An Elegant Facade - My Review

Kristi Ann Hunter's novel An Elegant Façade is set during the early 1800's within the borders of beautiful England.  Most activity takes place in London, but the characters also travel to other parts of the United Kingdom--including Glasgow, Scotland.  This text focuses on the Regency era way of life, which includes all the rules and regulations pertaining to society and a young women making her debut. 

Lady Georgina has one purpose in life, and that is to find a husband who will not only grant her station and wealth but also protection.  However, she holds a particular secret that only seems to grow worse through the years, and she wonders if she can keep this part of her life hidden any longer.  Her family does not even know the burden she has been carrying for so long, but Lady Georgina continues to sacrifice herself, because she knows it is what society deems for her to do.  Yet, there will come a time where certain questions will be raised, and Lady Georgina must decide what path she will choose.  Will she take the road she always saw herself living, or will life present an opportunity she never wanted?

Colin McCrae is from Scotland, yet he finds himself living and conducting business in London.  This is not necessarily by choice, but mostly because ties in his family have ceased to exist.  Colin and his father are no longer getting along because of poor choices made regarding the family business; therefore, Colin chooses to make a new life for himself in a different area of the country.  London seems like the perfect spot, since so many men need sound business advice while operating their trade in a major city.  Colin already has a few friends there, but surprisingly he suddenly becomes very close with the Hawthorne family.  Of course, he does not realize how much this one family will turn his life upside down. 

This is a wonderful book I wanted to continue to read, because I never wanted the story to end.  The characters are so beautifully written and constructed, which allowed me to discover how much more I wanted to know about their journeys beyond the pages of this book.  These feelings are the perfect ingredients to proclaim the evidence of a brilliant story.  I love reading novels from this time period, and Lady Georgina did not disappoint when it came to representing her era.  Her thoughts and actions mimicked the way a proper lady must perform in front of a gentleman during her time period perfectly.  Her cunning wit and charm she used to communicate with others was interesting to witness--especially when her thoughts began to slowly change as she transformed with each turn of the page.  For the men of this era, it was intriguing to consider the thoughts of certain men in order to understand what they truly thought of their own society--while also discovering the expectations that many men steadfastly held to regarding the women they wanted to marry. 

If you love the Regency era and all its historical adventures, I highly recommend reading this book. 

This review is my honest opinion. Thanks to Bethany House Publishers for my copy. 

About The Book

*Lady Georgina Hawthorne has always known she must marry well.  After years of tirelessly planning every detail of her debut season, she is poised to be a smashing success and have her choice of eligible gentleman. 

With money and powerful business connections but no title, Colin McCrae is invited everywhere but accepted nowhere.  He intends to marry someday, but when he does it will not be to a shallow woman like Lady Georgina, whose only concerns appear to be status and appearance. 

But beneath her flawless exterior, Georgina's social aspirations stem from a shameful secret she is desperately trying to keep hidden--and that Colin is too close to discovering.  Drawn to each other despite their mutual intent to avoid association, is the realization of their dreams worth the sacrifices they'll be forced to make? 

*Synopsis is from the back cover of the novel.

About The Author 

 

Kristi Ann Hunter graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Computer Science but always knew she wanted to write. Her debut novel, A Noble Masquerade, is a RITA double finalist.  She lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Find her online at:  www.kristiannhunter.com