My Review: An Uncommon Courtship

". . . if love wasn't knowing and appreciating all the little things about a person, what was it?" - Lord Trent Hawthorn

Description:

Life for Lady Adelaide Bell was easier if she hid in her older sister's shadow--which worked until her sister got married. Even with thepressure of her socially ambitious mother, the last thing she expected was a marriage of convenience to save her previously spotless reputation.

Lord Trent Hawthorne couldn't be happier that he is not the duke in the family. He's free to manage his small estate and take his time discovering the life he wants to lead, which includes grand plans of wooing and falling in love with the woman of his choice. When he finds himself honor bound to marry a woman he doesn't know, his dream of a marriage like his parents' seems lost forever.

Already starting their marriage on shaky ground, can Adelaide and Trent's relationship survive the pressures of London society?

About the Author:

Kristi Ann Hunter graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in computer science but always knew she wanted to write. Kristi is an RWA Golden Heart contest winner, an ACFW Genesis contest winner, and a Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award for Excellence winner. She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Find her online at www.kristiannhunter.com.

My Review: 5 stars!

There are numerous things and I could and probably will say about this book.  And so many other things I would love to say, but I wouldn’t want to spoil it for anyone.  First off, I have to say that Kristi Ann Hunter is quite possibly my favorite Regency romance author.  Why, you ask, would I say that?  Because her books make me laugh!  I so rarely find stories set during that time period that are humorous to the point I’m laughing out loud and people are giving me strange looks.  Every time I pick up one of Ms. Hunter’s books, I immediately want to just binge read all of her books, and then stalk her author page for news of when the next one will be releasing.  That is how much I enjoy her stories overall and this one was quite possibly her best, yet.

As always, Ms. Hunter did an excellent job with the details and descriptions, transporting me to London and dropping me amid a most unusual household and the swirl of the Ton during the Season.  I loved the unique servants sticking up for Adalaide and lecturing Trent for how he was handling his new and rather unexpected marriage.  I’m always a great fan of marriage of convenience stories and this one definitely ranks among my very favorites.  I so enjoyed how much depth this tale has and the consideration that goes into Trent and Adalaide figuring out how to make their marriage work.

Adalaide is a unique character and one I quickly fell in love with.  She is sweet and kind and sees things in a different light, which was sometimes amusing, other times it caused me to pause and think.  She’s also rather shy and quiet in the beginning, as well as a bit awkward and I really enjoyed seeing her come into her own and learn to stand up for herself and her marriage.  I also had to laugh at how she always inadvertently loses a glove, or trips on a hem, or bobbles her glasses.  The little quirks made it very easy for me to relate to her and often had me smiling.

Trent is a character that I’ve gotten to know a bit over the past books and I’ve been eagerly anticipating.  He’s the younger son, the one no one really expects much of, and is very easygoing.  Until he finds himself married to a virtual stranger.  Trent has watched his sisters and his brother’s best friend find love and marry and expected the same for himself.  Instead, he finds himself being forced to learn what love truly is and how to intentionally love someone.  This aspect was definitely one of my favorite things about the story, because of how much time is spent on the topic.  I so enjoyed watching Trent learn to see beyond his assumptions of what love is supposed to look like and what his vows before God mean.  And the fact that he gets advice from Anthony, Ryland, Colin, and occasionally Griffith just made me smile.  They get so much enjoyment from razzing him that it’s hard not to, though they honestly do share very sound advice and I found myself making note of several things.  I loved the journey both Trent and Adalaide go through as they learn how to truly be married and not just two people sharing a house and breakfast.  They both grow in so many subtle ways and I appreciated that Ms. Hunter took the time to show them falling in love and becoming better versions of themselves, rather than simply telling me “they lived happily ever after.”

I’ve mulled it over and I honestly can’t think of a single negative comment.  From the first page to the last, I greatly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Christian historical fiction that is chuckle inducing, but also causes you to stop and think and examine an idea in a unique light.

It's fairly rare these days that I stay up much past 11pm reading, due to a full-time job and my boss expecting me to actually be awake for work (who knew that was a requirement??), but I stayed up until 2:30am finishing this book!  And it was so worth the sleep deprivation!  And yes, I stalked looked up the author and sent her a message at 2:30am telling her how much I loved her book.  Because, yes, I am that person when I don't have enough sleep. :)

So, obviously I highly recommend this book!  And there are links below for you to further check it out, if you're interested. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my review!

Have a fantastic day!

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