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Out with Lanterns
A new voice for historical romance fans, Hillary Bowen's book takes readers out of the Regency ballrooms and into the 20th century English countryside. Amidst the challenges of the wartime home front and the fight for equality, love blooms. Found family, scorching chemistry, and the beauty of finding your place in the world make this book a must-read.
A newly independent woman. A man severed from all his anchors. A love that will remake their world.
Somerset, 1917.
Ophelia Blackwood has a continue to evade a parade of her father’s ill-advised suitors, or seize control of her future and join the war effort with the Women’s Land Army. Ophelia finds camaraderie and confidence through hard work on a Somerset farm, and the independence she has always craved. But a year into her assignment, Silas Larke arrives, and she is irritated to discover that he is just as intriguing and attractive as he was during their intense summer friendship, years ago.
Injured on the front lines of World War I, Silas has spent a year convalescing, focused on returning to his work as a tenant farmer. When the British government unexpectedly assigns him to lend a hand on a local farm, he finds himself thrown together with the woman he couldn’t forget. But Ophelia has new dreams for her future, none of which include marriage. Forced to examine the future he always imagined, he will have to decide if love is worth changing all your plans for.
When pressure from the War Office raises the spectre of the farm’s repossession, should the harvest fail, the WLA women must pull together harder than ever to meet the required wheat quota. Ophelia knows she can’t afford distraction, no matter how beguiling the man, but the feelings kindled during her and Silas’s 1915 summer have returned as a blaze. Desperate to produce more for the war effort and save the farm with the people who have become her family, Ophelia and Silas push against the rising tide of their attraction, but Ophelia begins to wonder if they could be a force to be reckoned with, together.
A newly independent woman. A man severed from all his anchors. A love that will remake their world.
Somerset, 1917.
Ophelia Blackwood has a continue to evade a parade of her father’s ill-advised suitors, or seize control of her future and join the war effort with the Women’s Land Army. Ophelia finds camaraderie and confidence through hard work on a Somerset farm, and the independence she has always craved. But a year into her assignment, Silas Larke arrives, and she is irritated to discover that he is just as intriguing and attractive as he was during their intense summer friendship, years ago.
Injured on the front lines of World War I, Silas has spent a year convalescing, focused on returning to his work as a tenant farmer. When the British government unexpectedly assigns him to lend a hand on a local farm, he finds himself thrown together with the woman he couldn’t forget. But Ophelia has new dreams for her future, none of which include marriage. Forced to examine the future he always imagined, he will have to decide if love is worth changing all your plans for.
When pressure from the War Office raises the spectre of the farm’s repossession, should the harvest fail, the WLA women must pull together harder than ever to meet the required wheat quota. Ophelia knows she can’t afford distraction, no matter how beguiling the man, but the feelings kindled during her and Silas’s 1915 summer have returned as a blaze. Desperate to produce more for the war effort and save the farm with the people who have become her family, Ophelia and Silas push against the rising tide of their attraction, but Ophelia begins to wonder if they could be a force to be reckoned with, together.
345 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 17, 2025
9 people are currently reading
249 people want to read
About the author
Hillary Bowen
1 book13 followersHillary Bowen lives on the West Coast of Canada with her family, two cats, and a flock of hens. A lifelong reader and lover of all things swoony, you can most often find her writing, reading romance, or in her garden. She is about to release her debut historical romance, Out with Lanterns.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
April 24, 2025
Out with Lanterns is a beautifully crafted book about finding your way when circumstances change, and the world shifts under your feet. It's about a found family that celebrates your strengths, and helps you find them. It's about a love that is arrived at through careful nurturing and communication, and based on white hot attraction and desire. The prose is lovely, the characters are wonderfully crafted, and the story and setting are perfectly immersive.
I haven't read many books set during WWI, described as "jeering classism among officers and pat jingoism as a bandage for terrorised men pushed beyond all limit." This book really brings home how much the UK was still tied by the class lines and a way of life of the 19th century, and how much society was upended by the disappearance of a big chunk of the male population, to the battlefields or loss. Ophelia is the daughter of landed gentry, and we meet her as she's leaving her (horrible) father's house to join the Women's Land Army, organized to keep farms running and England fed. She has a real paradigm shift, working with her hands for the first time, and realizing that women can do, and can want, more from life than she knew.
