ARC Review: Once a Soldier by Mary Jo Putney (Release date: June 28, 2016)

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In the opening chapter of the book, a group of 5 men are locked in a room with no probable escape route. Guards are at the door, and death is certain in the morning. On this, their last night together, they decide to talk about what they would do differently if they had another chance and another day to live --

Maybe it's Fate or the Divine, or a bit of both, but these men find a way to escape and to live to fight another day. They decide to hold each other to the promises they made the night before -- with an added agreement to update each other through letters left at an agreed-upon location. Thus, the Rogues Redeemed go their separate way, intent on changing their lives -- present and future.

Will Masterson joined the war with a death wish. Feeling responsible for the death of his wife and son, Will feels he is beyond redemption -- and he thought he was finally going to see the end of his journey in that locked room with those men. After this last brush with death, Will finally realizes (and accepts) that death isn't in his cards yet, and starts to make plans to return home to England, his title, and his life, and responsibilities.

But he has one last mission to fulfil for King and Country: accompany the brave soldiers from San Gabriel back to their country, and to do some reconnaissance to ascertain the political stability of this young, war-damaged country. He does not count on meeting Athena Markham, British, who works as companion and friend to Princess Sofia -- and he is instantly attracted.

But Will and Athena aren't young or fanciful or with their heads in the clouds -- they accept the reality of who they are: Athena is the illegitimate daughter of a lord and a courtesan, and Will is a broken, haunted man on his way home to England. While they entertain the idea of an affair, Will and Athena both decide to take the sensible route and "just be friends" while Will is in San Gabriel.

Much of the first half of the book focuses on San Gabriel and descriptions of how war has devastated the small country. Their king and his heir are still missing, the current regent is a very old man who serves as a titular figurehead than an actual leader, and Princess Sofia, on the cusp of her 25th birthday, is next in line for the throne. I kept trying to look for the romance between Will and Athena between the lines -- and I could see two people who have made the decision to sacrifice their own personal interests/desires for the sake of a greater purpose. Athena is devoted to San Gabriel and to Princess Sofia, whom she loves like a younger sister.

Athena has an interesting background -- she is illegitimate, and, while her mother wanted to have a daughter, it was clear that she didn't know how to protect or care for her daughter. Athena's father begrudgingly gave some financial support, but made it clear that she was not welcome or wanted in his household. At school, Athena was known as Lady Whore's Daughter, and that's something that has not and cannot forget. It's ironic that she finally found her place and her home in a foreign country, among foreign people. So I understand her reluctance to give all of that up to be with Will -- Will who will bring her back to England, because his life and responsibilities are there. Will who will indirectly subject her to society's scrutiny and insults again --

Will lost the loves of his life, felt responsible for it, and had sought oblivion during the war. Now he's found a glimmer of light, a reason to live in the form of Athena Markham. But, should he risk his recently-restored, but still-fragile heart on something as momentary as a temporary affair. I have to give credit to Will for proposing marriage several times -- because it shows that he is willing to put himself on the line for Athena.

There's a secondary love story that develops between Justin and Princess Sofia -- and, again, Mary Jo Putney touches on the dualism of duty/desire -- Princess Sofia cannot marry a commoner. Princess Sofia cannot marry a foreign commoner. But she wants Justin, and Justin wants her. What I love about Princess Sofia is that she isn't passive, and she doesn't give up easily -- she arranges for a quick time away from the castle, so that she could enjoy Justin's company (and hopes that Athena and Will can discover each other outside of the castle and their responsibilities).

This is where the story gets interesting -- when they discover that there is a French general who has nefarious designs on Princess Sofia and on the country -- and Will must, once again, become the soldier that he is. I love how Putney framed this into a David and Goliath battle -- pitting the very limited resources of San Gabriel versus the French general's army. Will shows amazing leadership and courage -- and Athena is admirable in how she contributed to the defense of the country.

A slow start leads to a satisfying end, and fans of Putney's Lost Lords will delight at seeing new graduates of Westerfield figure in this new series.

Once a Soldier is the first book in Mary Jo Putney's Rogues Redeemed series, and will be released on June 28. To find out more about Mary Jo Putney and her books, click below:
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Disclosure: I requested this ARC through Netgalley. Thank you to Kensington Books and Mary Jo Putney for the opportunity. Yes, this is an honest review.

