Mary Balogh / Grace Burrowes - Once Upon a Dream

Mary Balogh and Grace Burrowes team up to create a pair of Regency novellas each set at a summer house party. 
In Another Dream, by Mary Balogh, Miss Eleanor Thompson has found satisfaction as the director of a respected school for girls. The life of a dedicated educator offers many rewards and much meaning--but also more loneliness than Eleanor anticipated. She accepts an invitation from her sister, Christine, Duchess of Bewcastle, to attend a Bedwyn houseparty, never dreaming the summer curriculum might include stolen kisses and true love. 
In The Duke of My Dreams, by Grace Burrowes, banker's daughter Anne Faraday is cast into the company of Elias, Duke of Sedgemere, at house party in the Lakes. Anne warms to the lonely man and conscientious father behind the title, and Elias becomes enthralled with the brilliant, burdened woman beneath Anne's genteel facade. Liking turns to love under the Cumbrian summer moon, but family obligations, secrets, and a prodigal duck conspire to thwart the course of true love.  

Comment: After reading the Bedwyn saga by author Mary Balogh and considering it a good one overall, I was very interested in reading the author's novella in this dual novella installment. I also didn't mind that the other novella was by Grace Burrowes, an author I've also read and enjoyed.

In these two novellas we have a common theme: ladies not considered young anymore who somehow find their future with a titled gentlemen.

In Mary Balogh's novella, we have Eleanor Thompson's story, she's the sister of Christine (heroine book #6 in the Bedwyn saga) and we also saw her as she took over Claudia Martin's school at the end of Claudia's book in the Simply Quartet series.

The novella by Grace Burrowes is a standalone apparently, although there is a connection to another novella published in a different anthology. This is the story of Anne Faraday, whose father is a banker for many aristocrats which means many look down on her except the duke of Sedgemere...

Comment: These two novellas made for a not very big book. I had a great time reading both, for different reasons but in the end, it was time well used.

Both have in common the fact the heroines aren't young women anymore but that doesn't stop them from being worthy of a good HEA. The gentlemen who fall in love with them are also titled which guarantees the women's independence isn't out in jeopardy and to top it all, each couple can finally be cured of loneliness. Also in common is the fact most of the plot takes place during a house party.

In Mary Balogh's novella, Eleanor Thompson is on her way to a house party at her sister's house for a well needed rest from the school's obligations. Eleanor hoped the school and teaching would be a perfect way to value her independence but she discovers that teaching in the school and managing it are very different things.

On the way, a storm happens and Eleanor gets stranded in an inn and there she meets an interesting family of three, especially the young girl that introduces herself to Eleanor. She ends up sharing a meal with the widower father of the children and despite how pleasant it is, both think they won't meet each other again until they see each other at the house party where Eleanor understands the gentlemen apparently might propose to a young womb he considered might be a good wife...

I liked this novel mostly because it featured the Bedwyn family and it's always nice to see characters we care about being mentioned. Eleanor was a good heroine, very mature and quiet but with the thoughts many other women have also, such as the notion happiness isn't static nor are the dreams one might have. I liked how she discussed her ideas with others, how she thought one way but with time she came to accept other ways of acting and doing things... and her romance with Michael, the widowed father was very stable as well. Some people say it could have used more passion but I don't think it went too far from the author's style. Plus, the best thing? The author wrote this ina  way, the development of their relationship felt well paced. I liked it.

In Grace Burrowes' novella, Anne Faraday is a lonely woman because her father is a banker and deals with the money of many aristocrats which means she is sort of dismissed and disliked by many. The duke of Sedgemere is going with a dear friend to a house party and miss Faraday is there as well and he does think of her as someone intriguing because she never treats him different from other gentlemen, unlike many other girls and women in society. In fact, the more he thinks of her and her quietness and intelligence, the more he admires her.

Anne has had some bad experiences with the polite society for things she can't control so she decides to eventually go to the country and live peacefully there. However, it he house party she discovers a side to the duke she didn't see coming...

I also liked this novel although I felt, as it also happened with the other books I've read by this author, that the inner thoughts of the characters aren't presented in a way I'd say is "engaging". They always look so distant from what we see them doing in the page that it's almost indifferent the way they think vs acting. I suppose it's just the writer's style.

