When you think everything is lost, is it truly all lost?

Synopsis

A enchanting story of love, loss and healing set in Regency England! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.

Can two estranged friends find their way back to each other…?

Regency England

When her father —Major Angus Fairham — returns home from the Napoleonic wars, Prudence is excited to welcome him home to Fairham Manor.

However, tragedy strikes when Angus loses his estate to his close friend and comrade — young Captain Jack Staveley — in a drunken game of cards. Unable to face his loss, Angus takes his own life.

Distraught, Jack tries to restore Fairham Manor to Prudence, but she is too proud to accept his offer.

Overcome with grief and anger, she retreats to her aunt’s house in Bath and distances herself from her once close friendship with Jack.

But as the initial shock of her sorrow begins to dull, Prudence is soon missing the support of her most trusted confidant.

And when they once more find themselves in each other’s orbit, she must decide whether she can put aside her pride and open her heart…

WHEN ONLY PRIDE REMAINS is a historical romantic tale set in Regency England, with a feisty heroine and a moving love story at its heart.

My review

Prudence is over the moon now that her father Major Angus Fairham has returned from the Napoleonic wars.
She is looking forward to all the travelling they plan to do together. However, when Angus is being overconfident and reckless during a drunken game of cards, the consequences are not only those of losing the estate.
While Captain Jack Staveley is determined to find a way to restore the property back to Angus, Angus is struggling with his defeat and takes his own life.
And after losing her father, Pru is too proud to accept the offer of having the property back from Jack.
This event caused a distance between the once good friends, and having Pru moving to her aunt in Bath, doesn’t make things easier.
But slowly, Pru and Jack find their ways back to each other, and Jack’s honourable idea makes Pru wonder is she can put her pride aside, and maybe see Jack through a whole different light.

This story was slowly growing to me. It had a bit of a difficult start, but then the more I read, the more I liked it.

When Pru does not only lose her father, but also her home, I understood why she didn’t want to accept Jack’s offer. There is one thing left she can do for herself, and that is to choose who she wants to marry. And having a marriage proposal ‘out of guilt’, well, that will just won’t do for her.
I admired the courage Pru shows, by just living the life SHE wants to live. When she finds her Aunt, it’s obvious she has found a woman who shares her same ideas, and they quickly become real close friends.
I liked how she wants to be independent, allowing to do what she wants. She wants to find someone to get married to, but only out of love, nothing less!

Pru and Jack have always been friends, and initially they even see each other as brother and sister, so much time have they spend together.
And I could feel the guilt Jack was carrying, because if I were in his shoes, I would also feel very guilty,  even if he didn’t do anything wrong. And his solution for making amends is obviously not a good one, but you can see that he has a kind heart.

What Jack does next, is something truly admirable. When he transforms Fairham Manor in a place for soldiers scarred literally and figuratively by the war,  I cannot say more than just ‘wow’.
It’s not an easy accomplishment, but with the help of his friends, and when Pru also offers her help, I found it beautiful to see what can be done for the wounded with the right attention and help!

While helping those in need, Pru and Jack are getting closer again. And I found it a bit funny how their misunderstandings didn’t allow them to see what’s so obvious for the readers concerning their feelings!
And I found it truly heart – warming to see how when a terrible event, when everything seemed lost, was the perfect way for opening our beloved main characters’ eyes!

This story is full of courageous people: Pru wanting to make her own choices, Jack who wants to use his past to help others’ in a worse condition, the soldiers who are in terrible condition but not giving up and find the will to make something of their lives again.

For me, it was not only about the feelings between Pru and Jack, but also about what good someone can do when determined to help out. And even if not all people can be helped, many can, thanks to selfless people, being an example even in the present.

The romance part was sweet yet sometimes frustrating to read (because just why couldn’t Pru and Jack see what we all see!!!). But seeing how feelings can shift and become something so deep and just beautiful, was just perfect in this story!

A slow start, but sometimes it’s the slowly burning fires that last the longest!