Acquired Book By: I have been a blog tour hostess with Cedar Fort for the past two years, wherein I took a brief hiatus from hosting before resuming this August 2016. I appreciate the diversity of the stories the Indie publisher is publishing per year, not only for fiction and non-fiction but for healthy eats within their Front Table Books (cookbooks). I appreciate their dedication to writing general market, INSPY reads and LDS focused stories across the genres they publish.
I was selected to be a part of the “The Second Season” blog tour wherein I received a complimentary copy of “The Second Season” direct from the publisher Sweetwater Books (an imprint of Cedar Fort Inc.) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.
On my fanciful attachment to the Regency:
Recently, I have been able to bring my love of the Regency to my blog – by featuring several #newtomeauthors who are writing the types of stories that I simply love reading! The Regency has such a long history with me, as I have previously disclosed but what engages me the most is the way in which writers are bringing the Regency to life – each story is slightly different than the last, and although there are clearly inspirations from the authors who made the Regency come alive for us originally, what I appreciate is the personality of the writer which translates through their story-telling!
In this instance, I was looking forward to curling up inside a sweet story surrounding a girl’s experiences at the Season and surroundings of the ton which may or may not prove to her liking! It’s such a curious proposition – to meet and find a willing match of minds & hearts during one Season of being presented to society!?
Ooh the drama and the felicity of that idea is what gets my attention time and time again, as for each girl presented the circumstances surrounding her alter and change! This is truly the joy for me in reading the stories! Finding the heart of the character’s journey and the joy in seeing how each author in turn made her mark upon the Regency itself!
The Second Season
Subtitle: Even the perfect match might not be enough to win her heart
Caroline is not looking forward to this year's season in London. Her mother already has schemes for her marriage prospects - and none of them include love. Caroline has second thoughts when a dashing young duke pursues her, but he's not the only young man she has found herself falling for. Caught between ambition and desire, Caroline may gamble her heart away without realising it...
Places to find the book:
on 1st September, 2016
Pages: 192
Published By: Sweetwater Books (@SweetwaterBooks),
an imprint of Cedar Fort, Inc (@CedarFortBooks)
Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook
Converse via: #Regency + #Romance or #SweetRomance
My Review of The second season:
Quite interesting, we learn how Caroline’s parents, Eleanor and Phillip met during their London Season prior to entering the moment where it is Caroline’s turn! This is interesting, as her Mum was quite carefree and easily swooned by her father, a man of purpose and intent; not one to back down due to social speculations on his character. In the short passages, you could tell how much they had fallen for each other but more to the point how daring and independent they were to make a match with such a chaperoned companionship as the ball they were attending; in other words, I had to smile by what happened in the gardens!
Although Eleanor (now Lady Hopkin’s) had married well (despite the fact her dowry saved her husband’s estate) her children’s prospects as women and men entering society was as fraught with the nerves Mrs Bennett had with Lizzy and her sisters! For Lady Hopkin’s might have been a bit more frivolous in her youth and even open to a bit of light-hearted glee, but in this part of her life as a mother she seemed a bit more determined that her children would make better matches than she did herself. Perhaps a leftover scar of resentment was starting to boil to the surface as her children’s lives were re-dredging up her own past, which she had not yet been able to reconcile? I felt the fact her wealth was brought forward into the marriage on an unequal level of exchange is what might have caused the most stress inside her marraige.
Caroline has a co-conspirator in her sister Lucy – I must admit this kind of sisterly bond is one reason I love reading Regency Romances! Sisters make such good folly along the way to finding true love – they know each other best and find such champion ways outwit their families! I loved how our introduction to Lucy and Caroline reminded me dearly of Lizzy and Jane; two sisters who are resigned to their fate, being matched by their mother but attempting to hold a bit of their independence at bay as well! Lucy is the daughter who’d rather impress her Mum than vex her, whereas Caroline speaks her mind and gives her Mum a pause to realise she might be more independent than she feared. For the independent girls going into a London Season might fair worse than those who are more demure or complacent about their futures. Of the two, I think Caroline provided the greater challenge and yet their mother loved them both dearly! So much so, she had hoped Lucy would inherit a bit of her sister’s natural moxie!
When Caroline first crosses paths with the eligible Duke, she makes a faux pas by social standards and embarrasses herself as a result. Her impulsive manner to speak her mind has caught up with her in other words! This is a trend that would keep happening throughout the story and sometimes would lead to interesting conversations or situations! Unaffected by her flushed cheeks and hasty escape, you could gather the Duke now had eyes on Caroline to pursue! It did not take much during their generation to garish interest in each other as the Season was renown for leaving your single life behind you. It was such a short affair, too, all quick and organised to gain the most out of such a short expanse of time spent circulating round society and engaging with others your age or slightly older. What I always found interesting are the exceptional chances of having your true love being in attendance of the same ball or the same event; catching your fancy and thus proving provincial in the end. So many variables to consider and yet, there were plenty of marriages that proved it was not entirely impossible! I am unsure if I would have welcomed the pressure of such a stirring time of dating where everyone’s projecting their own interests and gaming for the same people whilst trying to outwit or outshine each other!
