Forget Me Not

 

Nottinghamshire, 1785

Julia Cummings has long been acquainted with loss-her mother, her brother, her sister, her friend, all gone too soon.  But the loss that pushed her grief to the limit as a young girl was that of her best friend, Lucas Jonquil, who abandoned her without looking back.  Now, eight years later, Lucas has returned to Lampton Park, and Julia has steeled herself-she will never forgive the man who broke her heart.

After losing too many of his friends and family to early deaths, Lucas vowed to live life to the fullest.  And after traversing the world, he has returned from his adventures to find his family and home as he left them-except for Julia.  The little girl he left behind has blossomed into a captivating lady, a lady who makes it clear she despises him.  With little hope of reconciliation, the former friends are blindsided when their parents make a shocking announcement.  Lucas and Julia have been betrothed without their knowledge and are to marry immediately.  Now Lucas must rely on the help of his closest friends to win the heart of a lady who loathes him-a lady he’s coming to love more deeply every day.

My thoughts: This book has such a pretty cover! I thought that the premise looked interesting, since I haven't read a whole lot of books set in England during and directly following the Revolutionary War. It was sad to read about the loss that both Julia and Lucas experienced from a young age. I have often thought how hard it would of been to be a mother back then and for the infant mortality rate to be so high. So, exploring a fictional story about that subject (though, the loved ones lost were not infants). I can imagine that it could turn a person bitter to see so much loss at a young age. 

That said, I can't say that I loved Julia. She is a bitter young woman who does nothing to change her situation. I know it is hard to lose loved ones, but shutting one off from love and becoming a hermit aren't the answers. I thought that she acted rather spoiled towards Lucas.

Lucas was a good character, and I liked the introduction to the Gents, whom this series will be centered around.

I think I would of liked this story more if the ending hadn't come so quickly. I would of liked to have a bit more insight to how their story concludes. 

I received this book from Covenant Communications. This is my honest review.

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