About the Book:
England 1812
Severely injured at the battle of Salamanca, Edward Thurston, the new Earl of Sinclair, returns home to his beloved Fly Hall. Determined not to present his prospective bride with the wreck he believes himself to have become, he decides to end his betrothal, unaware that Lady Jennifer, for vastly differing reasons, has reached the selfsame decision.
Throughout the campaigns, Edward was often seen relying greatly on a miniature he carried, and it is to this token he clings upon his return. Will he eventually find happiness with the girl in the portrait, or will he remain firm in his resolve not to wed? Reason dictates one course, his heart another.
Hazel Statham lives in England and has been writing on and off since she was fifteen. Initially she was influenced by Austen, the Brontës, and Sabatini but when she turned seventeen, Georgette Heyer opened up the romance and elegance of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. She immediately knew she had found her eras and wanted nothing more than to re-create them in her work.
Her latest book is the Regency romance novel, The Portrait, released by Avalon Books in August 2010.
Hazel lives with her husband, Terry, and a beautiful Labrador named Mollie. Apart from writing, her other ruling passion is animals, and until recently she acted as treasurer for an organization that raised money for animal charities.
You can visit her online at www.hazel-statham.co.uk and her blog at https://hazelstatham.blogspot.com/
I really enjoyed reading about Edward “Ned” Thurston, Earl of Sinclair, and his supposed betrothed, Lady Jennifer. But, for circumstances beyond control and a war injury, they remain only friends, not betrothed. Ms. Statham did not make these two characters boring, that is for sure! ALL the characters in this sweet read were lovable and full of sweet humor! The dialect between these people of this story was fascinating! I could hear the accents and see the attire of the men and ladies, and felt right at home with this story, like I belonged there. I smiled throughout this book and really didn’t want it to end.
This is a VERY clean novel. It’s not dubbed a Christian novel, but it is still VERY clean and lovable. There were some sparks that flew between friends, but there was no detailed passion scenes. I recommend this novel with a high flying 5 star review and will definitely be checking out more of Ms. Statham’s books in the near future!