Silas is the son of tenent farmers on Ophelia's father's estate, they had one summer of close friendship before he enlisted as a soldier. When he happens to be assigned to the same farm as Ophelia to recuperate from injury, they are reunited and their attraction and friendship flares up immediately, even while Ophelia worries that the hard-won competency and belonging that she's built at the farm will be overshadowed or regress by his presence. "Working here was the only thing of her own she had ever had, and Silas's arrival made her want to clutch it harder to prevent it from slipping away, keep it for herself."
I loved Ophelia's arc during this book. She is completely relearning new patterns and what she can expect for herself, as well as her own value. She is constantly worried that she doesn't measure up to the more accomplished (working class) women at the farm, and that with any mistake her worth will be nullified. After an unforeseen error, "Her head felt both empty and full of persistent thoughts blaming herself, berating her irresponsibility and carelessness, pointing out every failing." At the farm she's found what she's never had, respect and appreciation of her accomplishments, and the reassurance that her contributions matter.
Silas also has to reset his worldview (and I am imagining that it was actually something the entire country had to reckon with after the war, with so many dead and injured, and the agrarian way of life upended). He comes back from battle with painful injuries and nightmares, not sure of his place in the world, feeling powerless and weak. All his understanding of what it means to be a man, how to protect those he loves, and what he can hope for are upended, and needs to be relearned.
Through their relationship they explore together what it means to be equal partners in a world designed for the patriarchy. It's a pleasure to see them noodle out whats important to them individually and as a couple, and how and if they can get there. Even when they clash as their learned perceptions bump against the future they want to imagine, it's the most caring argument ever. They honestly share their feelings and reaffirm the importance of the other and their mutual care of nurturing what they are building together. "She believed in the man he could become, just as he believed in the woman she was becoming."
Bowen is a remarkably descriptive and visual writer, from the description of a newly plowed field and how a "handful of blackbirds lifted out of the oak at the field's edge, raucous and eager to scavenge in the upturned field" to the way the "sun was streaming in the small windows, laying down its warmth on the old flagstone floor, pushing into the corners of the room." Throughout the book, she shows the strong intellectual and emotional connection between Silas and Ophelia, but also almost viscerally demonstrates the attraction and pure joyful lust between them. Their first time is laden with trust, consent and desire, and we see two people feeling and expressing the "ridiculous, dumb luck" that let them find each other again after their separation. They are rarely alone in their farm found family, but Bowen shows us how affected they are by the touch of a fingertip passing a teacup, as well as by the pulse by pulse moments of deeper intimacy shared when they can get away. I appreciated so much the balance she found as a writer of depicting the work and cautious first steps necessary for crafting this new relationship in a changing world, while always showing the value and affection for the other they held as a north star.
This book has the horrors of war, and the difficulties of those returning and those who stepped up to replace them and are being asked to go back into a place that may no longer fit. It has class issues and villains. And it has sun-lit fields and unpaved roads, worries about the wheat harvest, leaning on friends and neighbors, and growing and learning in a changing world. The unusual time period and setting make it a welcome and refreshing addition to the historical romance canon.
Thank you Hillary Bowen for the arc of this book.
I haven't read many books set during WWI, described as "jeering classism among officers and pat jingoism as a bandage for terrorised men pushed beyond all limit." This book really brings home how much the UK was still tied by the class lines and a way of life of the 19th century, and how much society was upended by the disappearance of a big chunk of the male population, to the battlefields or loss. Ophelia is the daughter of landed gentry, and we meet her as she's leaving her (horrible) father's house to join the Women's Land Army, organized to keep farms running and England fed. She has a real paradigm shift, working with her hands for the first time, and realizing that women can do, and can want, more from life than she knew.
Silas is the son of tenent farmers on Ophelia's father's estate, they had one summer of close friendship before he enlisted as a soldier. When he happens to be assigned to the same farm as Ophelia to recuperate from injury, they are reunited and their attraction and friendship flares up immediately, even while Ophelia worries that the hard-won competency and belonging that she's built at the farm will be overshadowed or regress by his presence. "Working here was the only thing of her own she had ever had, and Silas's arrival made her want to clutch it harder to prevent it from slipping away, keep it for herself."
