Although I haven’t read much lately, at least I came back with an excellent book!
The Golden Season by Connie Brockway
(2010, Regency Historical)
Grade: 5
When Lady Lydia Eastlake finds out her fortune is gone, she has one season to find a wealthy husband. She is immediately attracted to Captain Ned Lockton, who sees her as no one else has – but he is in the same situation and needs an heiress to help his family. But are they willing to give up love in order to maintain their place in society?
I loved this book. The author managed to make a heroine who might have come off as shallow become sympathetic, and a hero who might have seemed too passive as honorable and reserved. I especially loved the way Brockway portrayed their feelings for each other – I really believed in their attraction, both physical and emotional. (Too many authors make attraction all about sex, but it goes far beyond that here.) I appreciated that there was no easy way out of this situation, and there was no magical inheritance or mistake to resolve the dilemma. (The twist at the end was a little melodramatic, but at least it came out of the characters and their motivations – even if the ultimate resolution was slightly unrealistic.) Overall, I have to say this was a keeper! Definitely Brockway’s best book since As You Desire.
So many authors become overly mannered or sentimental after they’ve written a dozen books or more. Nice to see Connie Brockway can still hit it out of the park!
Karen Wheless
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