Anne and the duke were a good match, though, since they complemented each other perfectly: he is well seen and established in many levels, she is smart and offers a steady relationship despite her vulnerable side. The psychological aspect was well done within the page limit so I felt happy with their story, overall.

→ All in all, two good stories and, if nothing else, two good ways to get an idea of the respective author's styles and writing.

Grade: 8/10

Grace Burrowes - The Soldier

This Regency era battle of wits, wills, and the sexes features a wily duke determined to see the succession of his line secured. The duke can't force his sons to marry, but he can make their lives miserable until they do. Resisting his pressure, each gentleman holds out for true love.
The second book in the series features Devlin St. Just, the duke's oldest, but illegitimate, son. He arrives at his new estate weary in body and spirit only to find the previous owner's bastard daughter and her beautiful cousin are his responsibility and making his life almost unbearably complicated.
 
Comment: After having read the first book in this Windham series by author Grace Burrowes, I decided I'd try the second story. It took me quite a wile to get it and to then start it but this month I finally started reading it.

In this second story we have one of the brothers of the hero from book #1 as the protagonist. 

Devlin St Just is not legitimate but he has been educated along his siblings and the duchess has always accepted him and loved him, even if he isn't her biological child. However, Devlin has always assumed his presence was one of pity and he has thought his real mother left him because she didn't want him around.

Now that the war is over and having Devlin been a brave officer, he is given an earldom which was close to ruins but he has slowly managed to get an idea of what needs to be done. He also meets young Winnie, a six year old he becomes very fond of, as he does of the woman who seems to be taking care of her, the child's cousin, miss Emmaline Farnum. But, as the days go by and the more he knows about the two of them, the more interested Devlin gets about their peculiar situation.

After so many disappointments and the recovery from the war losses, can Devlin find happiness at last?

As it happened with the other story, I think this story dragged a bit at times. This makes me feel slightly unfair towards the book because I did like most elements and I did like some weren't easily dealt with just because. But this same eye for detail made things quite slow and sometimes I'd think the author was just saying everything too many times instead of actually dealing with things.

Once again, I liked the relationships portrayed in the book, especially those of Devlin with his closer family. When other family members were in scene I really liked seeing they mattered and were not there just to make things meaningful. I liked that, no matter how short the speech or quick the scene, there was an obvious caring among them. I like this sort of detail, especially because it's always easier to use the family dramas to highlight an idea or a plot move.

The romance was OK, it took time to become evident, it was something the author took care with in trying to present and I do appreciate the fact we are lead to believe things as we need but this also means when we get to the end of the story - and sharing my opinion with many other readers - the secrets that are supposed to be overcome by the characters just seemed to be over the top. I don't mean to say the reason for the secrets isn't a valid one, only that the time it took for them to be revealed was a little bit overdone and not as necessary as that.

Of course I mean this regarding Emmy, the main character with secrets to hold.

Emmy is a interesting character, very dedicated and caring, a baker and she tries her best to help those she can. She also starts having feelings for Devlin but as the story moves along, it seems her worries are bigger than just a different in status and the public opinion because her cousin Winnie is the result of a liaison of Emmy's aunt with the former earl - who died - and the fact the aunt was actually the earl's mistress. I can get that society and public opinion were key elements when it comes to relationship acceptances but obviously this being a romance, things would have been easier to change. Still, the author has done quite a solid portrayal of guilt and lack of confidence in Emmy's character but as one can imagine, there is an HEA in the future for certain.

Mentioning this, I must say the HEA was disappointing. I can assume I'll see these characters again in the next book (that I happen to plan on buying eventually) but the notion of HEA should be quite obvious without the expectation it will be so only in a possible next installment. I feel the way things happened were cute but I wanted an epilogue or something to fully convince me.

All in all, the story had enough elements done good enough to make it a well structured plot but some details weren't polished enough while others were taken a bit to far for me. I get everything is a matter of perspective but I expected the balance to be a bit better in this book. Still, I want to read the next one anyway even anticipating more of these tactics to be there as well. At least, this is an entertaining story.