I loved Ophelia's arc during this book. She is completely relearning new patterns and what she can expect for herself, as well as her own value. She is constantly worried that she doesn't measure up to the more accomplished (working class) women at the farm, and that with any mistake her worth will be nullified. After an unforeseen error, "Her head felt both empty and full of persistent thoughts blaming herself, berating her irresponsibility and carelessness, pointing out every failing." At the farm she's found what she's never had, respect and appreciation of her accomplishments, and the reassurance that her contributions matter.
Silas also has to reset his worldview (and I am imagining that it was actually something the entire country had to reckon with after the war, with so many dead and injured, and the agrarian way of life upended). He comes back from battle with painful injuries and nightmares, not sure of his place in the world, feeling powerless and weak. All his understanding of what it means to be a man, how to protect those he loves, and what he can hope for are upended, and needs to be relearned.
Through their relationship they explore together what it means to be equal partners in a world designed for the patriarchy. It's a pleasure to see them noodle out whats important to them individually and as a couple, and how and if they can get there. Even when they clash as their learned perceptions bump against the future they want to imagine, it's the most caring argument ever. They honestly share their feelings and reaffirm the importance of the other and their mutual care of nurturing what they are building together. "She believed in the man he could become, just as he believed in the woman she was becoming."
Bowen is a remarkably descriptive and visual writer, from the description of a newly plowed field and how a "handful of blackbirds lifted out of the oak at the field's edge, raucous and eager to scavenge in the upturned field" to the way the "sun was streaming in the small windows, laying down its warmth on the old flagstone floor, pushing into the corners of the room." Throughout the book, she shows the strong intellectual and emotional connection between Silas and Ophelia, but also almost viscerally demonstrates the attraction and pure joyful lust between them. Their first time is laden with trust, consent and desire, and we see two people feeling and expressing the "ridiculous, dumb luck" that let them find each other again after their separation. They are rarely alone in their farm found family, but Bowen shows us how affected they are by the touch of a fingertip passing a teacup, as well as by the pulse by pulse moments of deeper intimacy shared when they can get away. I appreciated so much the balance she found as a writer of depicting the work and cautious first steps necessary for crafting this new relationship in a changing world, while always showing the value and affection for the other they held as a north star.
This book has the horrors of war, and the difficulties of those returning and those who stepped up to replace them and are being asked to go back into a place that may no longer fit. It has class issues and villains. And it has sun-lit fields and unpaved roads, worries about the wheat harvest, leaning on friends and neighbors, and growing and learning in a changing world. The unusual time period and setting make it a welcome and refreshing addition to the historical romance canon.
Thank you Hillary Bowen for the arc of this book.
June 25, 2025
It read like someone skimmed a historical romance once and said yep I’ve got this.
June 12, 2025
5 ⭐️
Ophelia, defying convention and sick of her life with her cruel father, decides to join the Women’s Land Army. Hoping to be of service and learn independence, she’s spent the year on the farm with three other women running things. When Silas, injured from war, is assigned to her farm to work, the two must face their past and present attraction to each other. A few years ago, they spent the summer becoming friends. However, due to their differing statuses and her father’s interference, the two were separated as Silas went off to war.
This book had me living all of my farm girl fantasies with such a sweet exploration of love and community. Hilary has an amazing writing style that combines such beautiful descriptions with really honest and genuine characters. Each one felt lived in and fully fleshed out in a way that can be hard to do when there’s such an ensemble. All of the women working on the farm had such unique backstories, and I really hope we get future stories with them. I was as invested in Casper and Arabella’s flirtation as I was Silas and Ophelia (which is saying something because those two were the epitome of soft and sexy).
I really adored Ophelia’s lesson that even in independence, you can still seek out help and companionship. It doesn’t have to be an either-or thing, and I think this novel does an incredible job at navigating the intricacies of the issue. And it’s still believable to the characters and who they are. This book was the right kind of tender and sexy while still packing a powerful message. Fee learning it’s okay to rely on others and build a community was such a poignant lesson for today. Truly such a cozy emotional romance with lovable side characters and an even swoonier main romance.
