The Widow's Redeemer

by Philippa Jane Keyworth

A penniless young widow with an indomitable spirit. A wealthy viscount with an unsavory reputation.

London, 1815: After her husband’s untimely death, Letty Burton comes up from the country with her domineering mother-in-law. Hiding a past she wishes to forget and facing an uncertain future, all she wants is to navigate London Society as a silent companion.

A chance meeting with London’s most eligible bachelor sets in motion a series of events that will bring her quiet life under the unfriendly scrutiny of the ton. With the net of scandal, debts, and rivals closing in, will she let her dark past dictate her life forever? Will she learn to trust again? And most importantly, will she allow herself to love?

Genres: Regency, Historical Romance, Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical, Christian, Regency Romance

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Philippa Jane Keyworth, also known as P. J. Keyworth, writes historical romance and fantasy novels you'll want to escape into.

She loves strong heroines, challenging heroes and backdrops that read like you're watching a movie. She creates complex, believable characters you want to get to know and worlds that are as dramatic as they are beautiful.

Keyworth's historical romance novels include Regency and Georgian romances that trace the steps of indomitable heroes and heroines through historic British streets. From London's glittering ballrooms to its dark gaming hells, characters experience the hopes and joys of love while avoiding a coil or two! Travel with them through London, Bath, Cornwall and beyond and you'll find yourself falling in love.

Keyworth's fantasy series The Emrilion Trilogy follows strong love stories and epic adventure. Unveiling a world of nomadic warrior tribes and peaceful forest-dwelling folk, you can explore the hills, deserts and cities of Emrilion and the history that is woven through them. With so many different races in the same kingdom it's become a melting pot of drama and intrigue where the ultimate struggle between good and evil will bring it all to the brink of destruction.

Reviews

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It is a regency telling of Ruth. It was really clean. I wish there had been a really good kiss at the end (there is a kiss but I just wanted a little more). :) I hope this author comes out with more books.

[Jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

No time to create a deserving review at this time but just to say this is one of the best regency romances I have ever read. A MUST-READ

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5.0

Although starting out a bit slow, “The Widow’s Redeemer” picks up speed about a quarter of the way through.

Read full review in the 2012 Holiday issue of InD’tale Magazine.

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're new to reading Regency novels, I think this book would be a good place to start. I didn't realized at first that it was a loose retelling of Ruth. I could definitely see it as I got further into the story and we meet Letty's sister-in-law Theo and mother-in-law, Clarissa. I didn't see Lord Beauford as much Boaz as I did the Major.

It's clear from the start that Letty losing her husband isn't the worst thing in the world. What a scoundrel. We also meet a lot of people along the way who help shape the main characters. I felt so bad for Letty and what she had to endure with her husband and they way people saw her afterwards. I really loved how the Major came along to encourage her and build her up.

Meanwhile, you could see Beauford's interest in her albeit a very faint one since he was so used to be fawned over by the ladies. Towards the end of the story we learn why he had such a hard time being kind to Letting initially. I think it's reasonable for a woman like Letty to react the way she did to most men after the situation she came from. The last thing she wanted was to give her heart to anyone else or be beholden to someone.

I enjoyed the banter between Letty and Beauford. They kind of drove each other crazy, and I actually like those kinds of storylines. I also enjoyed the relationship between Letty and Sophie! They made sweet friends and I liked that they wrote to each other so often, a lost art these days.

The author does a lot of explaining about what's happening and why in the story. That part was a little distracting to me since sometimes it was a little too much. And some of them didn't make sense like Letty not realizing she'd been holding her breath for a few minutes. If I hold my breath for 30 seconds I know it. lol

The author used the word d*mn numerous times as well as "h*ll" which I'm not a fan of in Christian fiction even if it fits the time period.

*I received this book for review. This is my personal opinion.

[Kathleen E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Life Revealed ~ The Widow's Redeemer

Monday, December 3, 2012
The Widow's Redeemer by Phillippa Jane Keyworth, ©2013

Ruth 1:16-17
King James Version (KJV)
16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.

I received an advance reading copy of this debut novel, The Widow's Redeemer, set in the Regency time period. The story opens in the autumn of 1815. Clarissa Burton has lost her husband and two sons, and comes to her daughters-in-law, Theodora (Theo) and Lettice (Letty). The youngest, Theo, is called back to her family home and Letty chooses to leave Cornwall and travel to London with her mother-in-law for the Society season. Woven in the story of Ruth and Boaz, the true Kinsman Redeemer and His revealed love becomes known.

