BOOK BY: Carolyn Miller
This book kept me reading until the wee hours of the morning!
The second book to the Regency Wallflowers series is just as engaging, if not more, than the first. Sarah and James’s story hooked me from the first introduction on the page and kept me engrossed until the very last.
There are so many layers to this story, adding to the themes of redemption, forgiveness, second chances, and love. It’s a prodigal son story, and a story of how God places the lonely in families – two beautiful biblical truths that are well-woven together in this particular novel. Scripture references and discussions of a spiritual nature are given lots of page time, showing the change in Sarah and James’s inner journeys.
A slew of characters bring interesting challenges to Sarah and James’s forced marriage of convenience. At times, servants make it near impossible to continue and it is easy to see why Sarah makes the choices she does. Sarah is a kind, caring, and strong female lead who longs for a family who loves her. She breaks down barriers with her strength of character and compassion for others. James is a rogue who runs from his past and can never do anything to please his father – except accept the fate that is destined to be his. War and a devoted friend lead James to Christ, showing a transformation of behaviour, though he still struggles with his thought life.
A wonderful tale set in the North of England, pulls readers into the Lakeside District, where commoners find their own happily-ever-after.
I received a copy of the book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.
GIVEAWAY
About the series:
While most stories set in Regency England focus on the rich, the young, and the beautiful, award-winning author Carolyn Miller decided she wanted to give readers something different for a change. Her new Regency Wallflowers series follows the commoners, away from the hustle and bustle of 1810s London, out in the Lake District of England. She tells the stories of women who are slightly older and have few prospects for marriage, women who might be considered “wallflowers.”
Midnight’s Budding Morrow is the second book in the Regency Wallflowers series. The first book in the series is Dusk’s Darkest Shores.
About the book:
Can real love grow between a wallflower and an unrepentant rogue?
Sarah Drayton is eager to spend time with her best friend at her crumbling Northumberland castle estate. Matrimony is the last thing on her mind and the last thing she expects to be faced with on a holiday. Yet she finds herself being inveigled into a marriage of convenience with her friend’s rakish brother.
When James Langley returns to his family’s estate, he can’t be bothered to pay attention to his responsibilities as the heir. War is raging and he wants only distraction, not serious tethers. But his roguish ways have backed him into a corner, and he has little choice but to obey his father’s stunning decree: marry before returning to war, or else. Suddenly he finds himself wedded to a clever and capable woman he does not love.
Sarah craves love and a place to belong, neither of which James offered before returning to the battlefront. Now everyone around her thinks she married above her station, and they have no intention of rewarding her for such impertinence. It isn’t until her husband returns from war seemingly changed that she begins to hope they may find real happiness. But can she trust that this rake has truly reformed?
When tragedy strikes, this pair must learn to trust God and his plans. Will they be destroyed . . . or will they discover that even in the darkest depths of night, the morning still holds hope?
Click here to read an excerpt.
About the Author
Carolyn Miller is an inspirational romance author who lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children.
A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English literature and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. She enjoys music, films, gardens, art, travel, and food.
Miller’s novels have won a number of RWA and ACFW contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers.
Learn more about Carolyn at www.carolynmillerauthor.com, or find her on Facebook (Carolyn Miller Author), Instagram (@CarolynMillerAuthor), and Twitter (@CarolynMAuthor).