Thank you to the author for an eARC of this book. Out June 17.
Ophelia, defying convention and sick of her life with her cruel father, decides to join the Women’s Land Army. Hoping to be of service and learn independence, she’s spent the year on the farm with three other women running things. When Silas, injured from war, is assigned to her farm to work, the two must face their past and present attraction to each other. A few years ago, they spent the summer becoming friends. However, due to their differing statuses and her father’s interference, the two were separated as Silas went off to war.
This book had me living all of my farm girl fantasies with such a sweet exploration of love and community. Hilary has an amazing writing style that combines such beautiful descriptions with really honest and genuine characters. Each one felt lived in and fully fleshed out in a way that can be hard to do when there’s such an ensemble. All of the women working on the farm had such unique backstories, and I really hope we get future stories with them. I was as invested in Casper and Arabella’s flirtation as I was Silas and Ophelia (which is saying something because those two were the epitome of soft and sexy).
I really adored Ophelia’s lesson that even in independence, you can still seek out help and companionship. It doesn’t have to be an either-or thing, and I think this novel does an incredible job at navigating the intricacies of the issue. And it’s still believable to the characters and who they are. This book was the right kind of tender and sexy while still packing a powerful message. Fee learning it’s okay to rely on others and build a community was such a poignant lesson for today. Truly such a cozy emotional romance with lovable side characters and an even swoonier main romance.
Thank you to the author for an eARC of this book. Out June 17.
June 21, 2025
1918, Somerset England. Ophelia Blackwood seizes the opportunity to help with the war effort by leaving home and joining the Women's Land Army (WLA). She has a steep learning curve, as the only daughter of a society gentleman, but she's determined to forge her own path rather than marry at her father's choosing. Silas Larke, a former tenant farmer on Ophelia's father's land, is wounded fighting in France. When he recovers, the war office assigns him to the same farm where Ophelia has been working. Back in close proximity to one another for the first time in three years, what was once friendship between Ophelia and Silas blooms into something more.
Out with Lanterns is a charming and steamy debut from Hillary Bowen. You can tell she cares deeply for her characters on page, and that pays off for the reader, especially during intimate moments. The WWI farm setting is unique to the historical romance genre, and I enjoyed the glimpse of changing societal norms amidst the collapse of the aristocracy and the ongoing war effort. The pacing felt uneven for me, and the book is so low conflict that I started craving some plot tension. This gives Bowen space for a lot of character reflection, and I enjoyed Ophelia struggling against the expectations her father and society placed on her and learning that she can share those struggles with Silas.
Readers who gravitate towards cozy and introspective love stories will really enjoy this. I look forward to seeing what Hillary Bowen writes next!
Thank you to Hillary Bowen for an eARC.
Out with Lanterns is a charming and steamy debut from Hillary Bowen. You can tell she cares deeply for her characters on page, and that pays off for the reader, especially during intimate moments. The WWI farm setting is unique to the historical romance genre, and I enjoyed the glimpse of changing societal norms amidst the collapse of the aristocracy and the ongoing war effort. The pacing felt uneven for me, and the book is so low conflict that I started craving some plot tension. This gives Bowen space for a lot of character reflection, and I enjoyed Ophelia struggling against the expectations her father and society placed on her and learning that she can share those struggles with Silas.
Readers who gravitate towards cozy and introspective love stories will really enjoy this. I look forward to seeing what Hillary Bowen writes next!
Thank you to Hillary Bowen for an eARC.
June 22, 2025
3.7 stars
Edwardian romance of a woman finding independence and her father’s tenant farmer convalescing after forced to fight in the war and being injured. There is much earnest pining. I’m going to be honest, there was entirely too much of Ophelia every page being like I want to be with you but I’m a suffragette and shall never marry! Bless Silas because he’s an absolute saint and is like whatever way you’ll have me, I’m here and I love you
Edwardian romance of a woman finding independence and her father’s tenant farmer convalescing after forced to fight in the war and being injured. There is much earnest pining. I’m going to be honest, there was entirely too much of Ophelia every page being like I want to be with you but I’m a suffragette and shall never marry! Bless Silas because he’s an absolute saint and is like whatever way you’ll have me, I’m here and I love you
July 19, 2025
I’ve been so excited this year to see indie authors writing in settings outside the Regency and Victorian eras. Hillary Bowen is doing something different with Out with Lanterns, a novel set during WWI that puts regular people at the heart of the story.
