Where the Stars Meet the Sea by Heidi Kimball

Where the Stars Meet the Sea by Heidi Kimball ISBN-13: 9781524410414 Paperback: 256 pages Publisher: Covenant Communications Released: March 2nd 2020

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Juliet Graham fervently counts the days until her twenty-first birthday, when she can claim the inheritance that will grant her the freedom she has always craved and the guardianship of her younger brother. Until then, she is trapped under her aunt Agnes’s domineering will. When forced to accompany the family to a house party at Shaldorn Castle, Juliet hopes to keep to herself. That is, until a chance encounter with a boorish stranger throws Juliet off-balance, and she does the unthinkable: loses her temper and insults the man—who turns out to be her unwilling host, the Duke of Halstead. Fully expecting to be sent away, Juliet is surprised when the brusque duke instead takes an interest in her.

Drawn to the duke in unguarded moments, Juliet finds herself more and more intrigued by the man who shuns Society’s rules as completely as she does, and over the next few weeks, their unlikely friendship deepens into a connection neither expected. But even as Juliet comes to recognize her true feelings, her scheming aunt issues an ultimatum that threatens the future she was just beginning to hope for. Juliet must choose: either break the promise she made to herself years ago, or lose the man who has captured her heart and soul.


My Review:
Where the Stars Meet the Sea is a romance set in 1819 in England. Juliet's outspoken and has a bit of a temper, but she has learned to suppress this around her domineering aunt. At a duke's house party, she's surprised to discover that she was not alone in the library and let her temper free. She unknowingly insulted the duke. The duke is depressed due to a bad injury from a riding accident plus he isn't used to having non-family be unpleasant around him or deny him anything.

Although they had to overcome multiple misunderstandings due to strained circumstances, they drew each other out and supported each other through painful moments. Juliet had to decide between potentially marrying her loyal, considerate best friend (whom she viewed as a brother) or the often arrogant Duke who desired to really know her, not just have an ideal wife.

The characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. The story was not heavily historical, only giving a nod towards social conventions of the time. Everyone preferred to speak bluntly, Juliet was often alone with men who were romantically interested in her (though only in secret with the Duke), and so on. I was worried that this would be a "romance" where the main characters lusted after each other even though they're constantly in conflict, but the characters didn't really intend to insult the other. They would apologize when they saw that their words or actions hurt the other, and often it was plain speaking that needed to be heard (especially to clear up misunderstandings) but wasn't easy to hear. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable historical romance.


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.