The Inconvenient Heiress by Jane Walsh is a queer historical romance set in the small seaside town of Inverley. This is a Regency romance with all of the elements you expect in such a novel, only with two gentlewomen as the protagonists. Ms. Walsh has become an expert at penning these tales and it shows in this book.
Miss Arabella Seton, an artist living with her brother and his wife in Inverley and Miss Caroline Reeve, the eldest in a family of six children have been friends since childhood. For Arabella, though, friendship doesn’t begin to touch the true feelings she has for Caroline. For Caroline, life is quite complicated since after her parents died, as the eldest child, she is charged with raising her younger siblings. This is not easy since the family is all but impoverished. Then the Reeve family suddenly and unexpectedly inherits a fortune.
I enjoy reading romantic novels from this period, and the author has the Regency style down pat. The setting, the characters, the clothing, and the language style are all authentic to the time period. Even the way the two women (spinsters as they are known) are treated in society is true to this age. I admit the way women are treated is something I sometimes have a little trouble with when I read these stories, but it is true to life. The story and romance in this book is really lovely, and I especially liked the epilogue in the tale. It is quite heartwarming.
If you are a lover of historical romance during the Regency period involving a love story between two women, then you should try this book.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an honest review.
Rainbow Reflections 