Forsaking All Other
By Catherine Meyrick
England, 1585.
Bess Stoughton, waiting woman to the well-connected Lady Allingbourne, has discovered that her father is arranging for her to marry an elderly neighbour. Normally obedient Bess rebels and wrests from her father a year's grace to find a husband more to her liking.
Edmund Wyard, a taciturn and scarred veteran of England’s campaign in Ireland, is attempting to ignore the pressure from his family to find a suitable wife as he prepares to join the Earl of Leicester’s army in the Netherlands.
Although Bess and Edmund are drawn to each other, they are aware that they can have nothing more than friendship. Bess knows that Edmund’s wealth and family connections place him beyond her reach. And Edmund, with his well-honed sense of duty, has never considered that he could follow his own wishes.
With England on the brink of war and fear of Catholic plots extending even into Lady Allingbourne’s household, time is running out for both of them.
Love is no game for women. The price is far too high.
Publication Date: 16th March 2018
Publisher: Courante Publishing
Page Length: 308 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction/Historical Romance
MY THOUGHTS!
All women wanted to marry well and obey their father in all things, but for the first time in her life, Beth Stoughton had to put her foot down. Why her father thought that Master Lichfield would make her a good husband was beyond her. Master Litchfield was old, and there was something lecherous behind his eyes. Determined not to marry Master Litchfield, Beth feels the family home and becomes a lady-in-waiting for Lady Allingbourne. Beth hopes to find a suitable husband of her own choosing.
I have stumbled across only a few historical romances set in the Tudor era, but when I have, the books have always been rich in historical detail. Forsaking All Other is no exception to this rule. I absolutely adored the characterisation of Beth. She does not want to disobey her father, but he forces her hand when he demands she marry Master Litchfield—if I had been told I had to marry him, I would have fled as well! Beth is determined to find her own husband, which made her very commendable to me. She has a strong spirit and will. Unfortunately, the one man who makes her heart flutter is the one man she cannot have for he is far above her social standing. The forbidden love theme is something I really love in historical romances. It makes every shy glance, every accidental brush of the hand more meaningful. I thought Catherine Meyrick has done a marvellous job of portraying these feelings of longing and desperate love. This was a romance that I could really believe in.
I adored everything about this novel. I was swept away by the romance, the history, and the characters themselves. If you love great historical romance’s then Forsaking All Other has to be on your to-read list.
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Catherine Meyrick
Catherine grew up in regional Victoria, but has lived all her adult life in Melbourne, Australia. Until recently she worked as a customer service librarian at her local library. She has a Master of Arts in history and is also an obsessive genealogist. When not writing, reading and researching, Catherine enjoys gardening, the cinema and music of all sorts from early music and classical to folk and country and western and, not least of all, taking photos of the family cat to post on Instagram.
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I wish I had read this one now, but I simply did not have time to read both. It sounds amazing. Great Review, Beatrie.
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