Blythe Court (Romance with a Kiss of Suspense #3)

SUSPENSE:  Ann has been raised knowing that her duty is to wed well and have sons, and not much beyond that. Coming out was exciting but she soon feels like a prized broodmare her parents are shopping around. She decides to make the best of things once she’s “bought” for John, the son of a Duke. She knows there’s no love on his side, but Ann decides to axe through his indifference to create an amiable life. However, John has secrets, and once she finds them out, she must choose her path carefully.

Though a novella, this is not one to make a quick read of. Told in the first person, a rarity in historical romances, modern readers are going to find themselves stunned at the internal chafing of the rules and strictures that society placed on women, and just how few real choices they had. It is not a happy read, because of this and the circumstances Ann finds herself in, but it is well worth the agony. The discovery of why John is the way he is could have been done later, as so soon in the novel unnecessarily drags her pain out. Ann is as strong as society allows her to be, but her internal musings and the knowing choices she makes in trying to fix and adjust her loveless marriage become powerful lessons to modern women in that there is more than one option besides walking away. Ironic that a woman who didn’t have that choice would make a modern woman reconsider it altogether. A wonderfully heartbreaking read that serves a powerful lesson on love.

Julie York