Neither daughter-in-law has received love but only misery from Clarissa's sons. Letty's husband, determining he has married beneath himself, spends little time at home and runs up a large debt. Upon his sudden death, Letty finds she is to immediately lose her home and belongings, to go toward creditors. Theo invites Letty to come and stay with her as her own husband is not well. Theo is very self-absorbed and not attentive to her ill husband. On a sojourn to the library for Theo to have reading material, Letty is about knocked over by Viscount Beauford as she is entering and he is exiting the library. Upon their arrival back home, they find Theo's husband is dying of pneumonia. Two young widows, alone.

This is a Historical Romance ~*~ enter the Viscount Beauford, again, in London. Another above her station in life, or so it seems. She is having to hide her past. With more debt, she must find employment to care for herself and Clarissa.

Did I mention our author is English? Come and join in a story close to her heart. It may become yours!

[Ruth Dahl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A loose reinterpretation of the story of Ruth.
Due to obvious reasons, the story of Ruth is one of my favourite bible stories, and I'ld wanted to read this, because, story of Ruth? Regency? Yes please! I was a little disappointed, but I still enjoyed it, and am very glad I read it, and I'll even say this to anyone reading my review, this book is at least worth one read.
Some random thoughts. May or may not contain spoilers.
Due to spoilers I'ld accidentally seen, I knew she did not end up with Major Deveril, but on a rereading I see that if the interpretation was more faithful she would have, since he looked after her more than Beauford did.
Beauford was a rather selfish suitor, a bit hard to take him as this amazing Boaz manager guy, but as I said, loose interpretation (His "protector" role was limited to cussing out her dead, abusive husband AFTER Deveril tells him about it, and monetary help. Deveril, on the other hand, instantly recognizes the abuse she has suffered, and worries for her when a perhaps not-so-trustworthy guy shows interest in her, and offering her his friendship, the first friend she has had in a while).
I was hoping that even though he didn't end up with Letty, the Miss Grey Deveril was in love with would turn out to be a kind, intelligent young lady who was a great friend to Letty, but nope, the smart, caring Major ends up with an empty headed beauty we never even meet, only hear about. Sadness :(
I do not know if "Lettuce" was a popular name for regency girls (but even if it was), but it rather sticks out in a genre full women with elegant names like Elizabeth, Julia, Lydia, etc.
Maybe in a while I'll decide to read it again.

[Maureen Timerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

You will fall in love with the character of Lettice, Letty, May Burton. She has been through a terrible time, her husband John was verbally and physically abusive to her. When he dies from a fall and fever, he was out at the London Gambling Halls.
Letty soon finds herself without home, and when an invite from her dead husband's brother's wife invites her to come and keep her company. She decides to do so...and fate intervened with a chance meeting, of she perceives a Rake! She also ends up with her Mother-In-Law Clarissa, whom I came to Love!
Clarissa takes Letty to London, and Society. They make quite a pair...very enjoyable. Letty seems to have such a big heart, and does make a lasting friendship with a Society Girl/Woman Sophie. Sophie and Letty become lasting Heart friends.
Life cannot stay simple...or stay as leisure Society. Letty finds herself on the run with Clarissa. Will she ever find the peace she so wants? Will she ever free herself of the deceased husband?
Travel along in the early 1800's English Society, and your in for a great ride a really interesting ride! Enjoy!!

I received this book from First Wild Card Tours, and was not required to give a positive review.

[Historical Hearts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has all the elements of a classic romance, however failed to really grab my undivided attention. The beginning was somewhat slow and predictable, eventually leading to where the story really begins - after the death of Letty Burton's husband.

Though generally well written, the constant 'head-hopping' was most distracting, as this took away much of the impact of what a character was thinking or feeling.

The attention to detail was of high standard, though felt at times a bit overdone and unnecessary as it detracted from the story and tended to slow down the pace. The constant use of letters to convey story subplots was also a distraction, and there where many instances where I felt what should have been a romance story between a hero and a heroine took a backseat to everything else going on around in Letty's life.

