The Dishonorable Miss DeLancey (Carolyn Miller) – Review

 

~ About the Book ~

Will a damaged reputation and desire for society’s approval thwart the legacy of grace?

Tainted by scandal and forced to leave London for the quieter Brighton countryside, the Honorable Miss Clara DeLancey is a shadow of her former society self. She’s lost the man she loved to another and, in a culture that has no patience for self-pity, is struggling with depression. A chance encounter brings her a healing friendship with the sisters of an injured naval captain. But Clara’s society mama is appalled at the new company she’s keeping.

Captain Benjamin Kemsley is not looking for a wife. But his gallant spirit won’t let him ignore the penniless viscount’s daughter–not when she so obviously needs assistance to keep moving forward from day to day. Can he protect his heart and still keep her safe?

When they’re pushed into the highest echelons of society at the Prince Regent’s Brighton Pavilion, this mismatched couple must decide if family honor is more important than their hopes. Can they right the wrongs of the past and find future happiness together–without finances, family support, or royal favor?

Series:  #3 Regency Brides: A Legacy of Grace
Genre:  Historical Romance
Release date:  24 October 2017
Pages:  298
Publisher:  Kregel Publications

Amazon US  //  Amazon AU  //  iBooks  //  Goodreads  //  Koorong

~ Excerpt ~

The Honorable Clara DeLancey stood atop the chalky cliffs. Above her, heavy clouds menaced the moon, revealing then concealing the scene below. At her feet glowed the lantern borrowed for tonight’s escape, while far beneath, the English Channel churned white and deadly. Wind whipped clothes around her body, tugging at her, like the despair that had tugged for months, begging release.
Leaning forward into the night wind, only half hoping it would retain its furious strength, she closed her eyes and breathed in the salty tang as sea spray spattered her cheeks. Another breath. Another. She hadn’t felt this alive in weeks.
The wind grew louder, rushing in her ears, a snarling, savage thing. How capricious nature could be, how cruel; capable of causing shipwrecks, yet also of sustaining life. How strange that something could be one day so admired, the next feared or despised. A broken laugh escaped. She, like nature, fell into the latter category.
A kaleidoscope of images raced through her mind. A handsome man. A beautiful lady. A ballroom filled with the expectations of the ton. A broken promise. Soul-sweeping shame.
The anger burned again, as if stoked by the very fires of Hades. How could he? She dragged in another breath. How could he reject her?
She opened her eyes. Peered down through the gloom to where specks of foam denoted the crashing waves of high tide. The wind continued its merciless grasp, teasing free her hair from the cloak’s hood. Would the wind hold her should she step out? Did she even want it to? She leaned forward, farther still. The roaring surf grew louder, louder. Should she dare—
“Miss!”
She jumped. Pebbles scattered beneath her feet, upsetting her balance, and she was sliding, sliding, closer to the treacherous edge—
And in that moment, knew she did not want to die.

~ Review ~

I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book ever since the glimpse we had of Clara DeLancey in The Captivating Lady Charlotte suggested that there was something redeemable beneath the spoilt and spiteful society miss we have seen so far. And now I can give a sigh of contentment, because this story fulfilled all my hopes. Clara’s journey from resentment and despair through to shame and repentance and then the determination to become a better person was a difficult path to walk, but the opposition she faced along the way only served to make her stronger, and I grew to love her every bit as much as I do Lavinia and Charlotte.

Benjamin Kemsley is a true hero—in the literary and the literal sense! Noble in character if not in title, he has quite the story to tell, but it also left him a cripple and ended his career. The Prince Regent promised him a reward for his heroic actions, but nothing has come of it, and so he finds himself reliant on the generosity of his recently married sister and her husband, and responsible for chaperoning his youngest sister in London society. He can’t help but be drawn to a damsel in distress, but for all his gallantry, he’s the kind of guy who steals your heart quietly: piece by piece, smile by smile.

As with Miller’s other novels, it’s not just the story itself that captures, but the authenticity of the Regency world in which she immerses the reader. I love that we get the rustic side of Regency life as well as the metropolitan, the everyday along with the glitz and glamour, and I love that families are at the heart of her novels—in all their varied and trying glory! (And that’s sometimes very trying, in the case of Clara!) And most of all, I love the way in which her characters are challenged in their faith (or lack thereof), growing step by step, and often by an act of conscious will against their natural inclinations.

There’s no doubt about it; Carolyn Miller has become a must-read author for me, and I can’t wait for the release of her new series in 2018.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not influenced the content of my review, which is my honest and unbiased opinion.

~ Previous Books in the Series ~

Read my review for The Elusive Miss Ellison or The Captivating Lady Charlotte.

* Don’t miss my interview with Carolyn Miller!

~ About the Author ~

Carolyn Miller lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia. She is married, with four gorgeous children, who all love to read (and write!).

A longtime lover of Regency romance, Carolyn’s novels have won a number of Romance Writers of American (RWA) and American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers. Her favourite authors are classics like Jane Austen (of course!), Georgette Heyer, and Agatha Christie, but she also enjoys contemporary authors like Susan May Warren and Becky Wade.

Her stories are fun and witty, yet also deal with real issues, such as dealing with forgiveness, the nature of really loving versus ‘true love’, and other challenges we all face at different times.

Connect with Carolyn:  Website //  Facebook  //  Twitter  //  Pinterest