Lydia - Wanda Luce

Summary:  At six and twenty, Lydia Hathaway has endured years of heartbreak, longing for a love that never came.  Her deceased father's foolhardiness has left her family bankrupt, and Lydia is eventually left no alternative but to take a position as the governess to Susan Ashcroft of Danbury Park in Surrey. Anxious for peace, Lydia rambles early one morning across the muddy wilds of the Ashcroft estate, where she has a most unimaginable encounter with the notorious Lord Connor Denton.

As their paths continue to cross, Lydia falls ever deeper in love with the charming rogue while battling against his growing assault on her heart.  In spite of his forward attentions, she considers his behavior toward her as nothing less than idle flirtation.  And why should she think otherwise?  As the wealthy son of an earl, Lord Denton may choose from among the most beautiful women of England's first circles.  Tormented in a relentless battle to suppress a love she cannot overcome, Lydia resolves to leave the Ashcrofts and Danbury Park forever.  After all, she is nothing to Denton -- isn't she? (Summary from book - Image from wandaluce.blogspot.com)

Summary:  When my mother came to visit recently, she left behind this clean romance novel with a recommendation that catapulted it to the top of my to-read pile: It’s like Pride and Prejudice. Ding. Ding. Ding.  We have a winner! I don’t know about you, but I’ll take a little P & P however I can get it.

Star-crossed lovers are not exclusive to Jane Austen novels, but Lydia did have enough similarities in setting, plot, and character behavior to call it a loosely based retelling of Pride and Prejudice. Don’t expect a Darcy to show up, because I didn’t see him, but there is definitely a Lydia (the Pride and Prejudice one), a Charlotte Lucas, and a Wickham.

Lydia was cute, romantic, and entertaining, but not particularly well written (translation: it didn’t knock my socks off). When the moment wasn’t about Connor and Lydia together, it felt like the author rushed through the story to get to their next encounter. When Connor and Lydia were together, the story often became very long winded. I think I might have received whiplash from the changes in pace. With all that rushing, I didn’t feel like I got to know any of the other characters. They felt like mere props for the story instead of fully developed characters. The upside to this novel is that, despite its flaws, it was entertaining and squeeeeky clean. I think that fans of the clean romance genre will enjoy this variation of a classic favorite.

My Rating: 3.25 Stars

Sum it up:  Cute, romantic, and entertaining, but not particularly well written.