by Sarah Granger
M/M Historical Romance
Samhain Publishing
5 Stars
Purchase Links:
Amazon | BN | Kobo | Goodreads
Duty, honor, propriety…all fall in the face of love.
Captain Hugh Fanshawe returned from the Peninsular War with a leg that no longer works properly, thanks to a French musket ball. Now his fight against Napoleon is reduced to quiet, lonely days compiling paperwork at Horse Guards headquarters.
His evenings are spent dutifully escorting his mother and sister to stifling social engagements, where his lameness renders him an object of pity and distaste. But his orderly, restricted life is thrown into sudden disarray with the arrival of Colonel Theo Lindsay.
Theo is everything Hugh is not—a man of physical perfection and easy yet distinguished address. Surprisingly to Hugh, Theo appears to be interested in making his acquaintance. Lindsay turns out to be a most convivial companion, and Hugh finds great pleasure in his company. Their friendship deepens when they become lovers.
In spite of himself, Hugh falls desperately in love. But when a French spy is suspected at Horse Guards, Hugh discovers nothing is as it seems…and the paper he shuffles from day to day could be the instrument of his lover’s death.
***
Review:
Suffering from an injury received in the war against Napoleon, Hugh Fanshawe is no longer fit for active duty and spends most of his days doing paperwork at the office of the Horse Guards and his evenings escorting his mother and sister to various engagements and balls.
He hates these events, he hates even more the pitying looks he gets from the guests when they notice is injured leg and his slow gait. But Hugh is a dutiful son and does what his mother wants, and Hugh is not entirely sure what it is he himself wants until he meets Col. Theo Lindsay at one of the balls. Hugh had always admired men and due to his preferences he always thought he would be forever alone.
Theo is everything Hugh is not: a garrulous companion, handoms and hale of body, which makes Hugh notices his own shortcomings even more. But soon Theo has swept Hugh off his feet and he falls madly in love, only for everything to come crashing down around his ears when it turns out there is a spy in their midst and Theo's attentions may not be entirely what they seem.
This book had everything you might expect from a regency romance: there were balls, dazzling evening gowns, horse and carriage rides in the park and fuss over who a young lady should marry.
The book was a delight to read, and you can tell the author has done a lot of research. It was written in a style very reminscent of a book actually written in Regency times and it worked really well here. Modern speech would have spoiled it, I think. The reader is whisked away to the Regency era with all of its social mores and customs and dropped right into the action.
There were a few love scenes in the book which were tasteful and sensual without being overly explicit, you are left in now doubt that Theo and Hugh are lovers and not just friends.
There is some intrigue and some worry and angst over whether or not Hugh and Theo would get their happily ever after, but you care about them so much that you really want them to. I have a fondness for damaged heroes and I just adored Hugh. He was so loveable and he was also a bit gullible in an innocent sort of way, but I'm sure that soon Theo will be teaching him more of the ways of the world.
A fantastic, romantic read.
***
About the Author:
Sarah Granger is a sucker for a happy ending. She believes, however, that characters will only fully appreciate their happy ending if they've suffered along the way.
Sarah lives in the Cotswolds, an idyllic part of the English countryside with gently rolling hills, dry stone walls of golden stone and fields dotted with sheep. She has shamefully broken with local tradition by not having a rose growing around her front door. When she isn't writing, Sarah enjoys walking in the countryside with her elderly black Labrador.
Social Links: Website | Goodreads | Facebook
***
Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks so much for having me here today, Annette, and for taking the time to review A Minor Inconvenience. I'm absolutely thrilled to learn how much you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI'll be popping in and out throughout the day if anybody would like to chat about m/m romance, Regencies, or - well, I might be as well be entirely predictable and mention breeches again. Or if you have any questions for me, do please ask. :)
You're welcome, it was a very enjoyable book :)
ReplyDelete