There were sections of good dialogue and many of the secondary characters were quite amusing in their own right. I feel the book could have benefited from less omniscient narration and passive voice in order to really get me under the skin of the characters. As it stands, I believe The Widows Redeemer is a wonderful history lesson of the period with romantic elements.

Viscountess Castlereagh

[LMS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hoping for Letty to end up with the Major, and I was disappointed when all of the story pointed toward her ending up with the Viscount. The pairing was a bit confusing for me. The Viscount was shown to be a violent man in a few situations, very moody and prone to all sorts of "violent passions." I'm afraid that poor Letty picked the same kind of man as before. Deveril, on the other hand, cared for her and protected her, much more in the way that Boaz did in the story of Ruth. I also disliked the frequent use of the word "banter" as if it were some sort of required form of conversation that everyone knew about, instead of something that sparks naturally from two characters. Is it really banter if both people know that it is?

All this aside, it was a good few nights worth of reading. Letty was a great character, although her frequent urge to scold the Viscount seemed a bit out of character. And, of course, I loved Deveril. Putting aside a few spelling errors and other editing mistakes, good first book from Philippa Jane Keyworth.

(It makes me want to go read Cotillion in which the girl does in fact end up with the nice guy instead of the moody rake.)

[Nilufa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second novel I’ve read by Philippa Jane Keyworth and it has already become a fast favourite. It is such a charming and endearing novel with all the right ingredients necessary for a Regency romance.

Letty Burton, a young girl from humble beginnings marries well but is grossly mistreated by her abusive husband who dies before writing his will. This leaves Letty, alone and penniless, to find her own way in the world. Before she knows it, she is accompanying her mother-in-law Clarissa to London, who introduces her to society and two men in particular, Major Deveril and Viscount Beaufort.

Without giving anything else away, except that this novel does not contain an intense love triangle, I would like to recommend this delightful read to fans of Austen, Heyer and romantics alike who will find solace in this captivating read!

[The Book Junkie Reads . . . · Rating 4 out of 5]

Narration voice match the era of the romance . . .

Overall 4 out of 5 stars
Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Story 3 out of 5 stars

Clean Regency romance that gives you just hints of a book from the bible. There was something sweet and tender that had you wanting to get to the next chapter. If only to see the direction it all was heading. There was so much more here for Letty than what the blurb hints at. This was more than a romance. This was an adventure.

The narrator Alex Lee had a lyrical quality to her voice. I found that it matched the era of the romance being presented.

[Cristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet regency book loosely based on the Biblical story of Ruth. I enjoyed Letty's kindness and her desire for independence and I felt sorry for her because of the abuse she had suffered. I had a hard time believing that the Viscount didn't mind Letty's low social status and I also didn't fully understand his reasons for falling in love with her. It was generally well written and I liked the parallels to Ruth's story.

[Darlene Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review available at http://darleneelizabethwilliamsauthor...

[Lisa D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a bit conflicted of how to leave the rating, so it is with my thoughts below that I leave a 4 star. I teetered between 4 and 4 for the following reasons:.

Pros:
The writing is good. At first, I wasn’t sure , but I found the author to be engaging. I ended up underlining sown wordsmith if bi enjoyed such as: “"Sir, please do not repeat them. I am sure that in time you shall find the falsehoods disproved and the truths validated."”

The story is engaging and creative. It had a good tempo, my mind didn’t wander.

Cons:

My understanding was that this is a Christian fiction book. And, I get it that it was fashioned after the book of Ruth… sort of. But, There are a few words that in my culture are considered cuss words. They are said from characters who would cuss, but I typically expected Christian fiction to leave that out or word it in a way that it need not have been said.

To me, God is not represented well. The mother in law is always putting blame on Him and accuses Him of improprieties. I thought maybe she would change her twisted confession, but really, He is left as a deity that is nothing like His true character.

Synopsis:

If a reader is looking for a story line that hasn’t been used until it’s wearing thin, this book has some surprises. The love story is sweet. The true friendships are pure. I like a leading lady who stays true to her character even when it’s more advantageous to betray her morals. If you find the cons I mentioned above an issue, the perhaps this isn’t the read for you.

