When Only Pride Remains by Natalie Kleinman
Genre: Regency Romance, Historical fiction
Read: 8th October 2021
Published: 12th October 2021
★★★ 3.5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
A enchanting story of love, loss and healing set in Regency England! For fans of Georgette Heyer, Mary Balogh, Jane Aiken Hodge and Jane Austen.
Can two estranged friends find their way back to each other…?
Regency England
When her father —Major Angus Fairham — returns home from the Napoleonic wars, Prudence is excited to welcome him home to Fairham Manor.
However, tragedy strikes when Angus loses his estate to his close friend and comrade — young Captain Jack Staveley — in a drunken game of cards. Unable to face his loss, Angus takes his own life.
Distraught, Jack tries to restore Fairham Manor to Prudence, but she is too proud to accept his offer.
Overcome with grief and anger, she retreats to her aunt’s house in Bath and distances herself from her once close friendship with Jack.
But as the initial shock of her sorrow begins to dull, Prudence is soon missing the support of her most trusted confidant.
And when they once more find themselves in each other’s orbit, she must decide whether she can put aside her pride and open her heart…
WHEN ONLY PRIDE REMAINS is a historical romantic tale set in Regency England, with a feisty heroine and a moving love story at its heart.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BlogTour for Natalie Kleinman's regency romance WHEN ONLY PRIDE REMAINS.
Having read and enjoyed Natalie Kleinman's previous regency romance tale "The Girl with the Flaming Hair" I was excited to pick up yet another easy to read title by this author. And while WHEN ONLY PRIDE REMAINS is indeed a leisurely read, it did not embrace me as her previous one had. That is not to say that it wasn't an enjoyable read...it was. But for me, I found it lacking a little and the main characters were extremely frustrating.
Prudence Fairham is twenty four years old and without a suitor despite having been presented at court some years earlier. She was however more at ease at home at Fairham Manor in Somerset as lady of the house in her father's absences whilst away. Major Angus Fairham, a soldier in the truest sense of the word, spent far more time away from home than actually at home where his daughter thrived in running the manor.
A longtime friend to both the major and Prudence herself is Captain Jack Staveley, who whilst fought alongside Angus, now spent much of his time residing at Fairham having nowhere else to go, despite inheriting a considerable fortune from his grandfather which thus saw the breaking of ties with his own father who then estranged himself from his second son. Prudence had grown up with Jack as something of a fixture at Fairham and their friendship was like that of siblings and treasured by both.
One evening, after enjoying the company of friends Fitz and Olly (also former soldiers), Prudence bid them goodnight and left the men to their own devices. Never one to resist a gamble, Angus challenged the men to a game of cards, of which Fitz and Olly saw fit to withdraw after a time. However, Angus and Jack, drunk on a little too much wine or whisky, continued their game and having nothing left to offer, Angus staked Fairham in his place. All it took was the turn of one card for him to lose everything and for Fairham to gain a new master. Jack of course intended to challenge the major to another game the following day to revert the win but had no chance, for Angus left in the early hours leaving only a letter for his beloved daughter.
Distraught at believing her father had deserted her, Prudence then received the news that there had been an accident in the woods and her father had been killed. Devastated beyond grief, Prudence blamed Jack for not curtailing the major's gambling as he had promised to do so...his only excuse being that he too was a little too drunk. Prudence could not forgive him and packed her things and handing over Fairham to Jack, left to stay with her father's sister in Bath.
Prudence was kept occupied in Bath with her cousin Emily's coming out to help prepare for and had no time to think of Jack. Her period of mourning was coming to an end in time for Emily's presentation to society and the two women enjoyed the balls and parties they found themselves invited to. However, Emily was soon betrothed to her father's friend's son Charles Wrotham leaving Prudence at somewhat of a loose end.
And then her aunt Lady Channing introduced her to Rebecca Standish, her mother's sister. Prudence was shocked. Why had she not been told her mother had a sister after all these years? Her mother had died when Prudence was but an infant and had therefore grown up without ever knowing anything of her own mother's family. Rebecca, Becky, had to returned to England after twelve months of mourning her beloved husband who had died defending her honour on a duel. And now the two women became inseparable with Prudence finding that she rather enjoyed here aunt Becky's company.
Having been living with Lord and Lady Channing since her removal from Fairham, Prudence had been thinking of late of setting herself up in an establishment of her own...which went against convention for a single lady to set up on her own. Which brought another thought to mind and so she approached her aunt Becky with the idea that they set up house together. Becky thought it a wonderful idea and the two women set about finding the perfect residence. Prudence longed to return to the country, to Somerset, and so they found themselves nearby neighbours to her former home of Fairham Manor, which thus brought her into contact with Jack once again.
Having made a blunder of things the last time they met when proposing to Prudence so that she may take up her rightful position in her home of Fairham Manor, Jack realised he had made a mistake in doing so. Prudence was angered and rightly so that he would marry her out of pity. However, it was clear to everyone else but them that the two were besotted with each other...if only they could get past their own foolish pride. Then when another suitor threw his hat in the ring and set his sights on Prudence, Jack found himself overcome with an overwhelming sense of jealousy. But still he did nothing about it. So he set his sights on Fairham and the plans he had for the estate.
Little did he know, that upon learning of his plans Prudence too became a big part of them. How will the couple fare working in such close proximity to one another? Will they continue to let their pride and anger fester? Or will they succumb to their feelings once and for all and make themselves a match together?
I have to say that Prudence and Jack were increasingly frustrating from start to finish in this book! I just wanted to give them both a good slap or at least bash their heads together and knock some sense into them. It is clear they are besotted with each other but their stupid pride would not allow either of them to admit it. Actually, out of the two, I found Prudence to be the most irritating. I think Jack may well have done anything she wished should she relented and been more accommodating. After all, he saw Fairham as her birthright and she the natural owner but once again her pride told her that he won the estate and it was now his to do with what he wished. Of course, for Jack Fairham wasn't the same without her...but Prudence was annoyingly stubborn. And nothing would move her. And so she moved instead to Bath.
I think it was Prudence (mainly) and Jack's attitudes that prevented me from enjoying this book as much as the previous one. The story was light and easy to read and, at 212 pages, a quick read also. The title WHEN ONLY PRIDE REMAINS is quite apt as the entire story revolves around their pair's foolish pride...as that is pretty much all that remains to keep them apart for so long.
That being said, WHEN ONLY PRIDE REMAINS is a leisurely read with a steady pace throughout that is quick and can be read in the space of a few hours.
Perfect for fans of regency romances.
I would like to thank #NatalieKleinman, #RachelsRandomResources and #SapereBooks for an ARC of #WhenOnlyPrideRemains in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Natalie is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association, the Society of Authors and the Society of Women Writers and Journalists.
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