Review: Not Always a Saint by Mary Jo Putney

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We often think that virtue and beauty as things to aspire for -- that they are means towards a certain end.

We often see in romance novels that it is the hero who is in need of redemption, and, like Dante's Beatrice, it is the heroine who guides him towards salvation.

But, what if this wasn't the case? What if we flipped everything over its head?

This seems to be Mary Jo Putney's intention when she wrote Daniel and Jessie's story.

Daniel Herbert lost his one and only love to fever when he was a younger man, and he has devoted his life to his medical practice -- saving as many lives as possible. He wasn't certain he would fall in love again, but, when he meets Jessie Kelham, something that he had thought had died all those years ago sparks back to life, and he wants Jessie.

But Jessie would not have him, because he is, literarlly, too good for her. Daniel has lived a saintly life, and he's about to realize that being virtuous isn't always it's own reward.

Jessie, Lady Kelham, was born too beautiful (if there is such a thing). Her father, a minister, had thought Jessie's looks to be too sinful and punished her accordingly. While many ladies would wish for half of Jessie's looks, Jessie, herself, does not.

Between the two, Jessie's journey was more arduous -- out of spite and (misplaced) anger, her father named her Jezebel. It's difficult to explain, but I thought it was tragic how Jessie was left with no other recourse in life and ended up living up to her historical namesake. At a young age, she married an abusive Ivo Trevane, then escaped that marriage and became an actress and kept woman, then became the wife of a much, much older gentleman. From the outside, it seems that Jessie had manipulated and slept her way to the top -- but there is always, always more to the story.

We see how loving and devoted Jessie was to her late husband. We see how terribly she suffered under Ivo. We see a woman who is just desperately trying to live a good and quiet life with her daughter. I thought it was sad how the world never gave Jessie a chance and looked beyond the surface. I thought it was sad how Jessie was quickly pegged into a category and never given a chance to be anything more.

It's strange, and a bit curious, how Mary Jo Putney decides to highlight the negative aspect of such positive traits. Daniel is too good and too kind. And Jessie is too beautiful. In themselves, they are wonderful, but, viewing it from a more global perspective, Jessie's beauty makes it difficult for her to relate to other people in an authentic way, and Daniel's goodness is too much for Jessie.


Putney does an amazing job of juxtaposing lives:
Daniel vs Jessie --

Daniel and Jessie have, surprisingly, similar family backgrounds: Daniel's parents had wanted Daniel to enter the Church and (forcibly) drilled into him the need for goodness and moral rightness. Daniel tried his best to abide by his parents' wishes, and even got ordained. But, he found the breaking point and walked away from his family's suffocating rule.

Jessie vs Mariah, the Golden Duchess --
Once again, there are similarities between Jessie and Mariah, and, it was, I think, comforting for Jessie to discover that she wasn't the only one who thought her appearance was a problem -- that there was someone in the same position, and had found a way to handle it

Daniel vs Frederick, Jessie's nephew by marriage --

The whole double-edged sword theme is amplified when Daniel discovers he has inherited a title, an estate, and a fortune -- in contrast to Jessie's nephew by-marriage (and former lover), who would, literally, lie, cheat, steal, and kill to inherit his uncle's estate, Daniel doesn't know what to do with his new-found position and wealth. He is happy to continue his simple, comfortable practice. Daniel had never expected to be anything more than a small-town doctor, so, when he inherits the title, Lord Romayne, and the barony, it confounds him -- and Daniel wishes, more than anything, to be released from such a "gift." Frederick, on the other hand, had expected to inherit his uncle's title -- had lived his life towards it. When he discovers that his uncle, Jessie's late husband, had found a loophole and transferred the title to his daughter, instead, it enrages Frederick -- and he threatens Jessie.

"I feel as if Atlas just dropped the world on my shoulders. You were raised knowing you were the Kirkland heir, but I barely knew Romayne existed, much less that I had any chance of inheriting." His father would have known, and would have been delighted if the inheritance had fallen to him.
- loc 176

Daniel vs Jessie's father --

Both are ordained by the Church of England, and both have a very good knowledge of the Holy Book, but one uses it to help and heal others -- and the other uses it to persecute and torment those who believes are morally less than he is (= everyone else).

