So my wonderful sister, who I now live near, and not 3,000 miles apart from is an avid romance reader as well. Therefore with our ability to now see each other regularly we are swapping recommendations as fast as we can. Also we talk about romance characters as though they’re real people. Are we strange? Maybe. Are we awesome? Absolutely!
And thanks to my sister I started reading the Pennyroyal Green series by Julie Anne Long (out of order, as I just read them by whatever my library has in). I had attempted a few years ago to read her first novel, The Runaway Duke, and couldn’t finish it. I found it a little too forcing from the hero. So I stayed away from Long since then, but it was a mistake as the Pennyroyal Green series so far has been a delight.
The series is the epic story of two families forever against each other (sound familiar?) where love between them is doomed, Doomed I Say! So we have the Everseas and the Redmonds and a girl and a boy who love each, but can’t be together (yet). They appear as background ideas in all of the stories, till now, book 4. Lyon Redmond, heir and golden child, ran off at least a year ago due to Olivia Eversea apparently scorning him. Ever since Violet Redmond, capricious and nosy younger sister that she is, has been missing him and searching. Things from another tale set this one in motion (it doesn’t particularly matter), but Violet ends up stowing away on the ship of Captain Asher Flint, newly minted Earl of Ardmay, as the king has command him to hunt for a famous pirate, whom Violet believes is her brother. High seas adventure ensues!
Whew! Okay, yeah the plot set up was a lot to say the least. Overall, it was okay. Thankfully I had read the 2nd book in the series, so I understood where a lot of the plot was coming from. I’ve also read the 8th, and review on that one soon! But back to IKAE. There was a very long set up, about half the book for the characters to really settle into their roles, but overall it worked out okay. Most romances I read in 1-2 days depending on my free time, but this one took me a week due to just being bored for fifty percent of the book. Once Long finally found her stride though it got worth it. There were sea adventures of storms, pirates and chases. It also really progressed the over arcing story as well. So my review: good enough, necessary for a completist, and I have a feeling will improve Lyon’s story (coming this fall!) as a whole.
Off to read a favorite of many, What I Did For a Duke!