Book Blurb:
What can you look forward to when your only relatives call you ugly, unbalanced, and a scandal? What would you do if your only friend was threatened? Dependent on her half brother, the Earl of Lamburne, Adelaide knows. She wants to escape.
Gervase Ducane, invited to Lamburne’s home to court his daughter, is torn. He needs to marry well and soon but not this spiteful chit. Should he buy a commission instead? Seek a wealthy merchant’s daughter? As a marquess’s brother, he has at least a noble connection to offer an heiress apart from his good manners. And why is he only now meeting the earl’s delightful half sister?
Ordered to stay away from the house party, Adelaide rebels. She will make her unwelcome, embarrassing presence known to avenge herself and her pet. Sometimes when you least expect it, magic happens.
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/apeculiarenchantment
Author Bio:
Kathleen Buckley has loved writing ever since she learned to read. After a career which included light bookkeeping, working as a paralegal, and a stint as a security officer (fascinating!), she began to write as a second career, rather than as a hobby. Her first historical romance was penned (well, word processed) after re-reading Georgette Heyer’s Georgian/Regency romances and realizing that Ms. Heyer would never be able to write another, having died some forty years earlier. She is now the author of eight Georgian romances: An Unsuitable Duchess, Most Secret, Captain Easterday's Bargain, A Masked Earl, A Duke's Daughter, Portia and the Merchant of London, A Westminster Wedding, and A Peculiar Enchantment. While a ninth is in production she is writing the tenth.
Warning: no bodices are ripped in her romances, which might be described as "powder & patch & peril" rather than Jane Austen drawing room. They contain no explicit sex, but do contain the occasional den of vice and mild bad language, as the situations in which her characters find themselves sometimes call for an oath a little stronger than "Zounds!"
Captain Easterday's Bargain was an Oklahoma Romance Writers of America IDA 2019 finalist, Historical Fiction category.
Most Secret was an Oklahoma Romance Writers of America IDA 2018 finalist, Historical Fiction category, and a 2019 Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist, Romance category.
Editorial Review:
Several of the gentlemen he had met at Lamburne might become friends, but it was too early to regard any of them as confidants. Lady Adelaide was compassionate enough to be willing to cut a suffering horse’s throat and was not likely to share anything he told her with her family. Here in the dark, telling her his trouble seemed possible.
Love story: Boy meets girl, they fall in love and they love happily ever after. Well, this is how most love stories are, showing two distant souls finding themselves, in a world that wouldn’t root for them, and them fighting against all odds. Well, this might be true, but very few authors know how to write a captivating love or romance story, and lucky for this reviewer, this one is an exceptional book. This book, because of its complicated characters, their story, and the realistic portrayal of love, life and family, is one to love. And the author should be applauded for bringing the world and history of the 18th Century as a setting to life.
She gave a little choke, the kind presaging a sob rather than suppressed laughter, and he did the only thing a courteous man could do. He took her in his arms and held her. He could not recall ever having to comfort someone before and did not know what to say.
One of the things about the book to adore are the characters the author created. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about female romance characters? A shy girl who has never been in love? A strong independent lady who has been successful in everything in life but love? Or, finally, the young, rogue gentleman who will shake our female character’s morals? Well, in this book the author completely deviates from such tropes. First, we see a woman who is trapped in her life, having to fight numerous demons, which can be traced back to her home. We often see family, a pillar for most individuals but not for our main character. Here, the author shows the other side of family that most people ignore – a toxic group of related individuals who have no real love for one another, and have favorites. Sounds familiar? Well it’s because of how crafty the author is in presenting this theme to the reader. She manages to hold up a mirror to society, and makes the reader think about those family members always out to embarrass us. The author connects the reader to these authentic characters is a very real way. We see how family members behave, how one person can always be singled out and ridiculed, and, more importantly, how mental health issues are inherited from family. From this alone, this book is authentic, original and exceptional.
The author needed to be authentic and creative to find the conflict for the story. Without revealing too much, the story is carved out and we see different conflicts affecting the relationships of people during this period in a very original and different way, one which the author should be getting more plaudits for.
“Is it true the Lady Adelaide was carrying a great long knife, sir?”
“She did have a knife, yes. You need not talk about it to others.”
Now let’s talk specifically about the women in this book. We have our main character, the protagonist Adelaide. We are introduced to this character at an interesting part of her life – she is desperate for change, wants independence and, more importantly, yearns for love. But she isn’t an ordinary young woman. Adelaide is 35 years old, off the love market and often ridiculed by her family for her unattractiveness. But is she really that unattractive? Maybe this was a world which viewed women differently. Were the men just interested in a woman’s beauty alone? If she lived in our current society, she would have been happier and married if she wanted to. This reviewer learned a lot aobut how society viewed women during this time period, and how they were treated, bringing gender equality to the forefront at a time when most women did not have any say in their future. And the cat! The cat is a wonderful addition to the book which the reader will have to read and find out about! How the author managed to get the minute details right is truly remarkable. For historical romance book lovers, this book is definitely worth reading.
*****
“A Peculiar Enchantment” by Kathleen Buckley receives four stars from The Historical Fiction Company