3 Wandering Men Discover Love and Happiness During Their Travels
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Review Copy from Blog Tour
The Inns of Devonshire is the 18th published anthology in the Timeless Regency Collection and consists of three stand alone Regency Romance novellas written by three well-known and talented writers. Each novella is around 90 pages in length and takes places in various inns located in different Devonshire villages. I hope this breakdown is helpful!
THE SEVENTH STAR INN – Sally Britton
- The Premise: Collin Stonecroft, the new landlord for several homes and businesses in Totnes, pays a visit to assess his inheritance and make plans for modern improvements. Susan Baxter, the lovely but impoverished vicar’s daughter, finds much to admire about the new landlord, but she must be wary as he could leave her with a broken heart and ruin the historic village she holds so dear…
- My Thoughts: I loved the Emma vibes in this one! With her spinsterish age, situation of living with her mother in a shop on a main thoroughfare in town, and dependence on the thoughtfulness of their neighbors Miss Baxter felt reminiscent of Miss Bates. Except for one thing – she isn’t at all garrulous. I loved seeing her passion for the history of her village and her sweet and gentle way of befriending Mr. Stonecroft and his daughter. Their scenes together gathering flowers and exploring the village were enchanting.
THE TRUTH ABOUT MR. BLACKMORE – Annette Lyons
- The Premise: As an orphan who is beholden to unkind relations and working in their inn out of necessity, Leigh Cutler lives for the moments where she can escape reality and visit the world of imaginative stories. And with the inn’s new guest, Mattias McGrady, it seems like Leigh has found a kindred spirit. But happens when she discovers his secret…
- My Thoughts: Leigh and Mattias are so endearing! I love their stolen moments together, and how they found understanding, encouragement, and a sense of home with each other. Like Cinderella, Leigh is treated as a lowly servant by her relations. And Mattias, ends up being as noble and gentlemanly as a prince. I loved how their story played out and the drama of Mattias’s secret.
THE COACHMAN’S CHOICE – Deborah M. Hathawy
- The Premise: Given a heartbreaking past experience, Mary Thorne has a healthy mistrust of coachmen – especially flirtatious coachmen who enjoy ruffling her feathers, like Robert Northcott. And even though there is some attraction between them, Mary knows anything more is impossible…
- My Thoughts: This one might be my favorite! I love how Robert is actually somewhat of a sincere flirt and how Mary takes him to tasks about his empty flattery. I admired how these characters had hardships and pain in their pasts and were ambitiously pursuing their own dreams for their futures. And I loved witnessing the moments when both Robert and Mary realized that their feelings ran much deeper than those of good friends.
CONCLUSION:
I found The Inns of Devonshire and my sojourn to various coastal towns and quaint villages in this county to be utterly charming! I enjoyed how these stories focused on characters of the working class and portrayed the various lifestyles of these hardworking individuals – whether they be accountants, innkeepers, maids, or coachmen. I highly recommend this collection to readers who desire light and engaging novellas that feature compelling characters and rewarding romances.
What a wonderful review, I rely like the sound of these stories.
Great review. Thanks for sharing.
Interesting premise. Thanks for bringing to our attention.
You made me want to read this, Meredith. The three stories sound so interesting. I wish the authors well with this work. Thanks for sharing.
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try this anthology, but after reading this review I would be most interested!
loved your review.
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Thank so much Meredith for introducing me into this series: I find these novellas sweet and interesting displaying so many different characters 😉
So far, I’m only familiar with Sally Britton’s name and books from the title above. I’ve read a few of the Timeless Regency collection, owning a handful of them. I was willing to try them because I was familiar with at least one of the author’s names and experience with previous titles. They all are clean and sweet (not sugary though,) but at the same time they have plenty of romance and something I like to call ‘Heart.’ I know what I mean by that and not sure how to explain it, because reviewers like you are much better at it. Thank you for introducing this series you your readers, Meredith.