Pedigree Press, $0.99, ISBN 978-1393979296
Historical Romance, 2020

The family of the Earl of Harrington will be spending time in London the following month. Because of this, our heroine Arabella Wheatley heads over to the castle to pick up her sister Carolina, the seamstress that usually stays at the castle, so that Carolina can stay at her place in the meantime.

Alas, the heavy snowstorm begins just as they are about to leave, so now the ladies are forced to stay in the castle with the rest of the skeleton staff for the time being.

Also there is Dederick Gillingham, the third son of the earl, whose carriage tilted over in the snowstorm. 

As expected, she’s the prim and proper sort that secretly yearns for a bad boy to push that magic button of hers, and she also knows some secret country homegrown healer skills that allows her to make the best tea to get rid of his hangovers. Meanwhile, he’s the playboy type, so I’m sure we can all hazard a guess as to what will happen to them that One Enchanted Winter.

He quickly penned a letter to his father letting him know everything that transpired and that he would stay at the manor until they returned to the country in a month’s time. He saw no need to go into London now, not with the weather so unpredictable. He could not risk another accident. The second letter he wrote was for his eldest brother, telling him the same information, but also alluding to the fact that Miss Arabella had been nursing him back to health and he was concerned about the feelings that were arising. He was not sure she felt anything for him, but the more time he spent with her, the more fond of her he became, which confounded him. Unlike his brothers he was not held to the same unyielding standards of marriage. He was not in line for his father’s titles and therefore had little need to rush into producing heirs, which made him desperately aware of the choices he could make that would change the course of his future, and possible hers.

Here’s my main issue with this story: I’m told in chapter four that Dederick’s feelings are standing at attention for Arabella, but these two have barely interacted in a manner that allows me to see that this is indeed the case. This is more of a quasi-traditional regency, with implied hot sex taking place only in the happy epilogue, so it’s not like I get any description of the other kind of, er, arising feeling either.

Heaven knows there isn’t any kind of feeling one another here, so much of the chemistry has to be conveyed through polite talks and… yes, I don’t see it. If anything, these two act more like siblings, and in many ways, this one feels a lot like a romance story for very young kids, the epilogue of happiness notwithstanding.

That aside, this story is readable. The author’s pacing of the story and narrative style are all fine.

Only, the story is also oh so very predictable, offering much of the same old, same old in a way that is barely warmed over, much less in a way that is fresh and inventive. Thus, it’s not the most exciting read around.

Still, it’s serviceable, let’s just say.

The lack of romantic chemistry between the main leads makes this one a tough one to swallow, though. Maybe folks that like to read formulaic traditional regencies will like this one better, who knows.