There are two obstacles in the story: the minor one is that Daniel must overcome his reputation, and the major one is Jessie must resolve the loose ends of her past. (There's the

This novel starts and develops really well and Putney really made a compelling, compelling case for why Daniel and Jessie should be together, and why they should not. It's when Daniel and Jessie decide to take the risk and be together that it loses momentum (and direction) -- I still don't understand what Jessie had hoped to accomplish when she decides to return home and confront her father. I felt the ending didn't match the intensity of the rest of the story.

Final note: I loved when the boys from Westerfield all come together.

Not Always a Saint is Book 7 in Mary Jo Putney's Lost Lords series. To find out more about Mary Jo Putney and her books, click below:
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Review: The Rake by Mary Jo Putney

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Let me warn those who plan to read Mary Jo Putney's The Rake that this is a long novel, but let me then proceed to assure my fellow readers that reading The Rake is not only worthwhile, but absolutely essential. There's a reason for the length of this novel, it's that Mary Jo Putney captures every detail and aspect of the life of a rake and what happens when he is given a chance to reform. There is the personal struggle, the ups and the downs, and the ultimate triumph -- and Putney takes us through every step with such perfect writing and insight.

Reginald Davenport is known as the Despair of the Davenports, but he doesn't mind it so much. He was also set to inherit his uncle's title (Earl of Wargrave) and estate, but, when a closer relative is discovered and inherits what Reginald had expected to be his, it sends our dear rake on a downward spiral. The story could end here, and it does in most other stories -- often, the (dis)inherited party becomes the villain and meets a terrible end -- but Reggie's cousin, the new Earl, must have sensed something good in Reggie, and gives him an opportunity to turn his life around.

And so our rake becomes the hero of his own story of redemption.

When Strickland was given to Reggie, the new earl hadn't realised how deeply relevant the estate was to his cousin. Strickland was Reggie's childhood home, and one filled with many of his memories -- both happy and painful. From this point forward, a lot is revealed about Reggie and the late earl -- and, as I was reading through the revelations, I couldn't help but think that Reggie could have turned out differently had a different relative raised him.

Reality was a demon on his shoulder, whispering that sobriety was a dubious goal, hardly worth the effort it was causing him. All men drank, and Reggie had always held his liquor better than most. What, after all, had he done that was so serious, except be tempted to thrash a brat who had seriously misbehaved?

He fought that demon, and another that whispered that he was doomed to fail, so why stretch his failure out any longer? What made him think he could ever succeed at anything?
- p. 291

I was tempted to pose the same question presented in Wicked: Are rakes born rakes? What I could glean from Putney's writing, and from Reggie's history, it seems to be an inevitable part of a gentleman's life -- but the choice to stay a rake for the rest of one's days, or to move forward to the next stage of one's life. Reggie's father and maternal uncle also had to battle with their demons and alcoholism, and both managed to win over their weaknesses -- now it's Reggie's turn.

What I like about Reggie is that he holds himself responsible and doesn't blame anyone for his current situation. I found it endearing and heartbreaking to hear him talk about how society perceives him. He's accepted his rakish reputation and has used it very cleverly to his advantage. (Read: the confrontation between Julian and his father regarding Meredith, Chapter 22)

He smiled faintly. "How nice to have only one sin, singular. Mine come in scores."
- p. 58

The Rake isn't just Reggie's story -- there's also Alys Weston, who happens to be Strickland's very efficient steward. Lady Alys, as she is known in Strickland, is the best thing to happen to the estate -- she's managed to turn the property into one of Wargrave's most prosperous assets. Lady Alys is a mystery: how did a lady become the steward of Strickland? Putney does an amazing, amazing job of revealing pieces of Alys's previous life while simultaneously building up her current life.

When I discovered Alys's real identity, I couldn't help but admire her for her courage to break free from her former life -- to give up her life of wealth and comfort -- and build a new one. She worked her way up from governess to steward, and she did it all on her own. But Alys isn't perfect -- she has terrible insecurities about her looks (her height, in particular). When Putney allows us to peer into her mind, Alys's self-talk is very negative -- but I'm glad Reggie was there to help her realise just how beautiful she is, inside and out.

Though she was't the sort of woman a man would desire, at least she wasn't really ugly. Her complexion was too tan for fashion, but her features were regular and might have been called handsome if she were a man. It was just that her face, like the rest of her, was too large. She stood five feet nice and a half inches in her stockings, and was as tall or taller than most of the men at Strickland.

