It’s the season to find love, for everyone

Synopsis

‘It’s not a fair world I’m afraid. Beauty or fortune carries the day. You have the beauty and I the fortune, so there’s every chance we’ll succeed’

In Regency England, marriage is everything. For young widow Sybella Lovatt, the time has come to find a suitable husband for her sister and ward Lucie. Male suitors are scarce near their Wiltshire estate, so the sisters resolve to head to London in time for The Season to begin.

Once ensconced at the Mayfair home of Lady Godley, Lucie’s godmother, the whirl of balls, parties and promenades can begin. But the job of finding a husband is fraught with rules and tradition. Jostling for attention are the two lords – the charming and irresistible Freddie Lynwood and the preternaturally handsome Valentine Ravenell, their enigmatic neighbour from Shotten Hall, Mr Brabazon, and the dangerous libertine Lord Rockliffe, with whom the brooding Brabazon is locked in deadly rivalry.

Against the backdrop of glamorous Regency England, Sybella must settle Lucie’s future, protect her own reputation, and resist the disreputable rakes determined to seduce the beautiful widow. As the Season ends, will the sisters have found the rarest of things – a suitable marriage with a love story to match?

My review

Sybella Lovatt is a young widowed mother, who is also looking after her younger sister Lucie. Even if their characters couldn’t be more different, the love between the siblings is very obvious.
As usual in Regency England, when the Season starts in London, it’s time to find a suitable husband. But with not so many suitors around, Sybella and Lucie decide to stay a while at the Mayfair home of Lady Godley, Lucie’s godmother who resides in London.
Going to balls, parties and making promenades, the search for Lucie’s husband must be easier, right?
But not only Lucie is finding herself having the attention of two men, but also and mostly unexpectedly Sybella has two total different men lurking for her attention.
However, Sybella’s first priority is to find  suitable husband for Lucie. Will it be Freddie Lynwood or Valentine Ravenell that will capture her sister’s heart? And what about Sybella’s own heart? Will she love again with Mr. Brabazon or with his rival Lord Rockliffe?
One thing is sure, both sisters won’t settle for anything less than love… 

The Regency era has always intrigued me. While I have always been fascinated by the balls, the etiquette of that time, the idea of ‘must get married’ also frightened me a little bit. But the great English Classics made me dream once and again of living in that era. If only we could have the perks of the past and the present at the same time, discarding all the disadvantages. 

So returning to that era with this book, surely had my interest. And reading how the focus is on two women who know what they want, not wanting to settle for less, was a nice extra. 

Sybella and Lucie are sisters of the wonderful kind. Sybella had found her love already, but lost it, while Lucie is looking for what her sister had.
They couldn’t be more different in character, but from the very start it was obvious that they love each other deeply. 

Sybella is the more responsible sister, which makes obviously sense, as she is a young mother and has to take care of not only the estate, but more important her young, adorable, son James.
She only wants the best for Lucie, and hopes that just like herself Lucie will be able to marry out of love.
But she also is the kind of person who believes that she had her shot at love once, and doesn’t deserve another one. Because how can she possible love someone again as much as she loved her husband? 

Lucie is much more a free spirit. I could clearly see her roaming in the woods, lacking a little bit the forced cultural norms of the time. She doesn’t care if it’s not done to walk on territory that doesn’t belong to her family, or being alone in a room unchaperoned. Lucie is also the kind of character that would fit in perfectly in the 21st century.
We also see the kind of friend she is, even ready to give up her freedom and her own dreams to rescue one of her friends. 

I liked it how the author divided her time in both sisters, so we get a chance to get to know both Sybella and Lucie much better. And it was sweet to see how each sister suddenly find themselves recipient of the attention of two men.

Obviously as a reader, we have our preferences, and even a better knowledge of the men. While in Sybella’s case it was clear who we should be rooting for, Lucie’s case was a different one. Because both her contenders were the ‘good guy’ kind of men, however very different in so many ways. And like I said, Lucie shows her character by wanting to help out when one of them is in need of help… 

This book shows us that everyone, in any era, deserves to be loved and find love (again). And while it can be hard to distinguish the good from the ‘evil’, just like Sybella said it herself, we have to follow our heart, even if that might frighten us. Because in the end, finding love is what will make us happy.