Otherwise Engaged by Joanna Barker Publisher: Covenant Communications (2020 {October 12})
eARC (262 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2020
Synopsis
She’s never been afraid of breaking the rules—until she risks breaking her heart.
Constantly stifled by the rules of Society, spirited Rebecca Rowley enjoys finding ways to quietly—or not so quietly—rebel. But riding bareback and avoiding nosy neighbors are nothing compared to the thrilling secret she is keeping from her family.
When Rebecca’s quick thinking saves the life of a young girl, she unwittingly attracts the attention of the child’s dashing brother, Lieutenant Nicholas Avery. As that attention turns flirtatious, Rebecca is forced to tell him the truth: she is secretly engaged—to the one man her family would never approve of. Fortunately, Lieutenant Avery is a navy man with no wish to marry, or so they both assume as they enter into a friendship. Rebecca hopes to change her family’s mind about her betrothed, but the more she comes to know the handsome lieutenant, the more she wonders if she promised her hand too hastily.
After all her carefully laid plans are shattered during a family crisis, Rebecca must force her heart to decide. Should she stay true to the promise she made or fight for the future she’s only just begun to imagine?
Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon
My Review
This is one of those historical romances where you have an idea of how it is going to end but getting there is the story.
Rebecca Rowley is not exactly the most ladylike young lady in all of England. She likes to ride bareback and she has a mind of her own. She has no qualms about jumping into a lake in her riding habit to rescue the downing neighbor girl, Olivia Avery. And that is how she meets Lieutenant Nicholas Avery, Olivia’s older brother.
But Lieutenant Avery isn’t the one who has captured Rebecca’s heart. That has already been won by Edward Bainbridge, the son of her father’s previous associate. And she is secretly engaged to him. It is kept secret because there is some feud between the Rowley and Bainbridge families that neither Rebecca nor Edward know the cause.
Rebecca and Edward are apart for now, each trying to figure out what happened between the families so as to convince their mothers to agree to the engagement.
In the midst of all of this searching for answers, Rebecca discovers that she is enjoying spending time with Nicholas and they make a truce to be friends. But are they just friends?
Add to this Olivia adjusting to living with her half-brother after the recent death of her mother and Julianna, Rebecca’s sister in law, with her pregnancy, and you end up with an entertaining story.
So, yes, I pretty much knew how the story was going to end but I enjoyed the twists that lead to that ending. If you enjoy clean historical romance, you will likely love this novel.
I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley for
review consideration. This in no way affects my opinion of the title
nor the content of this review.
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