Having undone the snarls, she began brushing out her hair. Back in the days when a fortune endowed her with spurious desirability, her heavy tresses had been called chestnut. Now that she worked for a living, it was merely brown, a color of no particular distinction.
- p. 14

I loved the contrast between Lady Alys and Reggie, but I loved the similarities between them even more. Reggie struggles to control his alcohol addiction, and Alys struggles with her self-esteem. At the heart of our hero and heroine is the longing for acceptance and love -- to be valued and found worthy as they are.

Chemistry implies that something within Alys reacts to something within Reggie and something happens -- often, its sparks and fireworks -- but, for our hero and heroine, there was no such grand reaction. The attraction was evident from the very beginning -- something within Alys was drawn to something within Reggie -- the bond formed between the two is something greater and more vital. It's a partnership between owner and steward. It's a companionship between friends. It's an intimacy between man and woman.

The Rake is often listed in many readers' all-time favourite historical romance novels*, and now I understand why.

The Rake is the sequel to Mary Jo Putney's debut novel, The Diabolical Baron, and is part of the Davenport Family duology. To find out more about Mary Jo Putney and her books, click below:
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*It was #22 in the first-ever Top 100 Romances Poll by All About Romance in 1998. It was #15 in the second Top 100 Romances Poll in 2000. #75 in 2004 . #68 in 2007. #91 in 2010. #54 in the most current poll in 2013.

Blog Tour: Not Quite a Wife by Mary Jo Putney (Review + Giveaway)

I'm so pleased to be part of Mary Jo Putney's blog tour for Not Quite a Wife. She's one of my favourite authors and this book is part of my favourite series (I've been faithfully following the Lost Lords since 2009 ^_^).

To celebrate the release of this book, Kensington is hosting a Tour Wide Giveaway of three (3) print copies of Not Quite a Wife. (Enter via Rafflecopter below) To follow the rest of Mary Jo Putney's tour, click here.

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About the book:

Blurb:

Marry in haste, repent at leisure.

James, Lord Kirkland, owns a shipping fleet, half a London gaming house, and is a ruthlessly effective spymaster. He is seldom self-indulgent ... except when it comes to the gentle, indomitable beauty who was once his wife.

Laurel Herbert gave James her heart as an innocent young girl -- until she saw him perform an act of shocking violence before her very eyes. That night she left her husband, and he let her go without a word of protest.

Now, ten years later, a chance encounter turns passionate, with consequences that cannot be ignored. But as they try to rebuild what was broken, they must face common enemies and a very uncommon love ...

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My Review:

I reflected on two words after I finished reading Not Quite a Wife, the latest instalment in Mary Jo Putney's Lost Lords series: estrangement and separation. The idea of "estrangement" is particularly curious, because of the idea that something familiar and known to someone suddenly becomes treated as a stranger and alien. The second word, "separation" implies distance and detachment -- and, as I read James and Laurel's story, and got glimpses of their passionate past, I wondered what happened to cause their separation and estrangement.

In previous books, we have seen James Kirkland the spymaster -- very efficient and very devoted to his job and the spies who worked with him. I saw him as a man who cared very deeply for his country and his comrades, and I wondered about his personal life. Laurel Herbert met James when she was 17, married soon after, and separated "amicably" soon after that. It's been ten years, and James, a man of his word, had no intentions of bothering his estranged wife again or ever -- but Fate has other plans for them.

I love the second-chance-at-love trope, and more so when the lovers in question are already married because there is so much history (and memories) already there. Do you start anew? Do you pick up where you left off?

What's interesting about James and Laurel is that they've both built very successful, very meaningful lives separately, so the challenge is re-building an equally "healthy" life together. To their benefit, they are both older and wiser and have had very edifying life experiences, and James and Laurel are approaching this new arrangement with clear and mature minds. This, I think, is the main draw of this novel: our hero and heroine aren't young and full of fire, but more mature and more thoughtful. Love in younger characters seem focused on marriage as the be-all and end-all -- but James and Laurel are already married to each other, and it didn't work out. Now they're together again, and it isn't marriage that's the prize, but a chance at family and a life together. Theirs is a very quiet, very companionable sort of love, despite the lack of the physical aspect, which they both agreed to avoid. I think this is where James and Laurel see themselves as strangers: while they cohabit and deal with each other civilly, they are not physically intimate with each other and do not "know" each other. I love how Mary Jo Putney handled this: I appreciate how both James and Laurel owned up to their mistakes and are now willing to work their way through it. What I took away from this novel is this: relationships aren't perfect and many of them fall apart, but some of them are fixable.

