ARC Review: "Beware a Wallflower's Wrath" by Aubrey Wynne (Once Upon a Widow #7) ★★★
ARC Review: Beware a Wallflower's Wrath by Aubrey Wynne
A delightful little second-chance Scottish romance. Reviewed by a Scottish lass.Fifteen years. It seemed a lifetime ago. Would they have another lifetime together? If he had a say in the matter, they would.[Contains some spoilers]
PLOT SUMMARY
Set in Glasgow in the early 1800s, Annis Craigg, a Scottish commoner who works in a bookstore, is engaged to Lord Robert “Rabbie” Harding, barrister and the third son of an English Marquess. After his cruel domineering father gambles on a failed investment, Robert is forced to do his duty and marry the daughter of an Earl to restore the family fortune, unknown to him that Annis is pregnant with his child.
Fifteen years later, Robert’s wife has died of consumption, leaving him alone with his stepson and a sudden desire to set things right with Annis. He has not stopped thinking of her. But when they meet again, secrets will tumble and feelings will resurface. Time has changed but will their love? Will heartbroken and hesitant Annis forgive remorseful but resolved Rabbie?
This is told from the past-tense POV of Annis and Robert, mainly from 1805 and 1820.
OVERALL OPINIONS
This is a very sweet story, perfect for light reading, and has a lot of touching moments. This is Book 7 of her Once Upon a Widow series, telling different stories about women who become widows. While Annis herself is not a widow and pretends to be one for the sake of raising her child, Robert becomes one so it still counts. Annis is of the MacNaughton clan, so there are mentions of characters from the MacNaughton Castle Romance series: specifically, Lachlan MacNaughton, the clan chief’s grandson and his wife Fenella. They are from Book 1, “Deception and Desire”. Lachlan is Colin’s cousin, and Colin is Annis’ cousin so they are all interconnected.
This story is full of forgiveness. Robert’s wife Caroline is very forgiving and it is nice that although their marriage was not a love match they developed a genuine respect and fondness for each other. Annis eventually forgives Robert. Both Robert’s stepson Anthony and Annis’ son Finlay come to forgive their parents for keeping things from them.
I might have wanted some spice but do not mind either way.
There were some inconsistencies in the Scottish dialogue. What I mean by that is some sentences are half Scottish, half English when it should be fully Scottish. For example:
• “Why did ye no’ tell him about” – could have changed "about" to "aboot"
• “I love you something fierce”, but later on she says “ye schemin’ coos” –either keep the apostrophes so it is "somethin’" and "schemin’" or “something” and “scheming”
• sometimes says “yer” other times “your”
Characters
I am a firm believer in second chances and liked the overall plot of this story. I like that Annis as headstrong as she is (very accurate for a Scotswoman) allows herself to open her heart, and Robert decides to make himself a better person, ensuring he is independent of his toxic father’s wishes, and courting Annis the way he should have all those years ago.
Robert inserting jokes into the books in the bookstore for Annis to find is adorable! I especially loved his thought to himself about wanting to see about getting Annis a handrail for her narrow steps, very thoughtful of him!
Both their children are very mature for their age, and do their parents proud.
And don’t forget Mac, the cute wee Scottish terrier!
Historical Accuracy?
Being a Scottish woman myself, I could not resist picking up this book when I saw it was set in Glasgow where I live! I have read that her stories are historically accurate, I regret to inform you this can not be fully said for this story – though I quite assure you it does not detract from the overall narrative in any way.
I would say Aubrey’s Glasgow is more Victorian than Georgian. Glasgow expanded in the Victorian times, whereas in the Georgian era it was made up of little villages.
🠚 Aubrey refers to an intersection in Glasgow “known as Boot Corner, where Jamaica [Street] merged into Union [Street]” – this is actually Boots Corner, known because of the Boots The Chemist store being situated here. However, Boots was established in 1849, well after the time this story is meant to be set. Perhaps she would have got away with naming this corner by its other name "Dissy Corner" because people would often get disappointed (hence "dissy", Scots slang for "disappointed") if one’s date didn’t show up.
🠚 Nelson's Column is actually the name of the monument in London built in 1840, after the time of this book. The one Aubrey should have said was Nelson Monument, located in Glasgow Green and was built in 1805. Both columns, however, were built to honour Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar and this mixup is very understandable.
🠚 A woman working at, let alone running, a bookstore would not be accurate in this time period, but I myself am not so picky about this and really loved this as, of course, readers will relate to working in or browsing a bookstore. (I will say the name of the bookstore "Books and Bits" would have more had a family name back then, such as "Douglas' Bookstore")
🠚 The Bow Street Runners were from Bow Street in London and would have seldom left there to investigate things, especially up in Scotland, as they could not have afforded to be spared. I understand why this was used as a way of explaining how Robert could find out where Annis lives and her current marital status.
That all being said, she was accurate with other aspects like: the phrase “Humdudgeon” haha; her mention of books or newspapers that would have been on the go at the time, like the Glasgow Herald; the inclusion of Trongate, the Tontine Hotel (built in 1781), and the village Grahamston. The latter was an area that is now Glasgow Central but before that was a thoroughfare of shops, bulldozed more than a century ago.
Thus, I definitely commend Aubrey for her efforts. Being accurate – especially with the history of Glasgow – is not an easy thing to do because there is not much written on it, and I hope if she sees this she will bear some of this in mind moving forward.
FAV QUOTES
• “She’s as loyal to you as the summer day is long.”
• “I can understand why you love this shop so much. I can feel you on every shelf.”
• “men are known for making mistakes. But the good ones try to fix them.”
• He sent her a poem, claiming he may not be Rabbie Burns, but he was *her* Rabbie forever.
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I am honoured to have been given an advanced copy of this book, and I’d like to thank Booksprout and Aubrey Wynne for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.
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