Return to Satterthwaite Court by Mimi Matthews

Return to Satterthwaite Court
by Mimi Matthews

ISBN-13: 9781736080238
Paperback: 285 pages
Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press
Released: April 11, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Lieutenant Charles Heywood has had his fill of adventure. Battle-weary and disillusioned, he returns to England, resolved to settle down to a quiet, uneventful life on an estate of his own. But the owner of the property he desires--one connected to his mother's family--mysterously refuses to sell it to him.

At only twenty, Lady Katherine Beresford has already earned a scandalous reputation. As skilled with pistols as she is on horseback, she’s never met an obstacle she can’t surmount—or a man she can’t win. That is, until she encounters the infuriatingly somber Lieutenant Heywood. But Kate refuses to be deterred by the raven-haired soldier’s strong, silent facade. After all, faint heart never won handsome gentleman. Kate pursues Charles from rural Somersetshire to the glittering ballrooms of early-Victorian London.


My Review:
Return to Satterthwaite Court is a romance set in 1843 in England. Though the 3rd in a series, it can be read as a stand alone. I didn't really care for the characters and didn't really feel convinced they were a good match (or even a love match).

Katherine's intrigued by Charles mainly because he's not interested in her. He's a challenge. He's also "heroic" because he rescued a mongrel from the London streets. (I have a hard time seeing that as heroic, though it is compassionate.) She pushed her way, unasked, into his life. She even took a four hour round trip for an unannounced visit to him without being formally introduced first and with no idea if he was literally or socially "at home" for the visit. She sneaked away to do unchaperoned things with him--it's only a scandal if they're caught, right? And he had a mystery to solve, so she tried to lead the investigation so she could have some adventure in her life.

Charles was used to being in command and having people obey him. Katherine most defiantly didn't and wanted to be the one to lead. He oddly jumped to bad conclusions about her because two letters with different handwriting came at the same time, one from her and another with a "threatening" letter (and I still don't see how it was threatening). He started to tolerate her behavior because she's kind to his shy sister. At the end, he's suddenly determined to marry her.

Katherine just didn't seem realistic for the time period. The "romance" seemed more based on looks and the challenge of it than a lasting match in personality and interests. It's just not my type of story. There was no sex. There were a few uses of bad language.


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.