The Marchioness of Darlington wants nothing more than to be a mother, but after nearly three childless years of marriage, Poppy believes she is barren. Her sadness is eclipsed by anger and hurt, however, when she learns that her husband does not share her despair, and she suspects he is having an affair. Unsure where to turn, she distances herself from him and rededicates herself to helping the women and children at the poorhouse—they are all she has.
Gabriel Kirkwood, the Marquess of Darlington, is certain his wife will die in childbirth just like her mother, his mother, and his sister, so he is relieved when they are unable to conceive. Even so, he knows how desperately she wants a child and watching her struggle with her disappointment is a knife in his heart. When he meets a young pregnant woman who doesn’t want her baby, he glimpses a possibility to give his beloved a happy ever after. But feeling Poppy slip away, he only hopes it won’t be too late.
This is book two of Burke’s Love is All Around series but worked fine as a standalone. It also had very minor mentions of the holiday season so I didn’t feel out of season reading it in January. Its a short book that was easy to breeze through in a couple of hours.
Not really a second chance romance, the two MCs are married, passionately in love, yet are both dealing with the issue of infertility. So CW: there is a lot of talk about infertility, death in childbirth, fostering, and stillborn or miscarriages.
They have lots of steamy encounters, and most of the action revolves around their charity work near their country estate where unwed mothers and others are taking in to a house and set to learn skills.
This wasn’t one of my favorite Burke’s, I think in part because it deals with difficult topics that I didn’t feel prepped for. I also found some of the writing to be stilted. But generally, if you are prepped for the subject matter there is a lot to love. Both the MCs are strong, loving and devoted to each other. Its nice to read a “during” romance rather than a beginning, and especially helpful for those readers who have been through their own relationship struggles and can relate to how challenging it can be to work on trauma while still letting your partner in.
The historical details are well drafted and make a compelling picture, rising the stakes and complimenting the main conflict. There are some nice secondary characters and a richness to the marriage that isn’t always played out by the dialogue. However, I found it entertaining and easy enough to read and finish over a few hours.
There is a level of bittersweetness to the book that may be to the taste of some readers, and the ending does have a HEA. I don’t want to spoil the end, but I have to admit the whole book I was fearing it would end up the way it did. Again, I think this would be really challenging for a reader who has struggled with infertility so I would urge precaution.
4 out of 6 Middle of marriage conflict over infertility in a winter set novella
| Content Rating/Heat Index | |
|---|---|
| Mature Content |   |
| Some discussions of rape, infertility and death in childbirth | |
| Intimacy | |
| Many scenes, including oral. Steamy but not overly graphic | |
| Violence | |
| A house fire | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Lots of intimate scenes and tough content make this better for mature readers ready to tackle real life drama | |
A review copy was provided by the author. No other compensation was offered or accepted.
