Megan Walker - Miss Newbury's List

Rosalind Newbury is counting down the days until her wedding to the Duke of Marlow, a man she has only met twice. The marriage is more an agreement between two families and less a romantic connection between two hearts, but Rosalind becoming a duchess will elevate her family’s status to dizzying heights. And the duke is a kind man who will care for Rosalind, even if he doesn’t love her.
She only has three weeks before her life changes forever, and she knows exactly how she wants to spend her days. As a child, Ros was inspired by her adventurous Aunt Alice and created a list of ten things to do before her wedding day. So far, Ros has done none of them.
She is determined to tackle each item, though she’ll have to accomplish them all in secret. After all, a soon-to-be-duchess is not usually allowed to bury treasure in the pasture, eat sweets all day, or learn how to swim. She enlists the help of her best friend, Liza, who brings along her cousin, Charlie, a prodigal son-turned-boxer who has come to the countryside to mend his reputation and learn how to be his father’s heir.
Together, the three of them work to complete the list, and as each item is crossed off, an unlikely friendship blossoms between Ros and Charlie. The more time they spend together, the more Ros falls in love with this imperfect man and his good heart.

Comment: This is the second book I try by this author. I had read one other back in 2021 and liked it, so I would certainly try to read something else. After reading a positive review on this title, I've decided to do just that but only now, two years later, did I finally pick it up.

Miss Newbury, Roz, is betrothed to a duke, which is going to help all her family financially but, mainly, socially. She knows him to be an older man and hopes their marriage will be a considerate one, if not truly happy. However, the idea of being a proper wife and a proper duchess suddenly makes her aware there isn't a lot she can do after all is set and society is looking at her critically so she decides to accomplish the items on a wish list she wrote as child. At first she decides to do it on her own, perhaps with the help of her best friend Liza, but it just happens that Liza has her cousin Charlie Weston staying at her house, after a huge disagreement with his parents. Charlie is known to have been in trouble, and he seems the perfect person to help Roz finish off her list....but will they discover more to meet the eye in each other?

This author writes "proper" romances, in the sense there's no sex/intimacy scenes in them. I don't mind this type of book and, depending on the plot, it can be a good way to not be distracted by (sometimes) pointless sex scenes that add nothing to the story but I must say that, this time, the longing the characters reveal wasn't enough to convince me of their everlasting love and the lack of sex scenes here felt it was only adding to a bigger issue, in my opinion: the characters are/act too young.

It is true they are young in age, Roz is only 20 and if we got Charlie's age I might not have paid attention, and the fact they belong to established and well in life families helps to create this sheltered vibe. Still, their actions are often a little juvenile to me, not that they act like children or young adults but that what they do and how they think, even with some hints of responsibility here and there are, for the most part, too immature. Roz, in particular, is too sheltered and I struggled to fully appreciate her actions when she had so much to loose if the wrong people were to see her or gossip about her.

I like historical romances, and the "lighter" ones often have a lot of sex as a way to showcase maturity too, especially if  the vibe is a specific one. But I also like more serious novels in which the characters go through some kind of transformation, which might include sex with someone they learn to care about, but in this particular situation, Roz and Charlie seem to be pretending while talking about this and that, and going through the items on her list. I liked it that they fell in love and got a HEA but it was very hard to appreciate the emotional development they are meant to embrace.

Roz' list seems cute enough and some items are more on the funny side than the really deep one. Still, I didn't mind that this was the tactic used to bring the main characters together. But Roz is engaged and we learn her fiance is older and less likely to want to let her experience things. Charlie, we are told, was on some kind of scandal which led to his parents being disappointed...therefore, they should not be a good match but going through her list not only brings them closer but is a way for Roz to kind of influence him to want to be a better man.

I suppose this is often a byproduct of wanting to be with someone who has other ways of seeing things. Who doesn't want to be better for someone they truly care about but I confess I was a little put off by this idea that sweet natured but conscientious Roz (despite being sheltered) would know better on how to advice Charlie and that he would easily accept her opinions and moral lessons? Even if they do make sense to his situation? It was just too..... this isn't a religious story in which preaching is the way to behave, but it did feel this sometimes. Charlie can only be a good match if he "reforms".... I mean, I do agree his behavior, the one which led to his problems was juvenile, but should he not need to reach that conclusion on his own? the whole thing felt forced so that he and Roz would be a suitable couple.

Anyway, they obviously go through some adventures while trying to finish the list, and the conclusion is obvious, they must find their happiness together. I liked reading the book, make no mistake despite my critique, but it wasn't as rewarding as other books with similar genre or similar plots were. One thing, though, the cover is really gorgeous. I think authors of "proper" and "Christian" publishers are very lucky, indeed.

