Author: @thymesublime
Reviewer: @MeganHites
Book Summary:
A story of a level-headed bluestocking and a pompous idiot. What could go wrong?
Lord Ashbourne is in a bit of a predicament. His sole heir, Lord Leighton, is disgustingly handsome and disgustingly problematic. He swears his not-so prospering posterity's personality closely resembles an old shoe. So close to an old shoe, in fact, the father fears his son's matrimonial destiny is as a crotchety, single, and lonely old man.
Employing the help of his old friend and accomplish, a Mr. Beckham, the two decide to recruit the help of an unknowing daughter. This is all in the hope that her absolute boringness will rub on the conceited dolt of Lord Leighton and hopefully tame his... fascinating personality... long enough for him to settle down. Hopefully.
In the lively, fictitious world of Lampton, take a little trot... and pray nothing too serious will go awry.
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The "not-so-prospering posterity" sentence is sort of confusing. I'd work on rewording that, but the rest is perfection! There's so much intrigue and personality injected in this short summary. Love it!
Cover:
This cover is fabulous -- truly. The picture chosen is terrific, the coloring, the mood, the text, the layout... all perfection.
Story Media:
I'd recommend adding some chapter headings or closings. Something to add a pop of color and excitement. Maybe a "Thanks for Reading" banner with a beautiful picture of your landscape (or what closely resembles it).
Characters:
Well, when one character describes his son as a pickle, and another as an old shoe, you know you have characters with a ton of interesting and diverse personality.
I was not disappointed. Every single character felt different and it was so fascinating seeing the perceptions they had of each other, and how they were in actuality.
Catherine is my favorite, with her gentle nature that is often overlooked by her other (more talented) sisters. Despite being compared to an old shoe, I saw so much potential in her for greatness, and an interesting role model. Plus, she doesn't like to dance and keeps her nose in a book. (So relatable)
And here is how her father so gently (and borderline incorrectly) describes her...
"Charlotte, you are... a stable woman of little dramatics; I would be a dishonest, unscrupulous man if I said otherwise. You are a steadfast, reliable sort of girl and that's why I knew you could do this [help the pickle lord get a better personality, hehe], even if your heart is not fully invested; you are that stalwart."
And Lord Leighton, whom she is quickly thrust together with, has so much building up of sheer negativity that his character greatly amused me when I agreed with so much of what he had to say. (Though his thoughts definitely were odd for the time period so I can see why his father was so flustered by his behavior)
He was described as such:
"He has a pretty face but his insides resemble more of a rotting turnip, sprinkled with dirt."
And it was fabulous seeing this come to life, while also being very one-sided and not reflective of his entirety.
Compliments:
+ Love the writing style! It's so descriptive and wonderful to follow along with. It also has that victorian vibe that fits perfectly in the historical fiction genre, but spice up with tons of humor.
+ Really fabulous opener. I loved being transported into this world where earls and lords meddle with their children's lives.
+ I adored the way the two meddling fathers' friendship was described! So well said!
Example:
Now many might raise a few bushy eyebrow hairs on the basis of how Mr. Beckham knew such a thing without verbal exchange. Call it blackmail. Call it black magic. Or call it divine intervention. But, my friends, we liked to call it friendship. And one of epic proportions.
+ The dialogue is fluid and well-written. Personalities are accurately shown in what they say, do, and think.
Example:
"Oh, Bennet, my old friend. Forgive me of my transgression." He then collapsed in a nearby armchair. (For any soul who cares to know, the armchair's Christian name was Egbert.)
"Goodness, did you kill someone?"
"Heaven, no."
"Are you about to duel a gentleman? If you are, do not expect my being an espouser, you ruffian!"
"Gentlement do not duel."
"Then did you happen to eat all the pastries in the kitchen?"
+ Strong vocabulary, but not overbearing.
+ Amazing characters with lots of quirks. They all feel unique and different from each other (which is very important).
Room to Improve:
- I'm confused on who the narrator is supposed to be. There are references of "we" and "I" but I can't fathom who it is that is telling this. Some creepy bloke spying on them all from the balcony?
- It can start to get a bit rambly at times (I'm thinking of some places in chapter two) that could perhaps be toned in. But it also serves as a styling choice, so it goes with the vibe of the story.
- I think your chapter intros could use a bit of tweaking. In particular the third one, which was a bit abrupt. I'd recommend putting some sort of description between the three quotes so we know more of what's going on and where they all are, and maybe who is speaking.
- I do want to point out the chapter lengths. The second one seemed particularly long, while the third one was very short. I think perhaps you should strive to keep them a little more consistent in length.
Final Thoughts:
I honestly couldn't find much of anything to critique! This is extraordinarily well-written, and the words fly off the page. I adore the writing style and the feeling of the characters, along with the beautiful descriptions that accurately resemble the time period. The bit of humor immersed in almost every paragraph is honestly fantastic.
Anyone who loves historical fiction should give this one a try!
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