We're counting down the final days of May, but the great reads just keep rolling in... like today's featured title! It comes to us via Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books, featuring the work of author Jane Dunn. You might already be a fan, but if not, you might slay remember a prior title of hers that I featured some time ago. No worries; you won't have to have read the other book in order to enjoy this one. It works beautifully as a stand alone, but it doesn't stand alone long because fans are lining up in support of this fabulous find, including this reader! Ladies and gents, I give you today's adventure through the pages...
An Unsuitable Heiress
by
Jane Dunn
Boldwood Books
About the book...
‘Do you realise, Corinna, just how hard it is for a young woman of irregular birth, without family, fortune or friends in the world? Marriage is the only way to get any chance of a life.’
Following the death of her mother, Corinna Ormesby has lived a quiet life in the countryside with her cantankerous Cousin Agnes. Her father's identity has been a tantalising mystery, but now at nineteen Corinna knows that finding him may be her only way to avoid marriage to the odious Mr Beech.
Deciding to head to London, Corinna dons a male disguise. Travelling alone as a young woman risks scandal and danger, but when, masquerading as a youth, she is befriended by three dashing blades, handsome and capable Alick Wolfe, dandy Ferdinand Shilton and the incorrigible Lord Purfoy, Corinna now has access to the male-only world of Regency England. And when she meets Alick's turbulent brother Darius, a betrayal of trust leads to deadly combat which only one of the brothers may survive.
From gambling in gentleman’s clubs to meeting the courtesans of Covent Garden, Corinna’s country naivety soon falls away. But when she finds her father at last, learns the truth about her parentage and discovers her fortunes transformed, she must quickly decide how to reveal her true identity, while hoping that one young man in particular can see her for the beauty and Lady she really is.
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My heart went out to Corinna, otherwise known a Cory. She had a hard life growing up... not knowing her father, losing her only parent who truly cared about her, finding a home with distant relatives none too happy about another mouth to feed... but she never let it truly get her down. Whether it was simply her self reliance, or the easy friendship she struck up with the neighbor's son, I couldn't really say... but I will say that her sunny demeanor went a long way. In fact, her look on the bright side of things attitude and sheer determination are what lead her to become more Cory than Corinna, taking matters into her own hands, in an all or nothing search for her father.
She makes some truly good friends along the way, discovers more than just her family ties, and, in time, will grow to know what love truly is. Of course, that didn't mean her course runs smoothly. No siree. There are the naysayers, there are those that would take advantage of her, there are those that would manipulate (and try to!) her future for their fortunes, leaving her as a friendly casualty of war. Yes, times may have been different, but not SO different... and yet, and yet... those friends she made? That makeshift family until she might find her blood? Yeah, they'll stand by her, protect her when needed, and demand retribution if wrongs occur. Good friends to have... even if one might just have unexpectedly, and unknowing stolen your heart.
Oh how I loved getting acquainted with Cory! She was such a gem. She had a heart of gold, a sharp mind, was quick on her feet, and never let others tell her it couldn't be done. True, those feelings were easier to stand tall with when her fortunes changed, but that was just an aftereffect not the start up. Watching her go after what she knew in her heart to be true was inspiring. Seeing her grow her family along the way, heartwarming. I was holding out hope for her happy ending until the bitter end, and shed a few tears along the way as heartache was known. Still, by book's end, you feel like you really know the young woman she's become, through her thoughts, actions, and overwhelming heart... and can't help but be glad of all that the future may hold for her.
A great pick for Historical Romance fans and a wonderful addition to your summer reading!
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About the author...
Jane Dunn is an historian and biographer and the author of seven acclaimed biographies, including Daphne du Maurier and her Sisters and the Sunday Times and NYT bestseller, Elizabeth & Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens. She comes to Boldwood with her first fiction outing – a trilogy of novels set in the Regency period, the first of which is to be published in January 2023. She lives in Berkshire with her husband, the linguist Nicholas Ostler.
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Special thanks to Rachel at Rachel's Random Resources for the chance to bring this tour to you and to Boldwood Books for the ecopy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, this promotion, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer to snag your copy today and be sure to check out the rest of the tour for more bookish fun!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
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