The Captivating Lady Charlotte by Carolyn Miller

The Captivating Lady Charlotte by Carolyn Miller ISBN-13: 9780825444517 Paperback: 310 pages Publisher: Kregel Publications Released: June 27, 2017

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Lady Charlotte Featherington is destined for great things on the marriage market. After all, as the beautiful daughter of a marquess, she should have her pick of the eligible nobility when she debuts. She, however, has love at the top of her list of marriageable attributes. And her romantic heart falls hard for one particularly dashing, attentive suitor. Sadly for Charlotte, her noble father intends her betrothed to be someone far more dull.

William Hartwell may be a duke, but he knows he was Charlotte's father's pick, not the young lady's own choice. While she has captured his heart, he has no idea how to win hers in return--and the betrayal and scandal his first wife put him through makes it difficult for him to believe that love can ever be trusted.

Can a widowed duke and a romantically inclined lady negotiate a future and discover love beyond duty? Will they be able to find healing and hope from the legacy of grace? Poignant and charming, this is another beautifully written, clean and wholesome Regency romance from Carolyn Miller.


My Review:
The Captivating Lady Charlotte is a Christian romance set in 1814 in England. It's the second book in the series, but you can understand this book without reading the previous one.

When Marianne Dashwood is flattered by the attentions of Mr. Willoughby...oh, wait, different book. Charlotte, a romantic, is drawn to several charming, handsome young men (who are in need of her fortune). Her family wants her to marry a Duke, but he's older than Charlotte and so serious and boring. And those shocking rumors about his wife who recently died!

William is attracted to Charlotte's youth, beauty, and liveliness, but it's clear that she doesn't love him. He doesn't trust that she won't have an affair on him like his late wife. Her family is pushing them together, and Charlotte is grudgingly willing to give him a chance, but near-fatal accidents keep occurring around the Duke and make the courtship dangerous. The characters were likable, and they were better people for having met each other.

The author clearly put a lot of research into the clothing and protocol for certain events. The author apparently thought that a major duty of doctors at this time was attending to child births. While wealthy women might be attended by a surgeon, it's extremely strange that no midwives are mentioned at all. Midwives were used for most births, partly because female modesty precluded a male being involved and partly because surgeons had a reputation for killing or maiming the mother, child, or both (according to "A History of Medicine" by Lois N. Magner, pages 273-274).

There's a touching scene were a woman teaches Charlotte (by example) about praising God even in the midst of sorrow. There was no bad language or sex. Overall, I'd highly recommend this enjoyable story.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.