Review: Yorkshire by Lynne Connolly

The Particulars: Historical Romance, Samhain, available as e-book and in print

The Source: Amazon freebie ( also available at BN and Sony)

The Grade: B+

The blurb:

Rose Golightly is a country girl who thinks her life will continue on its comfortable course, but a series of events changes that for good. On a visit to the ancestral estate of Hareton Abbey, Richard Kerre, Lord Strang, enters her life. A leader of society, a man known for extravagance in dress and life, Richard is her fate. And she is his.

Richard is to marry a rich, frigid woman in a few weeks, and has deliberately closed his heart to love. Then a coach accident throws his wounded body into Rose’s arms.

With one kiss, Richard and Rose discover in each other the passion they thought they’d never find.

But the accident that brought them together was an act of sabotage. Somewhere, in the rotting hulk of a once beautiful stately home, a murderer is hiding. Richard and Rose set out to solve the mystery, and find the layers of scandal go deeper than simply determining who is guilty. And that doing the right thing could separate them—forever.

The review:

Lynne Connolly have been on my To check out list for awhile, so when I discovered that Samhain offered the first book in the Richard and Rose series as a freebie, I decided to download it.

And I am glad I did. This story hooked me from the start. I loved the setting. The derelict manor, and how she with small touches showed how bleak life had been there for Lady Harcourt.

I also liked the down to earth way Rose and her family is described. They are in the upper echelons of the middle class, and they are happy to be middle class.

This was an stark contrast compared to Richard and his family. They are nobles, and it showed.

I could understand the worry Lizzie felt when she realised that Rose was attracted to Richard, since Richard had a certain reputation. Not to mention that he was engaged.

A lot of the enjoyment with this book stems from the characters.

Most of the focus is on romance between Rose and Richard. How they struggled with the attraction they felt to each other, and how they decided to act on it. I liked that both of them knew that their relationship would have an hard path towards their HEA.

Then there is Rose's family. I loved quiet feelings between Jacob and Martha. The bubbly excitement of her sister Lizzie.

That said, this novel has its weak spots. While the romance is fascinating, the mystery subplot felt a bit predictable, both when it came to what happened, and who caused it. The major problem I had was that it felt likethey stumbled upon the biggest clue purely by coincidence.

Still I do plan to read more books by Lynne Connolly in the future.