Parthena's Promise - Valerie Holmes

  

 Parthena's Promise by Valerie Holmes

Blurb:

England, 1815

London barrister and gentleman, Jerome Fender, has just returned to England after five years as a Captain in the killing fields of the Napoleonic Wars.

With the harrowing scenes of battle still haunting his every thought, he sets out to start a new life and to find a wife who will share it with him.

Meanwhile recently orphaned 21-year-old Miss Parthena Munro has also arrived at a North Yorkshire market town.

She has been sent away by her scheming sole relative, cousin Bertram, to be governess to a local family, only to find that the family has already moved away from the area.

Left stranded far from home with no job and no place to stay, Parthena encounters Mr Fender outside an inn, where she takes a chance to steal his money in a witless moment of desperation.

She whispers a promise to return the money one day and makes off across the wild Yorkshire moors.

But it’s not long before Fender catches up with her.

However, on learning of her plight they set out on a plan to seek justice against the wrongs plotted by Bertram.

With Jerome’s help, Parthena returns to her home to the great surprise of Bertram, who, thinking that Parthena, the rightful heir to the estate, was now out of the way, was about to clear his debts by selling the family estate.

Jerome endeavours to hatch a new plan to thwart Bertram, but Parthena’s rightful inheritance can only fall to her if she marries within the month.

Parthena and Jerome discover the flame of love has been kindled between them, but is it already too late?

(Well, I think the blurb will be much longer than the review itself in this case....never had that before...)

This book was nice and I really enjoyed reading it even though it is a rather straightforward story. Solid, reliable - a couple falling in love, the good guy helping the innocent girl who has been wronged and the bad guy going down.

The story is well told, the characters are very likeable and the story is interesting and gripping despite its straightforwardness. Nevertheless I was a bit disappointed at the end because I felt that it wasn't really finished. Right it was an ending it was obvious what would happen but when I just leaned back and wanted to enjoy this last romantic bit and see how everything turns out - poff - the story was over. Done. Fini. Ende.

I know that the story is short but in this case I missed a real ending. Yes, I am mean and vengeful, I would have loved to see Thena's Cousin fall, I would have enjoyed to see him go and the less vengeful but very sentimental part of me would have loved to see Parthena and Jerome find love and buld their life together. Sure, this story would have been much longer than the one I read now but I think it would have been worth it.

★★★