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Overall rating: 5 stars

Things I looked at:

Readability: how well was it written/edited. Did it flow well?

Story line: Did it catch and keep my attention?

Characters: Were they interesting and well developed?

Period accuracy: If historical, was the period obvious from setting descriptions, and were the period details accurate?

What It’s About

At twenty-seven years old, Mariah Travers has become what she most feared—a spinster and a perpetual adolescent in the eyes of her family and the law. But her fortunes change when her father announces that he has promised her hand in marriage to an old friend and colleague in the House of Lords. Lord Peter deVere, Earl of Dunsford, is not at all who Mariah imagined marrying, but she is willing to take a chance on the older man in order to gain the freedom that only married women are allowed.

After a tragic marriage that stretched on for two decades, Peter is hesitant to marry again. But he needs an heir, or else his dastardly nephew, Lord William, will inherit everything he’s worked his entire life to build. But when he meets Mariah, sparks fly that neither of them expected. Their unlikely match stands a chance of giving each of them all the things they never realized they needed.

But trouble abounds when the mine that has provided Peter with his fortune is exhausted and the search for new veins of copper begins. On top of that, Lord William isn’t about to stand by and watch his inheritance disappear. His efforts to drive a wedge between Peter and Mariah cause havoc and heartbreak at Starcross Castle, which will take an act of heroic devotion to overcome as Peter sets out to prove that true love is ageless.

What I loved about this book

Glossing over the fact that I’m a silver fox fan, I thought this was one of the best written books I’ve read in a while. The story had depth and detail that gets lost a little today with all the short and quick reads out there. The characters were easy to relate to and the scenario was believable. There was a lot of steam in this book, but I thought it was tastefully done and the author managed to make the tension between the characters natural, which I know is a difficult thing to do.

I loved the descriptions in the book and the secondary characters as well. The author paints such a realistic picture it seems very fitting that she’s also written novellas for some of the minor characters, I got caught up in caring about them without even realizing it!

What I didn’t

I honestly didn’t dislike any part of this book, but if I had to choose something it would be the annoying younger sister to the heroine. That said, the consequences that character faces for being a ninny are also harshly realistic, which I appreciated.

Conclusions

Merry Farmer and her silver fox series are definitely down in ink on my reading list. The only thing keeping me from reading straight through the series is the knowledge that 1) I want to rotate works for these reviews, and 2) I literally stayed up all night to read this book, for the sake of my health I’m going to have to space them out a bit.

I highly recommend this author and this book, I hope you’ll take a look and comment with your own impressions!

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