This novella comes after Book 2 in this author’s “Daring
Hearts” series. The prologue introduces the two main characters, Penelope
Darlington and Darius Hall, when she is 12 and he is 20. Penelope is the
daughter of successful confectionary shop owner Henry Darlington, while Darius
is the third son of the Earl of Rushton. 12yr. old Penelope is very upset due
to getting some surprising news and takes off to regroup. She has always
disliked Christmas because her mother died around Christmas time. Penelope’s
father has recently returned from out of town (around Christmas time) with a
new wife in tow and Penelope is devastated. It’s not that she finds the new
wife in any way intrinsically objectionable, it’s that her father got married
without telling her, or even giving her any clue that he was thinking of
remarrying. It’s while she’s in this frame of mind, that Darius finds her. In
his quiet way, he listens to Penelope vent. It’s a sweet little moment that
sets up the rest of the book. The rest of the story takes place seven years
after the prologue. Darius and Penelope meet up again at Lady Wentworth’s
soiree. Even though Penelope is content to be pursued by Scotsman Simon Wilkie,
she and Darius share an impromptu kiss. That might have been the beginning and
end of their romance, had things not taken a dramatic turn. Penelope agrees to
elope with Wilkie and head to his home in the Scottish Highlands. Darius
catches wind of it and takes off after the two, not only out of loyalty and
affection for the Darlington family, but because he doesn’t believe she will be
happy with Wilkie. I love the way Darius and Penelope’s relationship develops
over the short period of time they are thrown together. Penelope is able to
open up with him about her feelings for her family and her current situation.
She feels like Darius “gets” her. The romantic tension is fabulous. Even though
Darius “possessed a scientific, mechanical mind”, Penelope brought out the poet
in him without his sounding trite. I loved the romantic game they played
defining words. When he explains why he compared her to the earth’s atmosphere,
I melted. This was the first thing I’ve read by this author but I look forward
to reading more. I was able to enjoy this story, even though I hadn’t read the
previous books in this series.
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