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A Rival Heir
Nell Armstrong takes very seriously her deathbed promise to her dying grandfather that she will care for her cantankerous old aunt for the rest of her life, but she begins to regret her vow when she encounters a wonderful man who may hold the key to the secrets of the past. Original.
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 28, 2025
An oddly disjointed book, which I found difficult to get into, although I’m not sure why. The hero and heroine were perfectly fine, the romance burbled along nicely and there was a great deal of Regency restraint and propriety on display, which is all estimable. Yet somehow I was unmoved.
Here’s the premise: orphaned Nell Armstrong has lived with her cantankerous spinster Aunt Longstreet for ten years, during which time she’s gone nowhere, met no one, done nothing except watch her aunt alienate the neighbours. Now the aunt has decided out of the blue to travel to Bath (from Westmorland!) to take the waters, even though other spas like Harrogate are much closer. Nell is suspicious, but a trip is a trip and she’s determined to make the most of it. At Bath, they meet the aunt’s godson and heir, Sir Hugh Nowlin, and his lively sister Emily, who take Nell under their wing. They both feel sorry for her, living with her difficult aunt, and try to improve her life in their different ways. Hugh would like to improve his own by marrying her, but there’s a problem: he’s broke and he doesn’t know which of them will end up inheriting the aunt’s estate, and if it’s Nell, he can’t possibly court her.
There’s a mystery in the aunt’s history involving recently widowed Lord Westwick, and there’s some minor business with Emily’s husband and a librarian who is set up as a rival for Nell’s affections, but essentially this is the story. I didn’t dislike Hugh or Nell, although they both seem rather too good to be true, what with Hugh agonising over whether he can marry Nell or not, and Nell regarding herself as bound by a deathbed promise years before. As for Lord Westwick, he is a positive fairy godfather, although there might be plot reasons for that. In fact, Aunt Longstreet is the only character who has any kind of bad traits in her makeup at all.
All of this makes the story just a shade dull. I really wanted something melodramatic to happen to shake things up (and it’s not often I say that). In the end, people behave rationally, find logical ways round the constraints that held them back and only the librarian’s story doesn’t get much of a look in at the end. Still, it’s nicely written, if you don’t mind the usual array of Americanisms (gotten and the like), and if it doesn’t have much emotional depth, it’s still a pleasantly enjoyable read. Four stars.
Here’s the premise: orphaned Nell Armstrong has lived with her cantankerous spinster Aunt Longstreet for ten years, during which time she’s gone nowhere, met no one, done nothing except watch her aunt alienate the neighbours. Now the aunt has decided out of the blue to travel to Bath (from Westmorland!) to take the waters, even though other spas like Harrogate are much closer. Nell is suspicious, but a trip is a trip and she’s determined to make the most of it. At Bath, they meet the aunt’s godson and heir, Sir Hugh Nowlin, and his lively sister Emily, who take Nell under their wing. They both feel sorry for her, living with her difficult aunt, and try to improve her life in their different ways. Hugh would like to improve his own by marrying her, but there’s a problem: he’s broke and he doesn’t know which of them will end up inheriting the aunt’s estate, and if it’s Nell, he can’t possibly court her.
There’s a mystery in the aunt’s history involving recently widowed Lord Westwick, and there’s some minor business with Emily’s husband and a librarian who is set up as a rival for Nell’s affections, but essentially this is the story. I didn’t dislike Hugh or Nell, although they both seem rather too good to be true, what with Hugh agonising over whether he can marry Nell or not, and Nell regarding herself as bound by a deathbed promise years before. As for Lord Westwick, he is a positive fairy godfather, although there might be plot reasons for that. In fact, Aunt Longstreet is the only character who has any kind of bad traits in her makeup at all.
All of this makes the story just a shade dull. I really wanted something melodramatic to happen to shake things up (and it’s not often I say that). In the end, people behave rationally, find logical ways round the constraints that held them back and only the librarian’s story doesn’t get much of a look in at the end. Still, it’s nicely written, if you don’t mind the usual array of Americanisms (gotten and the like), and if it doesn’t have much emotional depth, it’s still a pleasantly enjoyable read. Four stars.