Ophelia Blackwood has fled her cold, controlling father to join the Women’s Land Army. Raised in relative luxury as the daughter of a Somerset landowner, she was always expected to marry for the sake of the family estate. But after enduring years of abuse, she leaves to forge a life of her own. Assigned to a small farm in Somerset, run by a widow and staffed by other WLA members, Ophelia begins to question everything she’s been taught and search for a new path forward.
Silas Larke was once a tenant farmer on Ophelia’s family land. The two formed a close bond the summer before the war, but Silas abruptly enlisted and left without saying goodbye. After being wounded in France, he spent a year recovering from his injuries. Just as he’s preparing to leave the hospital, the army assigns him to a farm in Somerset to support food production, as he’s no longer fit for combat. When Silas arrives, he’s stunned to find Ophelia there and initially requests a transfer. But with the farm at risk of government repossession unless they can boost output—and with the unresolved weight of their shared past—they must rely on each other to protect the family Ophelia has found with the WLA.
I’d heard a lot about Out with Lanterns before picking it up, so my expectations were high—which is never really fair to a debut. I loved many things about this book, though some things didn’t quite work for me, either due to personal taste or because of a few rough edges that are common in debut novels.
Let’s start with what I loved. First, the setting is beautifully rendered. There aren’t many historical romances set during WWI, much less on a farm, so Bowen had to do more groundwork than a typical Regency author to establish the world. She succeeded. I felt grounded in the setting and the work of the farm early on. Second, the female friendships were a highlight. Ophelia spends much of the book unraveling the rigid, conservative values she inherited from her father. She initially swings too far in the other direction, adopting radically liberal ideas about love and independence without fully understanding them. It’s through her friendships with the other women in the WLA that she learns to build her own ethics—ones grounded in her lived experience rather than someone else’s rules. Third, the prose is stunning. Bowen is a talented writer, and it’s clear she spent time crafting the tone and language of the book. The sentence-level writing is consistently lovely.
Now, onto the things that didn’t quite land for me—again, mostly due to personal preferences. I don’t usually enjoy soft heroes. Especially in a story where the heroine is working through her relationship to patriarchy, I want a hero with strong convictions (even if they’re flawed) who undergoes his own journey of transformation. Silas kind of has that arc, but he’s convinced by Ophelia very quickly—before she’s even fully formed her own opinions—and it felt too tidy for me. I wanted more emotional mess and conflict between them. I also struggled with the ending. I don’t believe marriage is necessary for a satisfying HEA, but I also don’t think two people could have lived openly in what was considered sin in 1920s rural Somerset without being ostracized. I’m happy to suspend disbelief for a historical romance, but that was a step too far given the setting. Had they been in a city or among artists or the underworld, I would’ve bought it more easily.
As for the debut of it all: I’ve read a lot of debut novels this year, both trad and indie published, and I’ve noticed a trend toward excess. That is, authors tend to overdo whatever they enjoy writing most. In this case, I think Hillary Bowen really enjoys writing sex scenes. They’re well written, but many of them felt overly long and didn’t move the story forward. Personally, I would have preferred more yearning and less touching—because Bowen writes tension beautifully, with a lingering glance or brush of hands carrying so much weight.
I also wanted more conflict overall. While the farm’s survival was a compelling early stake, by the end of the novel the emotional relationships had overtaken the agricultural plot, and the tension didn’t quite shift with it. If the story is going to pivot, I need the stakes to pivot too.
All of that said, these are typical debut growing pains. Authors learn to self-edit and balance structure with experience, and I’m confident we’ll see that growth from Hillary Bowen. I’m excited to read whatever she writes next and recommend this book, especially if you like a quieter historical romance.
