Review: An Inconvenient Beauty by Kristi Ann Hunter

An Inconvenient Beauty, by Kristi Ann Hunter, is the last installment of the Hawthorne House series.  I've been waiting for this title for a long time, because out of all the Hawthorne siblings, I really wanted to know Griffith's story.  He is the oldest sibling, and holds the position as the Duke of Riverton.  Throughout the series, Griffith has been the responsible one who has been looking after everyone or everything that is under his care, including his mother, siblings, ward, tenants, and holdings.  He is also a thoughtful man who thoroughly considers all the possibilities before deciding on what he believes will work out best for everyone involved. 

After observing the matches all the members of his family have made, including his former ward (Amelia Pendleton, nee Stalwood, the present Lady Raebourne, whose story is told in Hunter's A Lady of Esteem), Griffith also desires to find a love match for himself.  He applies logic to choose his future duchess and decides on Miss Frederica St. Claire.  He hopes to gain her hand before the ton's matchmaking mamas realize that he is looking for a wife.  Unfortunately for Griffith, trying to find time alone with Miss St. Claire is proving to be a challenge. More often than not, he finds himself in the presence of her cousin, Miss Isabella Breckenridge, this season's Incomparable.  He is attracted to her, but doesn't want to get caught up in the drama of trying to compete with the rest of the throng clamoring for Isabella's attentions.  He also is resistant to giving up the choice that he made from his decision making process, to the amusement and chagrin of his relations who know perfectly well that Griffith is a goner where Isabella is concerned. 

While Griffith is struggling with his reluctance to set aside his pride in pursuing Isabella, Isabella is struggling with her conscience.  She has come to London for the season to aid her uncle's political efforts, in exchange for financial assistance for her family.  However, their plans require her to pretend and act in ways that conflict with her spiritual beliefs.  By the time Isabella discovers that Griffith is the kind of man that she has always hoped to marry, she realizes that her actions in town will make any genuine romantic relationship between the two of them impossible.   Who will Griffith make into his duchess?  Will Isabella be able to be true to herself, and help her uncle achieve his political goals so that he is willing to help her family?

I like this novel.  I like Griffith.  If you are looking for a lot of stolen kisses, you won't find them in An Inconvenient Beauty...Griffith is a nice and respectful man.  If it helps to draw you in, there is a secret dance on an upper balcony.   In my opinion, Griffith is an attractive alpha male character who displays a satisfying amount of power in being able to solve problems and get things done.  This is enough for me to award him a high swoon factor as a romantic hero.  He's also self aware enough to realize that he can be arrogant due his station and upbringing, and that he needs to exercise his influence with care, so as to not abuse his position as a duke.

I found Isabella to be okay.  She is a pleasant enough character who doesn't let her beauty go to her head.  She cares for her family and is willing to sacrifice her reputation and be thought of as a coquette in order to help them. 

It was fun reading some of the interactions between Griffith, his siblings, and brothers-in-law.  Most of them know him quite well, and tease him over his courtship plans for Miss St. Claire.  However, the love that binds them together is good and light hearted.  It is nice to read about relatives who get along with each other and who try to help each other out.  It was also nice to be able to visit with characters that appeared in earlier novels of the Hawthorne series.

Even though An Inconvenient Beauty is the last of the series, it can be read as a stand-alone book.  In fact, I still haven't read Georgina's and Colin's story (An Elegant Façade) yet, although I have read all the other novels.  I'm glad that I still have one more story to read about the Hawthorne Family.  If you are looking for clean regencies that feature characters who have faith, then you may wish to consider reading books from the Hawthorne series if you haven't looked into them yet. 

Review: A Lady of Esteem, a novella by Kristi Ann Hunter

I've been away for over a month from the blog, and although I've been still reading, I've run into a bit of a writer's block, and also because my attention has been zapped by a knitting project which involves a lot of lace.  I'm also operating under a deadline, and this project must be completed by the end of September.  I've been freaking out a bit, because for the first two and a half weeks of this project, I had been ripping out the same series of rows, over and over again.  However, because of this, I've learned to distinguish between different stitches that are required for this knitting pattern, and I've finally passed the halfway mark to the completion of this object.  Lace no longer seems as scary, but I still consider myself a newbie when it comes to knitting this stuff.  We won't even talk about crocheting lace yet. 

In the meantime, I finally feel up to resuming the blog now that I know that I'll likely be able to finish this particular item by the end of September. 

So...(ahem), here is my review of A Lady of Esteem. 

This novella, by Kristi Ann Hunter, was released, free, on Amazon on July 7th, earlier this summer.  It is the story about Miss Amelia Stalwood, who had been raised by the servants of her neglectful guardian, and Anthony Pendleton, the Marquis of Raebourne, a former rogue who is trying to live out what it means to be a new creation in Christ.  They meet when Amelia accidentally falls into his arms after she tumbles off a ladder while dusting in the library of Lord Raebourne's home. 

Lord Raebourne knows that Amelia is not one of his servants because of the craftsmanship of her clothing, but she won't reveal her name.  He only finds out her first name when a maid comes to warn Amelia to make her escape before the cook (a person to be feared in Lord Raebourne's household) finds out that she has been doing the dusting on behalf of her friend, Emma, who is a real servant in this house, but who is too ill to attend to her duties.  Amelia makes her escape in a timely manner, but not without tossing her dusty rag onto the marquis' head. 

Needless to say, the marquis is intrigued with Amelia and wishes to find out who she is.  However, they do not travel in the same circles; Anthony's position in society sets him in highly exalted company, and Amelia's guardian has conveniently forgotten about her existence since sending her to London away from his estate.  She has only the company of her governess and of servants in her guardian's household, and the friends of those servants who work in other houses. 

However, through the intervention of those servants (or by the intervention of the Lord...I haven't quite figured this out yet), Anthony is finally introduced to Amelia at the home of the Hawthornes.  The Hawthornes are a family comprised of the Duke of Riverton and his siblings.  They are Anthony's friends, who introduced him to a believing faith.  Their servants, Raebourne's servants, and Amelia's guardian's servants are friends of Amelia.   These cheeky workers and the duke's sister, Lady Miranda, conspire to throw Raebourne and Amelia together.  Raebourne goes along for the ride until the death of Amelia's guardian leaves her as the ward of the Duke of Riverton.  He has difficulty in believing that he would be the best choice as a prospective suitor for Amelia because of his roguish past.  Anthony decides to step aside so that she can benefit from the elevated company that she will now be exposed to.  Will Anthony ever accept the truth that he really is a new creation in Christ; that the old is gone, and that the new has come?  Will he and Amelia get together?

I really liked this novella.  It was interesting to see whether Anthony works through his doubts about his worthiness, and whether he comes to accept that there is no condemnation for himself and for those who are in Christ Jesus, regardless of their pasts. 

The story also introduces the Hawthorne family, which is composed of Griffith, the Duke of Riverton, Lady Miranda, Lord Trent, and Lady Georgina.  A Noble Masquerade, which is Miranda's story, will be released in September later this year.   There is a three chapter excerpt for the upcoming novel included at the end of A Lady of Esteem.   I will admit that what I read from it has captured my interest, and I'll be looking out for this book when it comes out next month.