The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen (AustenProse PR Book Tour)

 

Which book would you love to live in?  I always want to live in Regency England for a day.

Claire Summers is the disgraced eldest of five daughters.  She ran away to Gretna Green with a Lord hoping to be married, only to find herself abandoned and ruined.  She lives with her Great Aunt in Edinburgh afterwards as she is no longer welcome at home.  After her Great Aunt dies, she is left adrift.  She finds an advertisement for a “respectable female partner” for a boarding house in Sidmouth.  Her family has a home in Sidmouth and hoping to be able to connect with them again, she travels with her aunt’s maid Mary to Sidmouth with all the money she has.  Will she be able to make a go of it as a partner?  Will she be able to reconnect with her family?  Will she be able to find a second chance at love?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This is the third novel in the On Devonshire Shores series.  I loved knowing all the sisters and their backgrounds from the previous books, but I believe you could read this as a standalone.

·       The setting of the seaside town is wonderful and scenic.  It allows for a constant stream of interesting visitors as well as scenic vistas for the characters to travel through.

·       I was fascinated by Claire herself as a character.  She is what would have happened to Lydia Bennet in Pride & Prejudice if Mr. Darcy had not forced Mr. Wickham to marry her.  It’s sad to think that while there were no repercussions for the man in the situation, the woman was “ruined” forever and could be cast out by her family.  They would not want the reputation of being a loose woman to hinder the other four girls from being married.  I had wondered about the mysterious Claire in the first two books, and I was excited to finally get to read about her.

·       I enjoyed the romance in this novel.  It was a second chance at love for both characters after sadness in their lives.  It was the first time the two of them had fallen in love with each other.  I also always enjoy when a romance brings people together to form a new family.

·       I liked that Claire was able to come back to her family and work on getting forgiveness.  I liked that her sisters and mother all were able to forgive, it just took longer for her mother.

·       There was also an interesting look into prejudice during the Regency era.  Mr. Hammond who owns the boarding house, was once married to an Indian woman and has a child, Mira, who is part Indian.  Sonali was a friend of the late Mrs. Hammond and has stayed to care for Mira.  As the only Indian woman in a rural part of England, she is a unique person.

·       I was excited to see that this story will continue next year with Christmas at Seaview.  I enjoyed the sneak peak at the end of the novel.  I enjoy these characters, story, and setting and I love Regency Christmas romance.  I am so excited about this!

·       I also enjoyed the authors note and discussion questions at the end of the novel.

Overall, The Seaside Homecoming by Julie Klassen was a wonderful regency romance novel with great characters, setting, and story.  It was like reading a Christmas gift for myself.  I highly recommend this novel.

Book Source:  Review copy from BethanyHouse as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

A surprise homecoming tests the bonds of sisterhood as a hidden past comes to light . . .

Disgraced eldest sister Claire Summers has been living in exile as companion to a stern great-aunt in Scotland. About to lose her place and longing to be reconciled with her estranged family, Claire sees an advertisement from someone looking for a "respectable female partner" in a Sidmouth boarding house. Is it a sign? She answers the ad, hoping she has not made another reckless mistake. When she meets the handsome, secretive proprietor, she wonders what he's hiding and if he's any more trustworthy than the nobleman who betrayed her years ago. Claire is drawn to him even though she fears he will reject her when he discovers her genteel façade hides a less-than-respectable past.

Meanwhile, the Summers family learns their great-aunt has died and Claire has disappeared without a word. The sisters rally together to find their lost sibling, but will their unexpected reunion heal old wounds and rekindle their bonds . . . or deepen the divide?

Return to the captivating Devonshire coast as the Summers sisters navigate romance, second chances, and the enduring strength of sisterhood in the face of adversity

AUTHOR BIO

Julie Klassen loves all things Jane—Jane Eyre and Jane Austen. Her books have sold more than 1.5 million copies, and she is a three-time recipient of the Christy Award for Historical Romance. The Secret of Pembrooke Park was honored with the Minnesota Book Award for Genre Fiction. Julie has also won the Midwest Book Award and Christian Retailing's Best Award and has been a finalist in the RITA and Carol Awards. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full-time. She and her husband have two sons and live in St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information, visit JulieKlassen.com.