Grade: 7/10

TBR Challenge: Grace Burrowes - The Heir

Gayle Windham, Earl of Westhaven, is the first legitimate son and heir to the Duke of Moreland. To escape his father's inexorable pressure to marry, he decides to spend the summer at his townhouse in London, where he finds himself intrigued by the secretive ways of his beautiful housekeeper...
Anna Seaton is a beautiful, talented, educated woman, which is why it is so puzzling to Gayle Windham that she works as his housekeeper.
As the two draw closer and begin to lose their hearts to each other, Anna's secrets threaten to bring the earl's orderly life crashing down - and he doesn't know how he's going to protect her from the fallout... 

Comment: This year June is a month dedicated to Favorite Trope books when it comes to the monthly TBR challenge post. I have several preferences in books and one of them is when a richer, usually more confident or steady man helps (meaning, not overpowers nor bosses around, nor treats the heroine as a child) the heroine to accomplish her goals o is there to be a support system which eventually makes them realize their relationship is all about themselves as a couple and not just the things around them defining who they are to one another.

I also like different class relationships when done well. This book has an earl and his housekeeper ending up together so I thought it would be a good choice.

Anne Seaton is the housekeeper at the earl of Westhaven's house and she is efficient and dedicated. The book starts when she attacks the earl thinking he is another man going to touch a maid in an improper way. After she realizes her mistake, she helps him and he starts paying attention to her which eventually leads the to talk and discuss many things rather than just household needs and slowly they fall in love.

Anna, however, has a secret and she fears she can't allow others, especially people she comes to care about like the earl and his brothers, to be in danger or to be caught in the scandal of her real identity being know. Will she finally accept the earl's help?

I've had this book to read since last year, it's quite a lengthy book, almost 500 pages in my paperback edition and it's a very rich and detailed story.

I was curious about the author, this is my first attempt with her work but I had good enough expectations, not only because of good opinions but also by the idea of this novel and another one I'm interested in by her, whose blurbs have caught my eye easily.

I liked this one, it was certainly complex when it comes to whys and hows and explanations of every thing but I'm sure a few less pages would have done the trick as well.

My biggest issue is the way the characters dealt with one or two things. I certainly liked how slowly but simply the relationship between Anna and Westhaven developed, I loved his relationship with his brothers and also his parents, I liked how considerate they al were with those in their service - not something always seen in historicals -  which makes me think the author has an eye for detail ans creating the perfect environment. But this means things are thought and overthought to the extreme and this means that often easy things take ages to happen or that the solution could be a quick one and isn't for plot purposes without any need. 

This is a situation I saw repeating itself throughout the novel...plus, when things get to a conclusion and it feels like the end is near, there are still several pages left because the main couple is stubborn to just say they want to be with one another. Why waiting like martyrs for the others to guess their thoughts?

Apart from some characterization choices, I liked the characters, they are rich in behavior scenes, meaning, we learn a lot about them by seeing how thy behave and not just by knowing or seeing them telling things to one another and the secondary cast was amazing, especially the brothers, characters I'm curious about and I will probably read their stories too.

The main couple was the center stage but they weren't "clogging" the narrative with their inner thoughts all the time, we had plenty of pages just watching the plot develop and that worked out well for me. But yes, some details dragged on a bit...

I liked Anna although it annoyed me a bit she was not really a housekeeper...well, that can be more easily accepted when we think the hero will become a duke...oh well. Anna was just trying to fo a goo deed and I liked how attentive she was whether for others' preferences or about tasks to be done, etc.

The earl was a great hero, not overbearing, not careless..a perfect blend I think. If only he showed his nobility status a bit more at the end when it came to show Anna he wanted her as a wife, I don't mean his opinion of her as a woman or a person he took care of too...well, perfection doesn't really exist, I guess.

The end was predictable but had its fairy tale similarity and the HEA deserved. There is an epilogue, surprisingly short after such a long book...I would have preferred a smaller final end of story and a better epilogue.

This was not a perfect historical but I found out it worked well enough for me and the reading experience pleasant and easy to maintain.

Grade: 8/10