Review and Giveaway: Midnight's Budding Morrow by Carolyn Miller

 

About:

Can real love grow between a wallflower and an unrepentant rogue?

Sarah Drayton is eager to spend time with her best friend at her crumbling Northumberland castle estate. Matrimony is the last thing on her mind and the last thing she expects to be faced with on a holiday. Yet she finds herself being inveigled into a marriage of convenience with her friend's rakish brother.

When James Langley returns to his family's estate, he can't be bothered to pay attention to his responsibilities as the heir. War is raging and he wants only distraction, not serious tethers. But his roguish ways have backed him into a corner, and he has little choice but to obey his father's stunning decree: marry before returning to war, or else. Suddenly he finds himself wedded to a clever and capable woman he does not love.

Sarah craves love and a place to belong, neither of which James offered before returning to the battlefront. Now everyone around her thinks she married above her station, and they have no intention of rewarding her for such impertinence. It isn't until her husband returns from war seemingly changed that she begins to hope they may find real happiness. But can she trust that this rake has truly reformed?

When tragedy strikes, this pair must learn to trust God and his plans. Will they be destroyed . . . or will they discover that even in the darkest depths of night, the morning still holds hope?

Click here to read an excerpt.

My Thoughts:

What a story. I knew from the dark cover with a bit of sunlight bursting through over the castle that this was a story that would capture my attention. It is also a marriage of convenience story and written by an author that I have enjoyed reading her other works.

This is a story of two people who are hurting, and love starved for kindness, acceptance, and forgiveness. Neither one would have chosen the other, but through the nefarious workings of another they end up together. For better or for worse. And James and Sarah definitely see a lot of for worse before things can get better. Will they accept the challenge and be bold and love when there doesn't seem to be much hope?

There is quite a cast of supporting characters. Even the castle carries its own secrets in this gothic tale of a man and woman letting go of the past and forging their own future. There are some surprising secrets that come to light and some of the side characters are downright hideous in their bearing.

Even though some of this story could be heavy at times, I cheered these characters on as they both discovered a faith and love that were both worth living for. Another great addition to the Regency Wallflowers series.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

About the Series:

While most stories set in Regency England focus on the rich, the young, and the beautiful, award-winning author Carolyn Miller decided she wanted to give readers something different for a change. Her new Regency Wallflowers series follows the commoners, away from the hustle and bustle of 1810s London, out in the Lake District of England. She tells the stories of women who are slightly older and have few prospects for marriage, women who might be considered “wallflowers.”

Midnight’s Budding Morrow is the second book in the Regency Wallflowers series. The first book in the series is Dusk’s Darkest Shores.

About the Author:

Carolyn Miller is an inspirational romance author who lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children.
 
A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English literature and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. She enjoys music, films, gardens, art, travel, and food.

Miller’s novels have won a number of RWA and ACFW contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers. 
 
Learn more about Carolyn at www.carolynmillerauthor.com, or find her on Facebook (Carolyn Miller Author), Instagram (@CarolynMillerAuthor), and Twitter (@CarolynMAuthor). 

Giveaway:

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