Grade: 6/10

TBR Challenge: Megan Walker - Lakeshire Park

Brighton, England 1820
Amelia Moore wants only one thing—to secure the future happiness of her younger sister, Clara. With
their stepfather’s looming death, the two sisters will soon be on their own—without family, a home, or a penny to their names. When an invitation arrives to join a house party at Lakeshire Park, Amelia grasps at the chance. If she can encourage a match between Clara and their host, Sir Ronald, then at least her sister will be taken care of.
Little does she know that another guest, the arrogant and overconfident Mr. Peter Wood, is after the same goal for his own sister. Amelia and Peter begin a rivalry that Amelia has no choice but to win. But competing against Peter—and eventually playing by his rules—makes Amelia vulnerable to losing the only thing she has left to claim: her heart. 

Comment: Although it might not feel like it, it's already more than half way through the month of February. If our reality doesn't seem like the set of a sci-fi move, I don't know, but it's close.

So, for this month, the TBR Challenge theme is new-to-you-author and I could have picked any book easily but ended up setting my eyes on this historical, by an author I had never heard of, whose good opinions and quiet cover promised a peaceful read time well spent. I'm glad to say it was a good story for me, but not perfect.

In this book we meet sisters Amelia and Clara as they are leaving to a house party, invited by mr Ronald, a man who seemed to have become fond of Clara. In fact, this house party might prove to be their salvation for they have been living with their stepfather, someone who has no care or love for them and, as he realizes his end might be near, tells them they can go but they won't need to return. Thus, the two sisters go and hope for the best, namely a possible offer by mr Ronald, otherwise they will be destitute. Things were hopeful until they notice the other guests of the party, in particular the Wood siblings and Amelia recognizes the brother as the man who was rude to her at a shop. To make things even more awkward, his sister Georgiana seems to have set her cap on mr Ronald as well... will this even end well at all?

This was definitely a good and entertaining story and I was glad to spend time with these characters. This is a so-called clean romance, but there was plenty of emotion expressed in the pages, especially towards the end. However, to be honest, it's precisely around the final part of the novel I felt things were a little weaker.

Amelia and Clara are facing a very dire situation. Due to the situation of their parents' past and the fact their mother loved someone else and was forced to marry because of an indiscretion, the family has always been followed by scandal. When their mother finally married the man she loved, the two girls were not well treated and they both faced the impact of how the past affected those who should love them. Now they are left in a difficult situation and if mr Ronald does not offer for Clara, it might be necessary for one of them to marry practically or they will have no options.

When they join the group for the house party they had already stopped at a shop so Amelia could buy gloves and that is how she meets mr Peter Wood, a man who doesn't leave her with a good impression. Of course they will meet again at the party and as they both plot to give their respective sisters a better light for mr Ronald, they end up sharing many moments together and, obviously, fall in love in the process. This part of the story is cute but also has several emotional scenes and inner monologue and even knowing a HEA would certainly happen for Amelia and Peter, it was still heartfelt to go through their emotions as they dealt with what was happening between them.

The romance is quite predictable, and all the scenes they share are evident in how they could only be seen as becoming a couple. Of course, this being an historical, all is discreet and softened, but it does seem odd how the others at the house party wouldn't add the clues immediately. They were a sweet couple, they shared enough scenes for me to be convinced they could make it work.

Amelia is described as practical young woman and she has the heartbreak of her losses to back up her will to not give in to sentimentality. I think the author used a balanced amount of angst and sass on her, otherwise things might too look too negative. Peter is a character who reminded me of a playful alpha, in the sense he had the arrogance but the joy in small things. It was rather obvious he was starting to feel something stronger for Amelia but this being told in first person limited this view a little. I tend to not appreciate forst person in romances but in this case, the goal here was to highlight the romance and the beauty of the way they fell in love and not the relationship or its details.

I was really feeling this and rooting for the girls to find happiness with their intended and it did seem as if things would run smoothly until the end. Of course, the author had to insert some drama/conflict because the plot is really all about the sisters' future but some of her choices were not used as effortlessly and it felt things were being dragged on purpose. When the end comes, there are some engrossing situations happening and some scenes were emotional enough but then the HEA drags too, it's not a proper epilogue, but a delay on the final scene and although this isn't too bad, left me with a unsatisfying feel for I expected something better.

I think the idea of this story was well thought and I especially liked how the characters approached their need to solve their situation but knowing this would end well didn't ruin the experience anyway. I think any fan of historicals would find this a sweet, albeit predictable story, and charming moments to make one happy. I think some plot choices could have been used better too, but overall, this was a very pleasant read.

Grade: 8/10