Looking back on that time of absolute certainty and joy, she knew that she'd been right about the power and truth of their love. Her tragic mistake was being too young and inexperienced to know that love wasn't enough.
- loc 205

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"I'm not sure whether our meeting proves that God had a sense of humour, or that we are each other's crosses to bear."

Instead of being angry, he laughed. "That's an interesting way of looking at our marriage, my lady. I expect that we're each other's crosses, but surely we can bear them as friends. Now that we're older and wiser."
- loc 1068

My favourite scene in the story is the meeting between Cassie and Sarah, the former being Rob Carmichael's ex-lover (and now married to Grey Sommers, Lord Wyndham) and the latter is now married to Rob. It takes a tactful and careful mind to handle such an encounter and Mary Jo Putney did this part really well. (Chapter 27-28)

As book 6 of the Lost Lords series, I can also appreciate how the author has "paced" this series -- book 5: Rob's book was very action-packed and so it's only right to take it down a notch, in James and Laurel's story, there is no war to be fought or traitors to be hunted out -- the conflict is, literally, closer to home and involves marriage and family. I'm looking forward to book 7, Not Always a Saint. ^_^

Disclosure: I received this book via Netgalley for the blog tour. Thank you to Mary Jo Putney and Kensington Books for the opportunity. Yes, this is an honest review.

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Author Info:

Mary Jo Putney is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has written over 60 novels and novellas. A ten-time finalist for the Romance Writers of America RITA, she has won the honor twice and is on the RWA Honor Roll for bestselling authors. In 2013 she was awarded the RWA Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award. Though most of her books have been historical romance, she has also published contemporary romances, historical fantasy, and young adult paranormal historicals. She lives in Maryland with her nearest and dearest, both two and four footed.



Author Links
Website: http://www.maryjoputney.com/
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Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33876.Mary_Jo_Putney

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Giveaway!

To celebrate the release of this book, Kensington is hosting a Tour Wide Giveaway of three (3) print copies of Not Quite a Wife. (Enter via Rafflecopter below) To follow the rest of Mary Jo Putney's tour, click here.

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ARC Review: Sometimes a Rogue by Mary Jo Putney

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Sarah Clarke-Townsend is staying with her sister, Mariah, the Duchess of Ashton as she nears the end of her confinement. Despite being separated by their feuding parents when they were little, Sarah loves her sister Mariah and yearns for the same adventure that her sister had. (Read Loving a Lost Lord.)

Be careful what you wish for. As Sarah and Mariah enjoy a spontaneous (not permitted) ride around the Ashton estate, they encounter a group of men intent on kidnapping the duchess. Quick-thinking Sarah hides her sister and pretends to be the duchess and goes along with the men.

Rob Carmichael is on his way to visit his friend, the Duke of Ashton, and enjoy his hospitality when chaos meets him: the Duchess is in labor and her sister has been kidnapped. As a Bow Street Runner, Rob is used to such situations and volunteers to go after Sarah and her abductors.

When Rob finally catches up to Sarah, he expected to rescue a damsel in distress -- instead, he finds a woman who is capable, intelligent, brave and loyal. For the first time in his professional career, Rob knows this rescue mission isn't going to be strictly business.

Rob played an important role in Cassie's story. He and Cassie had a very "interesting" physical arrangement and he struck me as a very straightforward, very unsentimental guy. When Cassie found love with Grey Sommers, I was a bit disappointed because she and Rob were good together -- and I wondered: what kind of woman would Rob fall in love with?

Sometimes a Rogue answers that question.

It is interesting that Rob would find love in the most unlikely place: not around his usual circle of professionals but in a quiet, country-bred woman named Sarah Clarke-Townsend. Sarah, who was slowly getting settled in being a spinster, of never finding love -- especially not the same all-consuming, passionate love that her sister found with her husband. But life throws a curve ball and our hero and heroine find themselves escaping from a group of Irish radicals who had planned on holding the duchess for ransom.

