Set in England in the late 1800's, Nolan Price learns from his dying mother that they have both been working for his father, the Earl of Stainsby, for the last number of years (she is the housekeeper, he is the stable hand). Not only is this a serious shock, but it immediately affects his plans to purchase a farm and marry his longtime love, Hannah. Hannah is a kitchen maid in Lord Stainsby's household, and she has loved Nolan practically from their first meeting when they were young teenagers.
Lord Stainsby never knew he had a son - he was told the child died with the mother at birth, and for years has mourned their loss. However, in the years to follow the Earl has now become a grumpy man. Although not cruel, he can't be described as kind, thoughtful, or flexible. Due to all of the rules that constrained English aristocracy at that time, Lord Stainsby is not at all ok with his newly discovered heir marrying the kitchen maid. He is determined that his son will marry within his station, and his heart has been hardened by his past experiences in love.
There is a lot of back and forth about this love match - and IMO the main character's choices seem to lack consistency rather than demonstrate character development. I had a hard time with their "thought processes" and found the friction and conflict annoying, rather than compelling. One question I found myself asking repeatedly was, "If these two (Nolan and Hannah) have supposedly loved each other for all of these years, why the doubts? Why all the questioning and back and forth on their convictions - is there any trust?!?" It just didn't seem solid or believable.
Overall, this book was acceptable; I just can't truthfully say that I loved it. There are some very fun supporting characters, but the main characters rarely ceased to be irritating to me. Again - an opinion - you should certainly check it out for yourself! This book was provided to me by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.
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