Romancing the Countess (Romancing 1) by Ashley March

Hello to all,

           Today i wanted to share with you another Historical romance since it the main topic of this month. I discovered Ahsley March and her book "Romancing the Countess" last year during the long blog tour and i tried at every stops i could and even commented when the giveaway wasn't open for me. During this tour i started to enjoy a lot this friendly, and meticulous, author and i soon followed her. In the end, i didn't win her book but i couldn't resist so i bought it as soon as i could and i will be very happy to discover her others books.

A small note though, now she s a self publishing author so her next books will be written under the name " Elise Rome"

 

Publisher: Signet Eclipse

Publication: 2011

ISBN:  0451234510

Genre: historical romance
Violence: none
Language: mild
sex: mild/strong
Public: 18+

Source: bought

Short description from goodread :

Sebastian Madinger, the Earl of Wriothesly, thought he'd married the perfect woman-until a fatal accident revealed her betrayal with his best friend. After their deaths, Sebastian is determined to avoid a scandal for the sake of his son. But his best friend's widow is just as determined to cast her mourning veil aside by hosting a party that will surely destroy both their reputations and expose all of his carefully kept secrets...

Leah George has carried the painful knowledge of her husband's affair for almost a year. All she wants now is to enjoy her independence and make a new life for herself-even if that means being ostracized by the Society whose rules she was raised to obey. Now that the rumors are flying, there's only one thing left for Sebastian to do: silence the scandal by enticing the improper widow into becoming a proper wife. But when it comes to matters of the heart, neither Sebastian nor Leah is prepared for the passion they discover in each other's arms...

 

My opinion:

          I did want this book a lot, I followed all stop of the tour, tried every contest and finally I bought it. Why? Because from the excerpt and interview I got the feeling the author really did made research and wanted to stay true to the society of that time. I can tell you that I wasn’t disappointed at all.

 

The whole world and society is really well portrayed, the tone of the story is perfect; the characters are well thought, their personality in accordance with their past and upbringing. The plot is also original and feels quite just.

Leah is young and has been hurt by her husband’s infidelity that she had to keep secret for one year…pretend everything was fine, that she was happy and such while all she waited was freedom from all these obligations. Her mother really strict  dictated all her life, decided her marriage and now she still think that she somehow failed so when her husband died in an accident she is determined to change things even if it(‘s risky for a woman to be unconventional.

Sebastian is a man really in love with his wife so when she died in an accident he is devastated but the worse is only coming when he learns that she wasn’t alone but with his best friend with who she had a liaison. All is world is crashing down, his perfect wife wasn’t perfect at all, his love, his life a lie and he is hurt by that and by the fact he never suspected anything. Now he wants to protect her reputation because if her liaison his known their child Henri will suffer, people could say he wasn’t legitimate. He didn’t think he could start loving again even less someone like Leah but soon he is captivated and fight his attraction by irritating her until he must act but once again it will be under the cover of some other reasons than his true feeling.

I enjoyed this book but perhaps it’s because of the time it takes place it’s not my favourite perhaps because I need something else but for me it was a bit slow, perfectly normal for the story and the characters but I guess I’m needing something more at the moment. I was frustrated by the rules she had to observe; by the fact that appearances were everything and her lack of freedom even as a widow she must refer to someone else. It seemed so unfair and I pity these women, they were definitively more courageous than I . Now I was also frustrated by their relationship one step forward, then two backward… like I said it’s understandable but for me , for once, I would have loved if things weren’t so hesitant.

I didn’t like the illicit couple but I learned to know them thank to the excerpt of their correspondence and I understand they were also caught by the time and society but still they her Leah and Sebastian by acting like that and I resent them for that.

So a great book for lover of historical romance that are quite picky on the details^^; I would be very happy to try her others books too because her writing style is really pleasant. To recommend.

Score:  3,5/5

 

Disclaimer: All opinions are my own and no compensation was received in exchange for this review

 

Challenges:

This book enter in the Romance and Me Challenge



Book read for the 2012 TBR reading