Ophelia Blackwood has fled her cold, controlling father to join the Women’s Land Army. Raised in relative luxury as the daughter of a Somerset landowner, she was always expected to marry for the sake of the family estate. But after enduring years of abuse, she leaves to forge a life of her own. Assigned to a small farm in Somerset, run by a widow and staffed by other WLA members, Ophelia begins to question everything she’s been taught and search for a new path forward.
Silas Larke was once a tenant farmer on Ophelia’s family land. The two formed a close bond the summer before the war, but Silas abruptly enlisted and left without saying goodbye. After being wounded in France, he spent a year recovering from his injuries. Just as he’s preparing to leave the hospital, the army assigns him to a farm in Somerset to support food production, as he’s no longer fit for combat. When Silas arrives, he’s stunned to find Ophelia there and initially requests a transfer. But with the farm at risk of government repossession unless they can boost output—and with the unresolved weight of their shared past—they must rely on each other to protect the family Ophelia has found with the WLA.
I’d heard a lot about Out with Lanterns before picking it up, so my expectations were high—which is never really fair to a debut. I loved many things about this book, though some things didn’t quite work for me, either due to personal taste or because of a few rough edges that are common in debut novels.
Let’s start with what I loved. First, the setting is beautifully rendered. There aren’t many historical romances set during WWI, much less on a farm, so Bowen had to do more groundwork than a typical Regency author to establish the world. She succeeded. I felt grounded in the setting and the work of the farm early on. Second, the female friendships were a highlight. Ophelia spends much of the book unraveling the rigid, conservative values she inherited from her father. She initially swings too far in the other direction, adopting radically liberal ideas about love and independence without fully understanding them. It’s through her friendships with the other women in the WLA that she learns to build her own ethics—ones grounded in her lived experience rather than someone else’s rules. Third, the prose is stunning. Bowen is a talented writer, and it’s clear she spent time crafting the tone and language of the book. The sentence-level writing is consistently lovely.
Now, onto the things that didn’t quite land for me—again, mostly due to personal preferences. I don’t usually enjoy soft heroes. Especially in a story where the heroine is working through her relationship to patriarchy, I want a hero with strong convictions (even if they’re flawed) who undergoes his own journey of transformation. Silas kind of has that arc, but he’s convinced by Ophelia very quickly—before she’s even fully formed her own opinions—and it felt too tidy for me. I wanted more emotional mess and conflict between them. I also struggled with the ending. I don’t believe marriage is necessary for a satisfying HEA, but I also don’t think two people could have lived openly in what was considered sin in 1920s rural Somerset without being ostracized. I’m happy to suspend disbelief for a historical romance, but that was a step too far given the setting. Had they been in a city or among artists or the underworld, I would’ve bought it more easily.
As for the debut of it all: I’ve read a lot of debut novels this year, both trad and indie published, and I’ve noticed a trend toward excess. That is, authors tend to overdo whatever they enjoy writing most. In this case, I think Hillary Bowen really enjoys writing sex scenes. They’re well written, but many of them felt overly long and didn’t move the story forward. Personally, I would have preferred more yearning and less touching—because Bowen writes tension beautifully, with a lingering glance or brush of hands carrying so much weight.
I also wanted more conflict overall. While the farm’s survival was a compelling early stake, by the end of the novel the emotional relationships had overtaken the agricultural plot, and the tension didn’t quite shift with it. If the story is going to pivot, I need the stakes to pivot too.
All of that said, these are typical debut growing pains. Authors learn to self-edit and balance structure with experience, and I’m confident we’ll see that growth from Hillary Bowen. I’m excited to read whatever she writes next and recommend this book, especially if you like a quieter historical romance.
June 18, 2025
Who knew wheat farms could be so exciting?
Hillary Bowen's debut novel was a joy to read from beginning to end. It was so nice to read a book set during WWI as I've always been obsessed with that time period (thanks, Downton Abbey), so the setting of this novel was up my alley.
Ophelia, a gently bred lady, escapes her father's household to go join the WLA (Women's Land Army) and contribute to the war effort. She discovers independence, learns how to farm, and finds family with her fellow WLA members.
Silas, an injured soldier who also knows Ophelia (they had a fun summer together - as friends), has been assigned to work at Ophelia's farm. Silas is surprised to discover Fee there (obvi) and worries about how their relationship could potentially affect his family and her relationship with her father.
