![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Book Review
Nov. 10th, 2024 03:30 pmThe Lily of Ludgate Hill
by Mimi Matthews
This historical romance takes place in 1860s London and concerns Anne Deveril, who has spent the last seven years joining her mother in mourning over her father, and Felix Hartford, Anne's one-time suitor. The resolution of their prickly relationship and past conflicts is the root of this second-chance love story. There is some background drama regarding Hartford's deceased father's secret illegitimate family and Anne's cousin's takeover of the Deveril family estate as the legal heir. Both of those side-plots explore issues of how Victorian notions of family, property, and propriety could lead to unkind treatment of relatives.
The highlight of this romance was the beautiful way in which Anne and Felix rebuilt and repaired their relationship. I liked that it was process that took time and careful, sustained effort rather than grand gestures or a dramatic crisis and rescue. Both those elements were in the story, but neither of them magically fixed everything. Instead, what ultimately creates their happily ever after is talking to each other about their past conflicts, engaging in a second courtship, and lots of witty banter.
by Mimi Matthews
This historical romance takes place in 1860s London and concerns Anne Deveril, who has spent the last seven years joining her mother in mourning over her father, and Felix Hartford, Anne's one-time suitor. The resolution of their prickly relationship and past conflicts is the root of this second-chance love story. There is some background drama regarding Hartford's deceased father's secret illegitimate family and Anne's cousin's takeover of the Deveril family estate as the legal heir. Both of those side-plots explore issues of how Victorian notions of family, property, and propriety could lead to unkind treatment of relatives.
The highlight of this romance was the beautiful way in which Anne and Felix rebuilt and repaired their relationship. I liked that it was process that took time and careful, sustained effort rather than grand gestures or a dramatic crisis and rescue. Both those elements were in the story, but neither of them magically fixed everything. Instead, what ultimately creates their happily ever after is talking to each other about their past conflicts, engaging in a second courtship, and lots of witty banter.
