Edenbrooke is a story set in Regency times, though it was written just a few years ago. Our heroine is Marianne, twin to Cecily, whose father has just sent her to live with her grandmother after the death of their mother. Cecily was sent to live with a cousin while their father went off to France to be alone to deal with his grief. Marianne tries to make the best of her situation though she is perfectly miserable. One morning her grandmother informs her that she intends Marianne to be her heir if she can prove herself to be a proper lady. Marianne is sent to live with her mother's best friend Lady Caroline at Edenbrooke for the summer where she is supposed to learn the ways of elegant ladies. Cecily, who has become great friends with Lady Caroline's daughter, will be there too and has written Marianne about her ambitious plans to marry Lady Caroline's eldest son.
On her way to Edenbrooke, Marianne's carriage is held up by a highwayman (gasp!) and her coachman is shot. The highwayman flees when Marianne's maid shoots a gun at him, and Marianne drives the horses to the nearest inn, where she meets a handsome and arrogant stranger. Marianne soon learns that he is Sir Philip, one of the sons of Lady Caroline of Edenbrooke and they strike up an unlikely friendship.
I loved the sense of humor throughout the book. Marianne is very funny and Philip very much appreciates her wit, resulting in highly entertaining banter. I only had a couple issues with this book. At times I could tell that this was not a genuine Victorian novel and that it was written in modern times. Compared to the classics, you can tell that this is an imitation. Also, as much as I loved Marianne, she was really, really stupid when it came to her own feelings, and that irritated me. She convinced herself for practically the whole story that she wasn't in love with Philip and that he didn't love her, when it was totally obvious that they were both in love with each other. Also I was annoyed that Cecily was completely obtuse and didn't figure out what her twin was going through.
In any case, I loved the book. Even though it wasn't convincingly Regency and sometimes the characters were a little dense, I read Edenbrooke twice in a row. Yep, twice. I read it the first time in a day and when I was done I realized I wanted to savor it a little more, so I read it again. And even after the second reading, I still love it.
Definitely recommend to the other hopeless romantics out there.
4.5 out of 5 stars
(btw, I debated about this rating. I loved the book, but there were a couple things that annoyed me. But I read it twice in a row, that's got to count for something. I almost gave it a 5, but I rarely give 5's. I have to be absolutely raving about a book to give it a 5, so I settled on 4.5.)
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