Book Review: The Country House Courtship

How fun it has been to return to the Regency world created by Ms. Burkard and find out what the familiar characters from the previous two books are up to five years later.

Though Ariana and Mr. Mornay are not the focus of The Country House Courtship, they are still involved and it was gratifying to see them married and living together happily with their young family and all the enduring love they had for each other while courting.

In this third book of the series, Ariana's younger sister, Beatrice, is coming of age and looking for a good match. What I find wonderful of Ms. Burkard's writing is how different Beatrice is from Ariana. You can tell from the beginning she is young and naive and has a lot of growing to do--both emotionally and spiritually--before she arrives at her happily ever after.

Beatrice actually quite cracked me up. She is so free in her thinking and she must have taken advice from the ilk of Mrs. Bennet from P&P for she believes as her sister married so well she quite deserves a man just as well situated. (It's probably how Lydia Bennet would have been after Lizzie married Mr. Darcy if Lydia hadn't been forced to marry that horrid Mr. Wickham.)

Mr. O'Brien isn't your typical Regency hero. He's isn't anything like Mr. Mornay. He might seem to have less presence but maybe you just have to take more time to get to know him. He's learned a lot about himself and life since the last time we saw him. He's gentle with a giving heart and obviously meant to be a man of God within the church. And though a clergyman, he has a sense of humor. But even more he is a man of strength with a heart to love a woman with all his might.

The author gave her two lead characters five years between book 2 and 3. This gave them time to mature, change and become worthy of being hero and heroine without being totally different and unrecognizable. Again Ms. Burkard ahs me with her amazing prowess with the written word and her grasp of the Regency period. I've come to realize that you will never be disappointed with one of her books. Fantastic from cover to cover! I absolutely loved this book--just as much as the first novel of the series.

There is so much going on with the primaries and secondaries that I couldn't wait to dive into the book each day until it was finished. What I really found to be true after reading Ms. Burkard's books is that days later I'm thinking about them...about the characters. That's the sign of a good book--you don't soon forget it.

Book Review: House In Grosvenor Square

I started reading The House in Grosvenor Square with great expectations as I so loved the first book in Ms. Burkard's Regency series. Again I must commend the author on a job well done. The way she writes in the style and language of the Regency era is uncanny. Her descriptions of clothes and places sets you right in the midst of early 19th century London. The story enthralls right from the beginning.

I was pleased to see many if not all of the characters I'd come to know in the first book present in the second. It's great starting a new book with a group of characters you already love and that was exactly the experience as I got back into the story of Arianna Forsythe and Philip Mornay. Now as they prepare for their wedding, trial after trial seems to beset their walk down the aisle. Adversity attempts to separate the pair but with God and the perseverance of their love they just might make it.

It was refreshing to see the continued sincere Christianity of Ariana. She's even witnessing to her abductor. Imagine that! And Mr. Mornay, who became a Christian in book one, is growing in his faith and understanding. I quite enjoyed reading in Mr. Moray's pov as his love for Ariana deepens and becomes apparent to just about everyone he knows. It just about makes your heart melt.

This 2nd book although enjoyable and entertaining does not have the same flavor of a romance as did the 1st since the main characters are already engaged to be married, but it has a terrific plot that will have you reading into the wee hours of the night. I might even venture to say that it has a Gothic feel with a woman in peril by an evil villain and the hero coming to her rescue. So though I say this has a different flavor and not in essence a true romance, it is still romantic in nature.

In summation: The House in Grosvenor Square is a satisfying conclusion to the romance of the characters from Before the Season Ends. Lovely story, lovely writing. Ms. Burkard has a knack of writing intriguing prose and outstanding historical details that draw you in completely. I enjoyed reading it and recommend this book and this author highly.