Book Review: Wedding of the Season by Laura Lee Guhrke

After six years in Egypt, Will Mallory, Duke of Sunderland is finally back in England. His plans are simple: give a couple of speeches regarding his archeological work in Egypt and find a new sponsor for the dig.

But, just a few hours after arriving back to his country home, he comes face to face with Lady Beatrix Danbury, the girl he left behind six years ago just a few weeks before their wedding. 

It took Trix five long years to get over Will, but now she's engaged to another man and ready to be married in a couple of months. Seeing Will again is a complication she doesn't need or want.

But they were childhood sweethearts, loved each other all their lives and live less then 3 miles apart, avoiding each other is hard. Especially when a mutual friend invites them to Torquay for a house party. At Lord Marlowe's seaside home, avoiding the memories of their shared life, not to mention each other, is impossible. 

Wedding of the Season is the first book in the Abandoned at the Altar series by Laura Lee Gurhke and  it was a nice read. I liked both Will and Trix, they were a bit selfish in a way, particularly at the beginning, but they made sense together, and they were funny. And the setting for the story - Torquay for the most part - was delightful. I liked that Will took his work very seriously - once he explained why he was so adamant to return, that his archeological work was really the only thing he knew how to do to earn his living, he made a lot more sense. 

Trix was a very endearing character, I think she embodies a bit of the average person who dreams big but doesn't have the courage to follow such dreams and make them real. A lot of the story is about her finding the courage to do all the things propriety and society restrictions never allowed her to do.

Like I said, I liked the story. But I did have some troubles with it. I felt it a bit too drawn out, like it went in circles a little too much, yet things get resolved very quickly at the end. Contradictory, I know but that's how I felt. Also, very early on I felt more interested on Julia and Aidan (Trix' cousin and  her fiance), rather than in the main couple. Lucky for me, Julia and Aidan are set to be the main characters in the second installment of the series, Scandal of the Year, which comes out later this month (thankfully! because I'm dying to read that one).

Favorite Quote: “Darling, you know I’m already married! As to the rest, I’m mired in debt now that Yardley’s cut off my allowance. But, if you’re willing to be seen by some hapless chambermaid at a third-rate hotel, coming out of my room at three o’clock in the morning, Yardley might be moved to divorce me at last, naming you co-respondent. Then I’d be free to marry someone else who’s disgustingly rich, and I could give you all the money you need.” -Julia

3/4

 

PS - Also loved the little cameos of characters from the Girl Bachelor Series :)