting Him; Many mentions of prayers & praying; Many mentions of thanking God; Mentions of praying out loud; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of churches, services, worship, hymns, & ministers; Mentions of strong faiths; Mentions of faiths & Christians; Mentions of miracles; Mentions of being blessed & blessings; Mentions of sins; A few mentions of monks & monasteries; A couple mentions of a godsend;

*Note: The phrase “Good God!” and other forms are exclaimed many times; Mentions of curses & someone being cursed; Mentions of ghosts; Mentions of evil; A few mentions of bad luck; A mention of the last three days being hell; A mention of dueling with Satan; A mention of demons.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘biddy’, a ‘shut up’, and ten forms of ‘stupid’; Mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Shooting, being shot, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); A kidnapping, pain, blood/bleeding (semi-detailed); Pain, being poisoned, & passing out (up to semi-detailed); Rocks being thrown at someone & being in danger (up to semi-detailed); A fire (up to semi-detailed); A duel (up to semi-detailed); A bit of drinking; Many mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of deaths; Mentions of killing; Mentions of being hanged; Mentions of a duel & shooting someone; Mentions of an injured person, blood/bleeding, & how it happened (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of an attack, crimes, & injuries; Mentions of a war & fighting; Mentions of gunshots; Mentions of assailants/troublemakers & threats; Mentions of hitting & wanting to hit someone; Mentions of a fire & how it started; Mentions of being in danger; Mentions of inhumane treatments at an asylum (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of injuries; Mentions of poisons; Mentions of gambling & bets; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, & drunks; Mentions of poachers, thieves, & stealing; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of nightmares; A few mentions of an accident & deaths; A few mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of divorces.

Sexual Content- a palm kiss, a cheek kiss, two almost kisses, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, a forced semi-detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; Remembering kisses (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, & Heat (up to semi-detailed); Nearness & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Noticing (up to semi-detailed); Blushes; a ‘harlot’, a ‘strumpet’, and a ‘whore’; A man is obsessed with Charlotte & forces kisses and touches onto her (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of affairs, lovers, infidelity, & a child conceived from an affair (William’s wife); Mentions of a man leaving the bedroom of a married woman not fully dressed; Mentions of men and women enjoying the “company” of many of the opposite gender; Mentions of desires; Mentions of touches (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of kisses, kissing, almost kissing, & wanting to kiss; Mentions of seeing couples kissing; Mentions of noticing; Mentions of scandals, reputations, & couples alone together; Mentions of flirting & flirts; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions/hints of a husband showing his wife his love for a desperate attempt for an heir; A few mentions of hand kisses; Love, falling in love & the emotions;

*Note: Seeing a woman die during childbirth & blood (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a woman dying in childbirth, blood/bleeding, & her screams (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a miscarriage & the aftermath; Mentions of the possibility of a pregnant wife & her baby’s lives in danger; A few mentions of dresses suiting a woman’s curves (and it being noticed by a man); A mention of a wife not needing her husband’s love or his seed; A mention of William desiring a woman’s curves; A mention of a woman’s form.

-Charlotte Featherington, age 18

-William Hartwell
P.O.V. switches between them

Set in 1814-1815
308 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Since I did enjoy the first book of this series, I was interested in this one and seeing how it would compare to “The Elusive Miss Ellison”. Unfortunately, I definitely didn’t enjoy this sequel anywhere near as much. The first half of the book, I’ll admit, I wasn’t enjoying it at all. William—while understandable upset at times—came across mean and bitter. His wife is expecting with another man’s child, so while, yes, that’s not really the ideal situation for William, it really wasn’t the best time for readers to “meet” him, if that makes sense. Charlotte, on the other hand, did seem the naïve girl that many side-characters called her.

I was looking forward to seeing the couple from the first book, but, oh man! So much heartache and pain for them in this book. :(

There was a lot of faith content that I enjoyed seeing and the message of trusting God is why I’d like to give a bit of a higher rating, but unfortunately, I don’t feel like I can.

See y’all on Friday with a new review!