A London Season is such a time of spontaneity as much as it is well orchestrated to be constrained by forethought and organisation as it lead to encounters that go unchecked by overbearing chaperones who feel they are only acting in your best interests. In this instance, I was happily seeing Caroline and Lucy spared most of that silliness except for when their Mum put her best foot forward to secure them each a winning match; which worked to more or less of an extent of their Mum’s desires. You gathered as a whole that whenever Caroline and Lucy felt inspired or happy about the conversations they were having with the blokes who interested them, there was a measure of disillusion and disappointment coming from their Mum. Not their father, mind you, as of the two parents, he was their best ally. It was almost as though due to his own experiences in the past, he was kinder towards his daughters; he wanted more for them than what was given to him. A courtesy that wins him over to your heart, dear hearts!! How can you not celebrate a loving father such as Lord Hopkins!?
It was on one of their shopping excursions where Caroline crosses the path of Mr Clark – a winsome fellow whose both understated and proud, confident in his choices in his station as much as his ability to provide a quality trade to the people. He makes boots and delicately intricate slippers for patrons such as the sisters who are in need of leaving a mark on the balls during the Season itself. Mr Clark noticed Caroline because she set herself a part by how she carried herself, spoke a frankness he had not seen popular and appreciated her honesty. It was her willingness not to wear what others her age were wearing that gave him a second take at her character; as character in their day and time was as important as honour and trust.
Caroline soon grew tiresome of the whole process – the endless courting but not courting, as she never declared her full attentions to any one singular bloke – neither during her First nor Second Season, as the whole matter displeased her on so many levels. For those of you who loved Pride and the circumstantial issues surrounding the Bennett sisters, you will enjoy some of the distractions in this story, too, as it is so very aptly spoken of the author’s appreciation for the former author! She changes the situations of course, but one of the sisters is waylaid at another estate and what comes out of that set of situations is quite interesting as you are gathering more towards the underside of what is happening between the pursuit of suitors. Not all pursuits are openly warm nor are outside reproach, as sometimes you will find devious minds at work during a Season! The ton are not without their naughtiness nor their deceit!
The Duke you see grates on her nerves due to his arrogance – a fact that is not as lost on him as Caroline might suspect, but this is only one thread of interest in her life. Lucy isn’t fairing any better, as her situations were hinted about a moment ago, where some parties attempt to draw a connection by backhanded methods! Counter-current to their woes at sorting out their hearts and their minds about marriage, is the back-story on Phillip and Eleanor which I felt was most fitting to see in full view! Phillip had such a strong level of anxiety and anguish over how his marriage was brokered that it felt good to get that put to bed at long last. Even though, for him, I nearly wasn’t sure about the outcome of this segue as Lady Hopkins tends to kept a bit tucked away and out of view of the readers. She’s a complicated woman, I tell you! A bit too hardened for my taste and a bit too unyielding but she is what she became due to circumstances and for that you cannot fault her completely.
Caroline was much more comfortable at causal interactions than the formality of the balls – she liked to flex her muscles by riding a horse or strolling through towne or simply having a conversation that was lighter but never droll. It was within her times spent outside the ton where she could think about her feelings and decide what she truly wanted out of life. I think in many ways this was a transitional period for her – to truly question what made her happy – the money and status or the ability to have freedom to choose how to live whilst being with the person you love even if your life changed a bit from the way it was lived in the past. She had a lot of her father inside her – he was guiding her even without advising her directly as they were two birds of the same feather in many regards.
You can see how Caroline broke the mould of her generation and truly set out to understand what she wanted most for the next chapter in her life. Beside her, Lucy simply wanted a man of honour who would respect her and appreciate her for who she was without feeling that she was lacking anything at all. Both women wanted much of the same, but for Caroline I felt the choice had to come down to who didn’t expect as much from her as she was willing to give in return. She wanted to find equality in a day and age where women seeking equality did not always find it. For me the best part of reading this Regency was getting caught up inside the family! I love families that shine like the Hopkins as similar to the Bennetts its hard to say who stole the story more – the girls, the parents or the camaraderie of the whole experience!? Definitely a charmer of a story to be an author’s debut and I am hopeful that Ms Chapman will write more Historicals or try her hand at a proper re-telling of one of Austen’s classics!
