Sophie is plagued by the shadows of the past…
While driving his curricle, Rufus Solgrave, Earl of Luxton comes across Sophie Clifford lying unconscious in the road, having fallen from her horse.
Not too far from home, he takes her back to Ashby, his country seat, leaving her in the care of his mother, Elizabeth, Countess of Luxton, and his sister, Lydia. Under their kindly supervision, Sophie soon begins to recover.
Upon discovering that Sophie has never mixed with London society, Elizabeth invites her to accompany the family to town for Lydia’s come-out. Unhappy with her homelife and eager to sample the delights of the season, Sophie accepts.
However, her enjoyment is marred when talk of an old scandal surrounding her birth resurfaces. What’s more, her devious stepbrother, Francis Follet, has followed her to London, intent on making her his bride.
Sensing Sophie’s distress, Rufus steps in to protect her from Francis’s unwelcome advances.
And although neither Rufus nor Sophie are yet thinking of marriage, both soon begin to wonder whether their comfortable friendship could blossom into something warmer…
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Review
When Rufus Solgrave comes across a beautiful woman lying unconscious in the road and takes her home to recover, he has no idea that this Season will be unlike any other. Sophie Clifford has spent her entire life in the countryside, so when Rufus' mother and sister invite her to accompany them to London, she jumps at the chance. Life is a whirl of parties and invitations until her odious stepbrother arrives in town and rumours start to swirl around the circumstances of her birth. Sophie's one solace is in her new friends, particularly one Rufus Solgrave...
The Girl With Flaming Hair is a stately coming of age, where Sophie learns first how to stand on her own, and then that she doesn't need to. All her life, she's been emotionally neglected, but through the actions and with the support of the Solgrave family, she discovers there's far more to life than she ever dreamed. The dresses are sumptuous and the parties dazzling, but the heart of this book is in the relationships, both romantic and familial. Especial mention goes to the older ladies who take Sophie under their wing, particularly Elizabeth Solgrave, Rufus' mother. There's something very special about seeing women supporting women, especially across generations.
Of course, there are always obstacles on the path to a happy ever after, not least of all Rufus' inability to spit it out, but the ending is satisfying and leaves me in no doubt of their lasting happiness. I enjoyed how while everything is wrapped up, actions still have consequences.
I did find the inclusion of two side romances a little distracting, as most of those characters didn't get a chance to be properly fleshed out. I hope they get their own story, or at least a novella, to give them the page space they deserve!
If you're looking for a lower stakes Regency romance with plenty of characters and found family, pick this book up.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Rachel's Random Resources; all opinions are my own
Natalie’s passion for reading became a compulsion to write when she attended a ten-week course in creative writing some sixteen or so years ago. She takes delight in creating short stories of which more than forty have been published, but it was her lifelong love of Regency romance that led her to turn from contemporary romantic fiction to try her hand at her favourite genre. Raised on a diet of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, she is never happier than when immersed in an age of etiquette and manners, fashion and intrigue, all combined into a romping good tale. She lives on the London/Kent border, close to the capital’s plethora of museums and galleries which she uses for research as well as pleasure. A perfect day though is when she heads out of town to enjoy lunch by a pub on the river, any river, in company with her husband and friends.
Natalie is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association, the Society of Authors and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists.
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review, Mei. I'll have to think about giving those other characters their own stories
ReplyDeleteNatalie