Title: An Heiress at Heart
Author: Jennifer Delamere
Publisher: Forever – imprint of GRAND CENTRAL PUBLISHING
Genre: Historical romance
An Heiress at Heart is a gem of its genre, a delightful historical romance with wonderful characters and a unique story.
The story
A youthful indiscretion has cost Lizzie Poole more than just her honor. After five years living in exile, she’s finally returning home, but she’s still living a secret life. Her best friend Ria’s dying wish was for Lizzie to assume her identity, return to London, and make amends that Ria herself would never live to make. Bearing a striking resemblance to her friend, and harboring more secrets than ever before, Lizzie embarks on a journey that tempts her reckless heart once again . . .
A committed clergyman, Geoffrey Somerville’s world is upended when he suddenly inherits the title of Lord Somerville. Now he’s invited to every ball and sought after by the matchmaking mothers of London society. Yet the only woman to capture his heart is the one he cannot have: his brother’s young widow, Ria. Duty demands he deny his feelings, but his heart longs for the mysterious beauty. With both their futures at stake, will Lizzie be able to keep up her façade? Or will she find the strength to share her secret and put her faith in true love?
My opinion
Lizzie Poole is a girl with guts, but still very much a woman of the time (1860s). After several years in Australia, she returns to London and takes up a role in society, but her past haunts in her more ways than one. Delamare does an exemplary job with her characters, both in their rendering and their development. Somehow, she manages to give us insight into Lizzie as she was in the past while at the same time showing us how she is now. Lizzie and Geoffrey are both extremely well-drawn, as are the secondary characters. Even those we meet briefly are so real that they leap off the page. It is this vibrancy that makes this book stand out.
As well as the main characters, both James and Ria’s Grandmamma are extremely likable, despite their faults, and I loved the way they behaved at the end. It’s always wonderful to see people’s good hearts winning out over their prejudice and fear.
It’s a must-read for romance lovers, and for those of you who read romance only occasionally, or rarely, or never have, this is one you can be sure of enjoying, because it’s quite simply a really enjoyable read.
The height of Lizzie and Geoffrey’s passion is a kiss, so the story is suitable for older young adults as well as adults. 5 stars
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