Cinderella and the Scarred Viscount
by Sarah Mallory
Blurb:
An imperfect proposalโฆ
But a perfect match?
Major James Rossington, Viscount Austerfield, survived Waterloo, but can he survive the Season as Londonโs most eligible bachelor? Convinced his battle scars make him unlovable, and to escape Societyโs matchmakers, Ross proposes a wedding in name only to shy, sensible Carenza Bettridge. Liberated from her cruel stepmother and bullying half-sisters, she blossoms into a confident, altogether desirable woman. He promised Carenza a convenient marriage, but inconveniently finds himself wanting moreโฆ
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cinderella-Scarred-Viscount-Mills-Historical-ebook/dp/B096T9Q35K
Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/Cinderella-Scarred-Viscount-Mills-Historical-ebook/dp/B096T9Q35K
*****
Review:
I really enjoyed this Cinderella retelling. Carenza is treated poorly by her steps but she puts up with it out of love for her dad. She pushes down any resentment and negative feelings in order to help him have a calm life. It means that she misses out on a lot of what others her age have but it doesn’t matter to her as long as her dad is happy. With Ross’s stay, thought, her dad’s starting to see exactly what that means and realizes that Ross may be able to help.
Ross’s experience in the war has left him with a lot of issues and his family pestering him to get married is not helping. It’s hard to witness Ross’s troubles with the feeling of being broken because of his scars and PTSD. But time spent with Carenza slowly builds him back up – her support shows she believes in his worth, doesn’t find him lacking, and that his scars are not as bad as he thinks they are.
Both characters have a lot more strength than they think they do and time together soon has them realizing that. There’s a bit of a struggle as they begin developing feelings for each other, which leads to drama as they work at letting go of their beliefs about themselves & start to understand they actually deserve a future together. It’s a satisfying journey and gives readers a wonderful HEA ending.
*****
Author Info:
Sarah Mallory is an award-winning author who has published more than 30 historical romances with Harlequin Mills & Boon. She loves history, especially the Georgian and Regency. She won the prestigious RoNA Rose Award from the Romantic Novelists Association in 2012 and 2013. Sarah also writes romantic historical adventures as Melinda Hammond. Sarah lived for many years on the Yorkshire Pennines, taking inspiration from the wild and rugged moors. Then in 2018 she fell in love with Scotland and ran away to live on the rugged North West Coast, which is proving even more inspiring.
Twistter – @SarahMRomance
*****
Romantic Reads and Such 