I always love a good romance, but I think this book takes it a bit too far. If there was an immediate thought I had when I finished this book (amidst the swooning) I think it would have been "life-ruiner!" As in, this book has characters, setting and a romance that is simply never to be had in this lifetime. What a joy this novel is. It's the ultimate escape for people who want to read about romance that will hurt your heart with it's perfection.
Now I can talk about the depth of the character development, the perfect weaving of backstory in the lives of the characters with their present-day action and the surprising twists in the story's development (and I will talk about those things) but all I'm thinking about right now is the romance. The glorious, achingly tense, perfectly pitched romance that had me constantly turning pages. Seriously, I had to remember to breathe through all that tension. Kate Worthington is determined to live an unconventional, independent life away from a family that she doesn't understand and who doesn't understand her, and the lengths she goes to achieve her goal - her uncompromising persevering pursuance of it - shows the indomitable nature of her character. And the tension in her need to resist her romantic feelings for her best friend because it gets in the way of the freedom she craves, is what drives the narrative. I think it's pretty clear early on how the couple feel about each other but with a myriad of secrets kept between them, they don't feel free to say what they feel. And the author torments the reader in letting slip so many tender moments between them, while still keeping them apart. It's so beautifully done and so utterly enchanting, I was reduced to a starry-eyed sop by the end of the story. No regrets though.
The characters are of course a very important component to why this novel worked so well. The main characters are believable and inspiring and truly deserving of each other. Kate is a very strong heroine, and one who is compassionate and intelligent. Often heroines who are rebels are also a bit wild, but Kate is on the whole modest and refined - a contrast to her family who are involved in a shocking scandal or two. It's partly because of the these scandals that Kate's prospects have been hurt, and because she is not like them, but an interesting, bookish, and vibrant character I really rooted for, I was so looking forward to her happy ending.
Her dear friend Henry Delafield who is very caring and chivalrous and downright swoonworthy, tries to keep his feelings locked up, but whenever there were glimpses of it, it made him that much more appealing because of the sincerity in his character and the effort he made to keep what he thought would not be wanted. It's so lovely to read a romance that begins with a true connection between the characters, and maintains that through their conversation and interactions.
With the story set on the English seaside moors and a lovely old manor home the backdrop for such a tense but curbed passionate love story, the atmosphere of this book is pretty much perfect. The wildness of the moors and the sea compliments the brimming life in Kate, and although I was surprised by a certain turn the story took in the end, it made complete sense and made me very happy for Kate. I think this is an extraordinarily lovely novel and perfect for readers who love an intellectual romance between two strong characters.
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Beautiful Historical Romance
✨Blackmoore tells the story of Kate, a young woman who has sworn off love and romance and instead set her sights on India at the cost of heart’s most secret desire. Henry, her dearest childhood friend, has promised to bring her to Blackmoore, a place she has longed of visiting since her early youth that Henry will one day inherit as his estate. Her wretched mother squanders all of Kate’s hopes and dreams, but does allow her to visit Blackmoore only at the expense of refusing three marriage proposals in exchange for her ability to visit India. Kate seeks out the help of Henry, but finds in the process that not all bargains are seamlessly easy. Henry requests three secrets from Kate in exchange for three proposals…What Kate does not expect in return is her questioning everything she has pushed away may be the only thing that actually sets her free…✨“All I can think is that I will end up like this poor bird. I will beat myself against the bars of my cage until I am too exhausted, and then I will give up and live the rest of my life without a song and inside a forgotten room.”✨Blackmoore is utterly beautiful and heart wrenching all in one breath. My heart ached for Kate so often throughout the book. @writerjulianne did an amazing job of writing of Kate’s despair throughout the book…of feeling trapped and just a pawn in the story of her own life. Henry just made my heart swell in the way he so genuinely cares for Kate and how his ultimate desire is just to see her happy. I thought this was one of the absolute best uses of past/present dialogue and I was hooked into this narrative from the first paragraph. I am convinced between Edenbrooke and Blackmoore that Julianne Donaldson can do no wrong in writing regency romance. I had completely different emotions reading each of these stories, but they will both go in my top 10 reads of 2024 I have no doubt.#regencyromance #blackmoore #properromance #historicalromance #juliannedonaldson #closeddoorromance #cleanreads #bookstagram #bookreview
