I just wanted to let all of you know about a regency I just finished reading titled The Country House Courtship by Linore rose Burkard.
It was a very enjoyable read. So Jane Austen-esque! Burkard really knows her period and has a talent for making the characters sound like they are from the era. Not so much the regency which Georgette Heyer created or that of Pierce Egan's regency bucks, Tom and Jerry. Much more the gentle world of Jane Austen's gentry.
So many of today's regencies focus on the higher echelons of the dukes and marquises. This story is probably the more realistic sphere of gently bred ladies and gentlemen, squires and vicars.
There's lots of period detail and a wide circle of characters. A delightful curate who is very self-effacing yet endearing nonetheless. The heroine, Beatrice, has a lot of growing up to do. At 17, that's natural, so I was a little disappointed that she had to marry so young. She didn't "have" to, but she did end up falling in love and settling her future by the book's end.
Even though I hadn't read the two novels preceding this one, those characters reappeared and it was nice getting to know them. Makes me want to read their journey as well. I got caught up in the different story threads and found myself looking forward to taking up this book each evening adn it didn't take me long to finish.
