An Eccentric Engagement

Title: An Eccentric Engagement
Author: Donna Lea Simpson
Series: Classic Regency Romances #18
First Published: May 14, 2017
Publisher: Beyond the Page
Pages: 121
Genre: Historical Romance, Regency, Romance
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Rating:


Synopsis:

Sorrow Marchand has patiently endured the taunts of London society for her bold speech and curious ways, yet it was those very qualities of the sparkling young beauty that caught the eye of the Honorable Bertram Carlyle and ultimately elicited an offer of marriage from him. But the usually candid Sorrow has kept her ludicrously madcap family a well-hidden secret from her betrothed—and now he is coming to visit!

Bertram was an exceedingly suitable suitor, but for all his many fine traits he had been harshly schooled under the oppressive thumb of his father and had meekly embraced many of the man’s conventional attitudes. Upon meeting Sorrow’s family and becoming swept up in the endless swirl of silly chaos, he senses a conflict of epic proportions on the horizon—both within himself and with his father.

As Sorrow grows more concerned that her outrageous relatives will damn her only chance at happiness with a man she truly loves, Bertram must find the courage to defy his very traditional father and become part of a family that’s anything but—and become the man Sorrow always knew he could be.

This novella was originally published as “Sorrow’s Wedding” in the anthology With This Ring.

Buy the Book: Amazon

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Review

So this was a bit of a non-traditional romance as it takes place after the courtship. Sorrow and Bertram are engaged to be married and the two return to Sorrow’s country home for the wedding. The two are are in the early stages of excitement over a new relationship, stealing kisses and admiring each other — the “puppy love” stage. The actual romance was more told than shown and it unfortunately didn’t work for me.

The romantic aspect seemed to take a back seat to the other two major plot lines: Sorrow’s altruistic family and Bert’s difficult relationship with his overbearing father. Both are decent, but woefully underdeveloped. All conflict was resolved in a few pages with barely any resistance and a lot of moralizing. Not that the message was bad, I appreciated the way that the author chose to approach topics about mental health and the elderly. I liked the Marchand’s way of life, but I think it could have been delivered better.

It also didn’t help that Sorrow annoyed me. Every time she talked to other people to try and explain her views turned into a pretentious lecture. Her insistence on absolute harmony and her willingness to throw everything out of the window if she doesn’t get her way was extremely grating. Creating needless drama for the sake of drama is not a good way to fill pages. Overall its not bad, it’s a cute and clean love story that will appeal to readers with a strong sense of social justice. It was a fluffy and pleasant way to pass the time, but I didn’t feel much of anything while reading it and found it quickly forgettable.

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