It was a sudden need to protect her, this woman who had stood before the censure of society, giving up her chance to marry well, to be anything more than an outcast with a gentleman’s bastard on her hip and no other family to come to her aid.
Quenby Olson
The Firstborn
Format:
ebook
Publisher’s Synopsis:
Can they put aside their differences for the sake of an innocent child?
Sophia has sacrificed everything for her younger sister, Lucy. She has removed them from the only home they ever knew, taken on the care of Lucy’s illegitimate son, George, and even assumed the role of a widow and mother in order to erase all hint of scandal from the boy’s birth. But rumor continues to follow them like the darkest of clouds, and Sophia must adapt to her new existence as a false widow with no prospects beyond the doors of her small cottage.
Lord Haughton will stop at nothing to prevent the slightest whiff of disgrace from tainting his family’s name. When he learns of his younger brother’s latest indiscretion-one that leaves a bastard child in his wake-Haughton rushes across the country to offer the boy’s mother a comfortable living in exchange for her silence about the child’s true parentage. But he arrives only to have his generous offer thrown back in his face by Sophia Brixton, a sharp-tongued and sharper-witted woman who proceeds to toss him out of her house. But just because he is banished from her home does not mean he is so easily banished from her life.
Point of view:
Rellim’s Thoughts:
This was a wonderful stand alone closed door historical romance (nothing more than a kiss). I love reads with all the emotions and this one definitely fit: it had me laughing, crying, fretting, swooning and everything in between. Sophie & Finn were so similar in personality but their stations in life kept them from seeing it. Thrust together by their siblings’ illegitimate child – each approached how to care & provide for George in a different way.
George wasn’t just a prop in the story – he was integral and appeared in nearly every chapter. Sophie is an amazing de facto mother to him when her sister Lucy skips town. I liked that while Finn & Sophie initially didn’t get along, Olson crafted a story filled with each of them slowly growing to respect and understand the other. Finn’s sister, Bess was a lot of fun (does she get her own book?? Please!).
Overall a lovely read. I’ll be checking out more of Olson’s work.
About the author:
You can connect with Quenby Olson here:
My Favorite Quotes
I don’t have to punish myself. The majority of the town seems more than capable of doing that for me. – The Firstborn by @QEisenacher #HistoricalRomance
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I’d rather take this opportunity to remind you that George is as much your brother’s son as my sister’s. So take care to recall that every insult you so carelessly toss over that child’s head, he is your flesh and blood. – The Firstborn by @QEisenacher #HistoricalRomance
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Sunday was to be set aside as a day of rest and reflection, but she suspected the authors of said rule had never found themselves running a household which contained a babbling infant as one of its occupants. – The Firstborn by @QEisenacher #HistoricalRomance
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Finnian counted backwards from ten while wondering if his sister would forgive him for throwing their little brother through a window. – The Firstborn by @QEisenacher #HistoricalRomance
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It was a sudden need to protect her, this woman who had stood before the censure of society, giving up her chance to marry well, to be anything more than an outcast with a gentleman’s bastard on her hip and no other family to come to her aid. – The Firstborn by @QEisenacher #HistoricalRomance
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Rellim Reads 