Lord Fenton's Folly by Josi Kilpack
Lord Fenton is a gambler, a dandy, and a flirt-and he must marry or else he will be disinherited, stripped of his wealth and his position. He chooses Alice Stanbridge for two simple reasons: he once knew her as a young girl, and she is the least objectionable option available to him. However, Alice has harbored feelings for Fenton since their first meeting ten years ago, and she believes his proposal is real. When she discovers it is not, she is embarrassed and hurt. However, a match with the most-eligible bachelor in London would secure not only her future but that of her family as well. Determined to protect herself from making a fool of herself a second time, Alice matches Lord Fenton wit for wit and insult for insult as they move toward a marriage of convenience that is anything but a happy union. Only when faced with family secrets that have shaped Fenton's life does he let down his guard enough to find room in his heart for Alice.
Excerpt
Fenton groaned and put his saucer back on the tray, making an instantaneous decision that eased his mind quite a lot. To look at every woman he met as a potential wife was irritating, and after only two weeks he was quite tired of it. Perhaps the solution was to orchestrate a match that would not lay all aspects of matrimony at his feet all at once. Perhaps treating it as a business arrangement would help it to be exactly that, thereby freeing him from all the discomfiting realities he was not yet prepared to face. "I leave for Fentonview on Tuesday and shan't be back for a week. Courting is such a boring prospect, and you yourself said that to become infatuated with anyone might become a complication." He paused, considered one last time what he was going to say next, and decided he felt as good about it as could be expected. "You like Alice Stanbridge and feel she would make a good wife for me?"
Lady Chariton looked confused and perhaps a bit concerned. "I do, but-"
"Then that is good enough for me," Fenton said, rising to his feet and smiling broadly at his mother, who stared back at him in surprise. "I do find her appealing and what's more she is not a silly little thing without a practical thought in her head."
His mother's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose upon her forehead. Fenton struck a pose of consternation, with his thumb and forefinger on his chin as he looked toward the window a moment, then nodded crisply and turned back to his mother who still looked shocked by his pronouncement.
"Yes, I think that Alice Stanbridge is exactly what I should like in a wife, and so I shall see to it before I leave for Hampshire-I see no reason to wait until Michaelmas and might as well get it over with." He leaned in and kissed his mother's hand. "Thank you for your help, Mama. I shall let you know how she responds to my proposal."
I loved Alice, she is such a great character. I love how she has spirit but is also kind and knows how to fit into her role in society. She manages to balance it all out perfectly. She is not afraid to speak her mind but knows how to choose her battles. The only sad thing for Alice is she floats in the middle range somewhere between two older sisters and two younger half brothers. She is almost the forgotten child. She is loved and knows it but she can’t seem to find her place.
Well Lord Fenton, Charles, is definitely interesting for sure. Alice notices that he is not quite how he was in their first encounter. I liked how they kept using the word Peacock to describe him because it was hard at times to pull his outfits together in my head. Like Alice says he prances around wearing a mask and he has his reasons but we don’t really get to see the real him until Alice forces it out of him.
The book seems to be broken up in three parts. At least that is how my mind divided it. The before, when Alice and Fenton have their first meeting when they are young and then get reintroduce when she comes out to society. The beginning of their marriage that spans their engagement and the first month or so of their actual marriage. Then the after when they leave London and are at Foxcraft.
It’s so easy to absorbed into the plot and the fact that the book goes three these cycles helps to keep it moving. I love when you have two characters that you want to just kiss so bad but they don’t so you keep reading to see if they do. Fenton and Alice have so much chemistry and tension but the story always stays sweet. It’s a great balance that is maintained. One of my favorite parts is their argument about stationary. They have some struggles as different things come to light and which both push them apart and bring them together. Plus Lord Fenton’s mother is a great bonus of the book. I loved her outlook on life and how well she knows her son.
This is a great clean romance that has a plot that keeps you interested. If you are looking a for a sweet read with character chemistry, this is definitely that book.
Josi S. Kilpack hated to read until her mother handed her a copy of The Witch of Blackbird Pond when she was 13. From that day forward, she read everything she could get her hands on and credits her writing “education” to the many novels she has “studied” since then. She began writing her first novel in 1998 and never stopped. Sheep's Clothing won the Whitney award for Mystery/Suspense in 207 and Wedding Cake, book twelve in the Sadie Hoffmiller Culinary Mystery series won in 2014. Josi was also the Best of State winner in Fiction for 2012. Josi currently lives in Willard, Utah, with her husband, children and super-cute - but not very friendly - cat.
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