March 1, 2019
It was pretty easy to see where this one was going for the two main characters from the very beginning. The rest of the story was kind of slow and surrounded an unpleasant old lady. Not sure if it was supposed to be one of those stories where it's a villain you love to hate but the emotional abuse she kept doling out just made this book a sad slog for me. The setting and dialogue were constantly overshadowed by what a figure of pity the female main character was meant to be. Everywhere she went and everything that was talked about just circled around the same emotional drain. By the end I really thought she might have some kind of strong reaction to really add some kind of punch to the ending; nope. The assumption at the ending left me cringing instead of happy because of the several fates that were all tied together.
Very mild violence, no sex, mild language
Very mild violence, no sex, mild language
August 30, 2021
Too long Too ridiculous
Laura Matthews is a very adept writer so this story wasn't as unreadable as it could have been. But frankly I only enjoyed one character. The plot had needless intrigue that fell flat and the hero and heroine were too bland and complacent. This book felt as if she had delegated it to ghost writers who were able to mimic her style but not her skill for developing sound plots and agreeable characters.
Laura Matthews is a very adept writer so this story wasn't as unreadable as it could have been. But frankly I only enjoyed one character. The plot had needless intrigue that fell flat and the hero and heroine were too bland and complacent. This book felt as if she had delegated it to ghost writers who were able to mimic her style but not her skill for developing sound plots and agreeable characters.
December 3, 2024
Though I liked the characters and the premise was interesting, I found it difficult to get into this story. It was quite humdrum and the pacing was terribly slow in too many parts. Lots of long, drawn out conversations about nothing to do with the plot. It’s possible the author was trying to approximate Jane Austen’s style, because there are numerous references to that author in the story, but she unfortunately fell short.
November 22, 2023
This story was too convoluted and thus not very enjoyable.
May 20, 2025
Clean and Fresh
Clean little story that moved along with a fun filled story and bonus characters Thank you for keeping me interested
Clean little story that moved along with a fun filled story and bonus characters Thank you for keeping me interested
March 10, 2018
SPOILERS
NELL who is queen of the Mary Sues lives with her Aunt . THE AUNT FROM HELL! Sorry but if Laura Matthews was going for the curmudgeon with the heart of gold she missed by a mile. Auntie was mean, nasty, cruel and self absorbed. She insults everyone she meets. She treats her niece like a servant. She goes to bath with the express purpose of embarrassing a man who jilted her 40 years ago. She intends to announce at an assembly that he jilted her and ran off with another woman. His recently deceased and much loved wife of 40 years. This was to bring disgrace to his honor. Oh, please. I'm surprised he didn't get a standing ovation. The woman was a total witch. (Not sure if you can use the B word on amazon)
What was Aunt Nasty's comeuppance for this? A niece who pledges eternal devotion and an ex fiancee who agrees to marry the old battle ax if she wants.
The niece has her own romance going but it was lukewarm and predictable.
The ending to the story was awkward and abrupt. However I would read a follow up book to this if it turns out the earl or whatever he was sobers up and dumps her again. Then winds up married to someone he'll be happy with .
NELL who is queen of the Mary Sues lives with her Aunt . THE AUNT FROM HELL! Sorry but if Laura Matthews was going for the curmudgeon with the heart of gold she missed by a mile. Auntie was mean, nasty, cruel and self absorbed. She insults everyone she meets. She treats her niece like a servant. She goes to bath with the express purpose of embarrassing a man who jilted her 40 years ago. She intends to announce at an assembly that he jilted her and ran off with another woman. His recently deceased and much loved wife of 40 years. This was to bring disgrace to his honor. Oh, please. I'm surprised he didn't get a standing ovation. The woman was a total witch. (Not sure if you can use the B word on amazon)
What was Aunt Nasty's comeuppance for this? A niece who pledges eternal devotion and an ex fiancee who agrees to marry the old battle ax if she wants.
The niece has her own romance going but it was lukewarm and predictable.
The ending to the story was awkward and abrupt. However I would read a follow up book to this if it turns out the earl or whatever he was sobers up and dumps her again. Then winds up married to someone he'll be happy with .
September 25, 2009
Regency
Read
January 8, 2010Fictionwise multiformat ebook
Read
January 9, 2010Fictionwise multiformat ebook
July 10, 2014
Charming! A lively tale, set in Bath, with interesting characters and intriguing backstories for several.
August 21, 2016
first read 11/28/15; re-read early August 2016
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews