Midnight's Budding Morrow by Carolyn Miller Blog Tour

About the Book:

Can real love grow between a wallflower and an unrepentant rogue?

Sarah Drayton is eager to spend time with her best friend at her crumbling Northumberland castle estate. Matrimony is the last thing on her mind and the last thing she expects to be faced with on a holiday. Yet she finds herself being inveigled into a marriage of convenience with her friend's rakish brother.

When James Langley returns to his family's estate, he can't be bothered to pay attention to his responsibilities as the heir. War is raging and he wants only distraction, not serious tethers. But his roguish ways have backed him into a corner, and he has little choice but to obey his father's stunning decree: marry before returning to war, or else. Suddenly he finds himself wedded to a clever and capable woman he does not love.

Sarah craves love and a place to belong, neither of which James offered before returning to the battlefront. Now everyone around her thinks she married above her station, and they have no intention of rewarding her for such impertinence. It isn't until her husband returns from war seemingly changed that she begins to hope they may find real happiness. But can she trust that this rake has truly reformed?

When tragedy strikes, this pair must learn to trust God and his plans. Will they be destroyed . . . or will they discover that even in the darkest depths of night, the morning still holds hope?

Click here to read an excerpt.

My Review:

This is a good novel for readers who love all things Regency. I like Miller giving us a heroine from the lower levels of the society of the day. Sarah is an orphan with no marriage prospects in her future. Until she is tricked into an arranged marriage, that is. At times she seems to have a good view of herself but at other times she crumbles under the comments from snooty high class women. Regency is not my favorite genre and I was amazed at how fragile women were in that day. What a difference from the woman CEO of today.

There is much character change in the novel, showing the transforming power of of the Holy Spirit when one submits to Him. James is a good example of God's grace and mercy. I found the senior Mr. Langley an odd character. His behavior seemed inconsistent. The Langley relationship with the doctor seemed odd for much of the book. His work was detested by the Langley family yet they always called on him when the slightest need arose. I finally saw later in the novel, his presence was essential for plot resolution.

Miller's writing style is a pleasure to read and would be especially appreciated by those who love Regency novels. I liked the note at the end adding interest to some historical aspects of the book.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Series:

While most stories set in Regency England focus on the rich, the young, and the beautiful, award-winning author Carolyn Miller decided she wanted to give readers something different for a change. Her new Regency Wallflowers series follows the commoners, away from the hustle and bustle of 1810s London, out in the Lake District of England. She tells the stories of women who are slightly older and have few prospects for marriage, women who might be considered “wallflowers.”

Midnight’s Budding Morrow is the second book in the Regency Wallflowers series. The first book in the series is Dusk’s Darkest Shores and you can read my review of that book here. 

About the Author:

Carolyn Miller is an inspirational romance author who lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children.
 
A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English literature and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. She enjoys music, films, gardens, art, travel, and food.

Miller’s novels have won a number of RWA and ACFW contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers. 
 
Learn more about Carolyn at www.carolynmillerauthor.com, or find her on Facebook (Carolyn Miller Author), Instagram (@CarolynMillerAuthor), and Twitter (@CarolynMAuthor). 

Kregel Publications, 312 pages.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review. The rest of the copy of this post was provided by audrajenningspr.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)