Review: a quiet romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 8, 2013
3.5 starsThis was a nice little surprise by a new to me author Elizabeth Essex.Lieutenant Ian Worth has a tyrant of a father who has sudden need for his second son. Ian's brother Ross has fallen from a horse and is presumably crippled putting the Viscountcy line in jeopardy.  He demands that Ian find a wife and start creating new heirs.Ian, who loves his brother and deservedly hates his dad lies and tells him that  he's already married.He happens to run into a former shipmate and explains he needs a homebody, quiet, unassuming wife who would be happy to keep house in the country while Ian is busy in the Navy.  Coincidentally this former shipmate happens to have a daughter who perfectly fits the bill. Ian arranges a pseudo engagement sight unseen and invites him and his daughter to his home to see if they might fit.Ian asks for a quiet unassuming country mouse and that's exactly what he gets in Anne. She's so quiet and shy that he literally doesn't even see her when her family arrives. They have an auspicious start when Anne overhears Ian contemplating if he can marry someone so very dull and plain.Ian and Anne have to figure out if they can spend the rest of their lives together after getting to know each other for a few short days.This was different from many historicals I've been reading lately. Ian and Anne's romance is very reserved and soft. The passion and drama in this novella is toned down to almost non-existent. There is one short sex scene but nothing to write home about.  Instead you see a very slow unraveling of Anne's personality and Ian's emerging attraction to her. If you're a fan of Mary Balogh's early works then this book may be just what you like.an ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.