Unexpected is the word that comes to mind to describe this novel. The first few chapters of the book made me expect that this novel would have some political undertones (regarding Ireland) and would be about Sarah and Rob's travel through Ireland -- but, when the pair arrive in England, the troubles that dogged them in Ireland is forgotten because there is new trouble for Rob in England. He discovers that he has inherited his estranged father's title and the family's debt-ridden estate.

Rob and Sarah have no time to explore the tentative romance that blossomed in Ireland because they have their hands full dealing with cheating estate managers, distrustful tenants and a disapproving grandmother.

I wonder how the novel would have worked without the whole kidnapping at the beginning of the story, which sandwiches the novel. I wonder if readers new to the series will understand the purpose of initial plot. Between the two plotlines: the Ireland/Escape plot and the Restoration of the Carmichael estate plot, I preferred the latter one. I loved seeing Rob and Sarah in action: their skills and temperaments complimented each other and they worked so well together as they tried to sift through the mess of bills and crumbling buildings that Rob's father and brother left behind. The romance between our hero and heroine develop in a very quiet way -- it didn't grow from kisses, embraces and sex -- but from earnest companionship and work.

I loved the focus, structure and emotional depth of No Longer a Gentleman -- but I appreciated the closeness and friendship that develops between Sarah and Rob -- and the deepening of the bond between Rob and Adam (the Lost Lords).

Overall, this was a great addition to Mary Jo Putney's The Lost Lords series. I am very, very excited to read Kirkland's story, which is coming next. (Kirkland is head of the spy network that Cassie worked for.)

Sometimes a Rogue is Book 5 in the Lost Lords series. It will be released on August 27, 2013. To find out more about Mary Jo Putney and her books, click below:
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Disclosure: I received the ARC through Netgalley. (Thank you to Mary Jo Putney, to Zebra and to Kensington Books for accepting my request.) Yes, this is an honest review.

No Longer a Gentleman by Mary Jo Putney

Cassie Fox is a woman with no home and no name of her own. She lost her family during the Reign of Terror in France and has devoted her life to the downfall of Napoleon's regime.

She's working as a spy for the British and her latest mission requires her to rescue Grey Sommers, Lord Wyndham, who has been missing in action for the past ten years and is presumed dead.

Grey Sommers never dreamed he'd see sunlight again or feel another person's touch. He has survived ten years of solitary confinement and has managed to keep his sanity -- barely.

Grey is drawn to Cassie. Initially, he believes it is only her proximity and his desperation that is fueling the attraction but, as they slowly make their way to the coast of France and to freedom, he discovers a woman who is capable and courageous -- a woman whose love and esteem he could never be worthy of.

Cassie Fox is an amazing heroine. She's definitely one of my favorites for this year (the other one would be Courtney Milan's Serena Barton). She's a very good spy and has used her "plain-ness" in her covert work. Being half-French, she often finds herself in France, gathering information for the British.

But Cassie is far from plain, in fact, she's extraordinary. What I loved about her is that Cassie never incites pity -- even as she recounts the tragedy of her life, it is not pity that one feels for her -- it is admiration. She is very matter-of-fact about the life she has chosen to live.

Grey Sommers has never had to work hard for anything in his life -- everything just comes easily to him and he thought it would be the same when he agreed to do a bit of spy work for Kirkland's agency.

Except it wasn't that easy -- and he got caught.

For the first time in his life, Grey needed to work hard towards a goal -- even in solitary confinement, he sought to maintain his physical and mental fitness. The years in captivity have sobered Grey and he longs for a chance to live a better life.

I think Putney really understands her characters and is able to present, very clearly, the sense of hopelessness and melancholy that both Cassie and Grey feel. It is very easy for readers to empathize with these two characters, who have experienced far too much but have emerged from their experience changed for good.

There is a binariness to our hero and heroine -- strong and not strong; weak and not weak; hopeless but not irreversibly so -- they're damaged but not shattered. But the one singular, luminous thing about them is that they love each other.

"I want to be special to you, Cassandra," he said starkly. "At the beginning I didn't care if you lay with me from pity or duty, but now I do care. I ... I want to be more than just another assignment."
- p. 189

There is no coyness or hesitation in Grey and Cassie -- these two people understand the mutability of life so they approach it with deliberateness and urgency.

I read this book in one sitting and loved it.

This is the fourth book in Mary Jo Putney's Lost Lords series. To find out more about the series and the author, visit her website.