Anne Wickfield welcomed Alex Penholme’s return from the Peninsular war, but it was his older brother she’d given her heart. Charles was dead now, and as the evidence of his spendthrift ways mounted, Anne realized she’d revered a spectacularly selfish man. But her growing love for Alex was still threatened by Charles’s legacy of debt.
This is not an action pack Reg Rom. Instead, on offer is a subtle and sweet friends to lovers sort of slow burn that is a quick read (although not a super shorty like other Smiths). The sensibilities of Smith on display in A Country Wooing nail the era, if the manner in which the novel unfolds is sometimes a simpler version of an Austen or Heyer.
A long suffering heroine on the verge of spinsterdom, Anne joins the voices in welcoming home the new lord of the manor, Alex Penholme. She remembers him as the quiet one of a rather boisterous family, and is surprised that out from his older brother’s shadow, he is giving hints that he is interested in her as a woman. The fact that her mama is also quick to suggest a match starts to get Anne thinking about it, too.
And she realize that although her heart was once wholly Charles’, Alex is starting to look like the real hero of her dreams.
Alex is a wonderful hero. He is kind, adores his family, and is devoted to his causes/passions. He is less handsome than the charming Charles, but by contrasted a much, much better man. A definite Henry Tilney rather than Darcy.
By turns, I found parts of the book sweet, frustrating, slow, and delightful. There is a definite sense of the provincial life and the impact of a rapidly industrializing world are having on the former glorious way of life for the gentry. I love that we have two genteel families struggling financially whose lives are brilliantly, and in some ways vastly more understated than other books, contrasted with the rising wealth of the middle class Cits.
I wanted to punch a couple of the characters in the face, but that always smacks of good writing (unless, of course it is the H/h, which in this case it wasn’t). It also wasn’t as funny as other Smiths, which is disappointing because there were some missed opportunities for comedy, especially where the book seemed to drag on a bit.
However, it was an overall solid read, with a subtle friends to lover romance, and a usual Smith cast of characters to liven up the scenes.
4 out of 6 A sweet and slow romance for traditional Reg Rom fans
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Suggestions of womanizing and flirtations | |
| Intimacy | |
| A couple of kisses | |
| Violence | |
| Some talk of war | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Appropriate for most ages. Fairly subtle plot may bore younger readers. | |