On the regency writing style of heather chapman:
One thing that stood out is the care and effort Chapman put into her Regency Romance to get the feeling of the Regency and to articulate the language of the era too. Sadly, I still feel a bit spoilt on seeing the words in British English for Regencies, but aside from this personal quirk and preference, I give top cheers to authors like Chapman who give me such a hugged close viewing of the Regency, I stopped noticing the subtle differences in how the words appeared on the page! Also, to note, I have always seen the upper class mentioned as the ton where the world is in italics and was surprised this was one word that was not kept in-line with other Historicals?
Curiously, it felt quite authentic because Chapman wrote such an eloquent story. The little nuances you seek from a Regency are here, re-pleat with the mannerisms and the fanciful way girls love to shoppe for new ribbons, gowns and shoes! If I had to suspect, this story is a celebration of the author’s love of Jane Austen! In this, I applaud what she’s written, as I too, am a Janeite and I love her instincts to tell story as she did as it felt nearly like an after canon sequel! So much of the story’s tone and continuity of events felt reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice; for which I was delighted to no end, as this is quite happily my favourite Austen novel thus far in my readings and the one story I love re-reading in variations!
Initially, I had hoped to see more of Phillip, Caroline’s father as I thought in the earlier chapters he might not make a prominent feature in the story as much as his wife, but I was happily mistaken! I was thrilled that Ms Chapman brought out Phillip’s side of his own betrothal as there was such a lot of heart behind his marriage despite the appearance of subterfuge that is wife always felt had more weight. He was such a dashing bloke in his youth and it is a testament of the years of second-guessing one’s choices and living with regrets of events and moments that you cannot change that can alter the health of your body and mind. One of the takeaways I cleverly appreciated seeing in Chapman’s story is how living with such intense emotions and regrets does not lead to a well-lived life by any account but rather one that regrettably becomes lived outside of one’s enjoyment of life. I love seeing life lessons and affirmations attached to stories, and this one truly gave you things to contemplate as much as reasons to draw empathy towards Caroline’s father.
On the other hand, I wasn’t as drawn towards Eleanor, Caroline’s Mum as I was at first meeting – her heart was so altered by her marriage and the choices she made in reaction to her husband’s timing of marriage, that it soured any hope to feel close to her as she had such a long walk ahead of her to resolve her own anguished heart and soul! She was quite the character, and Chapman did will to alienate her a bit throughout the story, as well she should, as she had a period of personal growth she needed to experience in other to be a better person. Whether or not that fully took effect is debatable, but I appreciated seeing the attempt at her character taking a journey towards a better understanding of her own life and the ways in which it was drawn together.
One interesting note, is that the author lives in Soda Springs – the setting of my beloved Christmas reading last December Soda Springs by fellow CF author Carolyn Steele! I thought it was an interesting coincidence and then, I noticed The Second Season is written under the Pure Romance series label! This is further fascinating as the debut novel for Ms Steele Willow Springs was also written under Pure Romance! How champion, eh?!
This Blog Tour Stop is courtesy of Cedar Fort, Inc.:
Visit the Virtual Road Map of “The second season” Blog Tour:
As noted on Twitter, this review ran in the afternoon hours due to a delay in getting the chance to transcribe my hand-written notes upon its behalf to my blog – our weather has been quite fierce all Summer long, but in the days leading up to this review, we were slammed by lightning storms once again. The loss of my computer earlier in the month (due to a major power surge courtesy of one of the storms) has put an interesting obstacle in my blogging life but I am reading & reviewing as quickly as I can to compensate for both the lack of a computer and the dangerous lightning storms that are affecting my connectivity as a whole. Ergo my posting patterns are a bit upturnt at the moment.
I look forward to reading your thoughts & commentary!
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SOURCES: Author photograph and Book Cover of “The Second Season” were provided by the author Heather Chapman and used with permission. Author Biography, Book Synopsis, Blog Tour Badge and Cedar Fort badge were provided by Cedar Fort Publishing & Media and used with permission. Jorie Loves A Story Cuppa Book Love Awards Badge created by Jorie in Canva. Coffee and Tea Clip Art Set purchased on Etsy; made by rachelwhitetoo. Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Ruminations and Impressions Banner and the Comment Box Banner.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2016.
Comments on Twitter:
Finally a break in the weather! :) Happily transcribing my review of a Regency Rom I loved reading 📖 by Heather Chapman via @SweetwaterBooks
— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) September 18, 2016
#JorieReads #Regency | The Second Season
by Heather Chapman a debut #author#BookReview via https://t.co/FazCamM83d pic.twitter.com/HGKyWPciGs— Jorie Story 📖🎧 (@joriestory) September 18, 2016
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2016 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
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