I never thought I would be saying this, but
I think I’m actually starting to enjoy the romance sub-genre of ‘proper romance’.
My first foray into this type of novel
was with Beauty and the Clockwork Beast,
a wonderful steampunk proper romance that I reviewed a couple weeks ago. The same publisher who gave me a copy of that
book also gave me two others that he thought I would enjoy, one of which is Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson.
Marianne, reeling from the loss of her
mother, is abandoned by her father in the care of her grandmother. Marianne is not your typical lady. She likes reading, and riding horses, and
twirling, and she is completely bored with her life. When she is invited to stay with family
friends at their estate she jumps at the chance for a little excitement. She never thought that excitement would come
from falling in love with a handsome, irritating, arrogant man.
This book was absolutely adorable. Now, that might not sound like the kind of
romance novel you are looking for, especially if you normally read the sort of
stuff that makes your whole body flush, but bear with me. There was genuine chemistry between the
characters, the sort of banter that had be laughing out loud, and just enough
mystery to keep you wondering what was going to happen next.
Over the years I have noticed that my
reading has progressed from these more innocent type of romance novels to the
brazen, erotic sort. Reading these
proper romances brings me back to when I first started reading and brings me
back to my own first loves. It reminds
me when I’d feel warm for days just from exchanging simple kisses with my
crush.
I think it takes a great amount of talent to
make your reader’s heart flip and their blood heat from flirting and
kissing. Julianne Donaldson definitely has
that sort of talent. Edenbrooke was everything I would want
from a novel: intriguing, filled with
passion, and delightfully romantic.
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