[Melody Tregear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice story

I enjoyed this story and there were some wonderful supporting characters. Letty is a strong heroine and despite Beauford's reputation, he turned out to be an honourable man. Their love was developed over time and the ending is beautiful. I liked that the author tied up all the loose strings. I did not know, until the author mentioned it at the end, that the story was based on the book of Ruth in the Bible. After I read that I immediately recognised the many similarities in this story to that story. I wish she'd mentioned that earlier though as I would have enjoyed looking out for that.
At the start at each chapter is a quote and the person responsible or origin is stated beneath the quote. What I did not appreciate was that all the quotes from the Holy Bible was ascribed to 'the good old book'. That felt very disrespectful to me.
Overall though, worth reading.

[PAMpublish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letty becomes a young widow left with nothing after her abusive husband dies. Needing to leave her house he follows her MIL to London as her companion. There she gradually becomes part of society where Major, a past friend of her husband, realizes that only untruths had been spread about her. Being the daughter of a vicar, Society turns its nose down on her while she constantly bumps into a rude friend of Major. Overwhelmed by debt, they flee London where Letty becomes a governess to her husband's distant relative, not knowing the estate was owned by Beauford and was leased out. Here, she finds her future. Well-written with much description clean Regency romance that will maintain one's attention from beginning to end.

[Kathy Kilgore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful inside and out!

What does it take to disable a long held.belief? If one has only known shallow, grasping women must all be painted with that same brush? Or of every man one has known has been cruel, demanding, stingy with words and basic decency can any man be different?

The Widow's Redeemer is the story of hope, that people can change and that excellent character is noticed and can be the reason others see.the necessity of change in themselves. There is no requirement for long lectures and sermons, the beauty within can be enough.

[Leander · Rating 5 out of 5]

So beautifully written.. a must read!

This book was so beautifully written with an inspirational, emotive and evocative depth with glorious description. The brilliant wit appeared every time it was needed and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The characters were so well fleshed out that I shall count them as friends and come back to revisit them again another day.
I continue to be surprised and delighted by Philippa Jane Keyworth and can’t wait for another of her books.
A must read!

[Teri Easterling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth, retold

Good character development as they work through past and present problems to a happy ending makes the story work. London society of the day was so strict and unforgiving on the surface and so gossip and rumor-ridden and scandalous below, it is amazing anyone could maintain a reputation. The storyline is reminiscent of the biblical Ruth and Naomi story. I enjoyed the book.

[Luci Jamison · Rating 4 out of 5]

clean romance

A slight retelling of the story Ruth…that being said it was a story of struggles, strength and rescue…for both hero and heroine.

There is a strong plot and characters that make you glad, sad and mad!

I enjoyed reading this story and look forward to reading more by this author.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Letty is widowed and left with nothing but debt from her husband, John. When she and her mother in law go to London she again meets Beauford. Despite their rocky first couple meetings they begin an attraction which is suddenly disrupted by unexpected repeat financial woes form the past. Ultimately they meet again, overcome all their obstacles and find their hea

[MaryEllen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this story. The main characters all show some growth by the end, and some of the other secondary characters also find happily ever after, so that was sweet.

Letty and Beauford are almost antagonistic at first, but much of that is based on their own past experiences with the opposite sex. I love that they fall in love without realizing it.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story.

[Shirly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a time period I am interested in

The writing style was good but not the time period I am interested in. I didn't nor could finish this book. Read 50% and still could not make !myself finish.

[Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable and pleasing regency romance.

Philippa Jane Keyworth is a new author for me and 'The Widow's Redeemer' was a fantastic book to read and enjoy. Her ability to tell a story well blew me away and her style makes it a cut-above most others.

[Cheryl LaRoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good read

What caused me to get this book was the teaser that it was based on the biblical story of Ruth, but it strays from that more than I had thought it would. Apart from that it is a good story and it does include many peeks of the Biblical account.
Thanks Philippa!

[Dorothy R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional read

This authors end to her book took me by surprise. I enjoyed the story very much but the ending was a unique way to end the story. Look forward to reading more from this author.

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging read

This is probably a bit longer than the books I typically read but I very much enjoyed it. I only wish I could have read it all at once rather than in bits and pieces over the course of a week.

[Debbie Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable

Lively and believable characters. Well researched background supporting a story from time immemorial. Colourful and cinematic. A great read and a page turner.

[Cora Vee Caswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing tale of pain, misunderstandings, and loyalty, with a smattering off obnoxious people that must be dealt with, of course. A great read!

[mary nightingale · Rating 5 out of 5]

great read

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author had a great way of free weaving a story. I can’t wait to read another book by her.