Her One True Love
By: Rachel Brimble
Releasing March 15, 2016
Lyrical Press
Blurb
She Can’t Forget Him…
Jane Charlotte Danes has loved the squire of her idyllic country town for as long as she can remember. He is good, kind, and alluring beyond words… and he chose to marry another. Tired
of dwelling on her futile longings, Jane plans a move to Bath, where she dreams of a new beginning. But the man who has so imprisoned her heart is only a few steps behind…
He Can’t Let Her Go…
Until now, Matthew Cleaves has endeavored to meet the responsibilities of his position with dignity and good spirits–including his dutiful marriage. But when his wife leaves him for another
man, Matthew is at last free to pursue his one true love. Only one vital question remains: will the captivating, stubborn, beautiful Jane allow him the challenge, and the pleasure, of winning her back?..
Review:
(spoiler alert)
Jane has always been good at hiding her feelings for Matthew, but that didn’t make it any less painful when he married another, nor did the pain subside when he became miserable and broody over the loss of his cheating spouse. However, what she didn’t know was that the pain was not due to a loss of love – at least not the loss of the love of his wife; they never loved each other. His pain was from a sense of failure. He’d failed his father, his marriage, and his village. But more importantly, he’d failed her.
I was taken in by the description of the book. However, the more I read, it became clear that it was a tad misleading. After reading the blurb, I was under the impression that Matthew and Jane had expressed their love to each other to later find him betrothed to another out of commitment, when in truth, he had no idea how she felt about him. He didn’t even realize how he felt about her until later on. They’d always shared a close relationship and been extremely fond of one another, but it wasn’t what I initially thought.
This is not a bad thing. It’s always good when stories take an unexpected detour- as long as it provides the intended entertainment. I was entertained by the story, although there were a couple of times- one in particular – that I found Jane’s behavior and reactions a little wishy-washy. In other words, her change of heart came rather abruptly in reference to her words. She wanted him, but she tried to convince him to work things out with his wife – for the sake of propriety- but then she decided she wanted him so bad that she didn’t mind committing adultery. I was a little taken aback – not by her love for him, but her sudden change in protecting her reputation, which was the foremost thought in her mind for most of the story.
For someone who didn’t love his wife, Matthew had a hard time dealing with her betrayal, however being the squire of the village put him in an awkward position for being deserted by the squiress, but considering everyone loved and respected him, I’d have thought he’d gotten over the feeling of failure much quicker than he did. The villagers looked to him to provide work, and they paid no mind to the failure of his marriage, other than to offer their sympathies.
The pace was steady at first, and then it picked up in regards to relationship development. Sure Jane and Matthew shared a past, but it was one of friends, not lovers, and somehow he realized he’d always loved her, just didn’t know it at first. That was a little bothersome.
Nonetheless, the writing itself was pretty good, and the characters were well-developed. I just wished a little more from the story.
Rating system: The less the better.
0: You won’t need any coffee to stay up for this one. It’s intriguing enough all on its own.
1: You’ll stay up late, but not all night. Brew one cup.
2: You’ll read as long as you’re not tired. If you are, two cups should do the trick.
3: I hope you got plenty of rest; you’ll need it, or at least 3 cups.
4: If the cable goes out, read the book. It’s better than nothing, I guess. Oh, don’t forget your brew!
5: Find anything else to do- it doesn’t matter what it is. Don’t waste your coffee. Too much caffeine is bad for you.
My rating: 2 cups of coffee
Rachel lives with her husband and two teenage daughters in a small town near Bath in the UK. After having several novels published by small US presses, she secured agent representation in
2011. Since 2013, she has had five books published by Harlequin Superromance (Templeton Cove Stories) and three Victorian romances by eKensington/Lyrical.
Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association and Romance Writers of America, and was selected to mentor the Superromance finalist of So You Think You Can Write 2014
contest. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find Rachel with her head in a book or walking the beautiful English countryside with her family. Her dream place to live is Bourton-on-the-Water in
South West England. She likes nothing more than connecting and chatting with her readers and fellow romance writers. Rachel would love to hear from you!
Excerpt
Matthew turned and faced Jane. “When are you leaving for the city?”
She took another step back, her gaze darting over his face. “The day after tomorrow. Why?”
“Because I will escort you. We can travel together in my carriage.”
“No, I do not need your––”
“I will be going anyway. I planned to visit some contacts in the city in the hope of securing
guaranteed trade for Biddestone in the coming year. It seems unnecessary for us to make the
trip separately when I have a carriage plenty big enough for us both.”
“There is absolutely no need. Jeannie will be coming with me.”
“My offer still stands.”
She glared. “It’s my intention to start on the path of independence, of finding out what the world
has to offer me on my own merit. I will hardly be carving out my own path when at the first step
from my home, I lean on you.”
“You are being stubborn.”
She pulled back her shoulders. “And you are not?”
The longer he looked at her, the more Matthew saw the quiet beauty he’d desperately tried to
ignore. He took a steadying breath. “Please, Jane. Let me escort you to Bath.”
The seconds passed, but Matthew held his tongue. It was imperative she spoke next, that she
understood he didn’t mean to bully her but wanted to ensure her safety to a city ravaged by
danger, as much as opportunity.
She sighed. “Fine. On one condition.”
He held her gaze. “Which is?”
Her eyes softened, slowly lighting with mischief. “You smile. Now. You smile at me like you did
before she left.”
Heat rose to his face. “You want me to smile?”
“Yes. Smile for me, Matthew.”
Empathy and passion swirled in eyes, but they also bore a deep, painful awareness that
scratched hard over his heart. The longer he stared, the more he wanted to make her happy.
He smiled, his gaze on hers…and was surprised to find the trade no effort at all.
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