Their relationship development is natural, they have great chemistry, and problems are resolved logically and sensibly. I was pleased with how the conflict between the War Office v. the Farm was resolved and how the conflict between Fee's dad and Si was settled.
Anyway, the book is what I would consider "quiet." There is drama, but it isn't super stressful and you won't become enraged with anyone's decisions. Your hair won't prematurely gray. I totally enjoyed this book and look forward to Hillary Bowen's next novel.
I received an ARC in exchange for this review.
Hillary Bowen's debut novel was a joy to read from beginning to end. It was so nice to read a book set during WWI as I've always been obsessed with that time period (thanks, Downton Abbey), so the setting of this novel was up my alley.
Ophelia, a gently bred lady, escapes her father's household to go join the WLA (Women's Land Army) and contribute to the war effort. She discovers independence, learns how to farm, and finds family with her fellow WLA members.
Silas, an injured soldier who also knows Ophelia (they had a fun summer together - as friends), has been assigned to work at Ophelia's farm. Silas is surprised to discover Fee there (obvi) and worries about how their relationship could potentially affect his family and her relationship with her father.
Their relationship development is natural, they have great chemistry, and problems are resolved logically and sensibly. I was pleased with how the conflict between the War Office v. the Farm was resolved and how the conflict between Fee's dad and Si was settled.
Anyway, the book is what I would consider "quiet." There is drama, but it isn't super stressful and you won't become enraged with anyone's decisions. Your hair won't prematurely gray. I totally enjoyed this book and look forward to Hillary Bowen's next novel.
I received an ARC in exchange for this review.
October 27, 2025
After I saw the cover of this debut HR circulating on IG, I immediately pre-ordered it from my local indie bookstore. When I picked it up, the two people working at the store oohed and ahhed over the gorgeous art. But more than just a pretty cover, Out with Lanterns is a lovely romance set in 1918 England. It’s special, soft, and full of lush descriptions. If you’re someone who loved the hot farmer content served by West Ravenel, I raise you Silas and Ophelia (who also have the most romantic names ever). Kudos to Hillary Bowen for a sparkling debut.
Overall rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy rating: 3.5 chili peppers
Overall rating: 4.5 stars
Spicy rating: 3.5 chili peppers
July 29, 2025
There were some things I loved about this book and others that did not work for me.
Loved:
- A historical romance that is not set during the Regency. Thank the Lord. Not that I don't read Regency romance, but there is so much of it right now that I was predisposed to be delighted by anything set in any other era. I thank the author for giving us another time period.
- And not a duke in sight! It was wonderful to read a historical romance set on a farm among working people. More of this, please.
- Hannah was hot. The first chapter of this book could easily be the opening to an f/f romance.
- But not all close relationships between women are romantic, and I appreciated the friendships among the women on the farm. It was nice to see Ophelia accepted, encouraged, and uplifted by the women in her life. I would have liked to see her relationship with Silas's mother instead of just hearing about it.
- There were some lovely lines. Ex: "Growing up, Ophelia had always understood that women were to fit themselves around every situation like particularly useful furniture."
- Silas's growth and self-reflection re: the way he treats women was well done.
- I thought the sex scenes were great. A little long? Perhaps. But they were meaty, with good character development and showing Silas putting his life lessons into action in concrete ways.
Not so much:
- I think the reason the sex scenes stood out as particularly good was because much of this book suffers from a lack of things happening on the page. The first half is dominated by people talking about things that have happened or will happen, but doing very little in those scenes other than talk. This structure meant that we were very rarely immersed in a scene as it was happening, rather than hearing about it indirectly. It would have been more effective to actually send Ophelia to a suffrage meeting with Hannah than to just think and talk about her new ideals. Similarly, when Ophelia thinks about women being stifled by marriage, it's just a thought, not something that is backed up by what is happening on the page. I wish the book included a woman in the village or on a neighboring farm who was in this situation to demonstrate Ophelia's fears and give them heft within the narrative. Without concrete action and interaction on the page, the threats, possibilities, and consequences all felt pretty abstract.
- The dialogue was not good. Instead of having conversations, characters speak in paragraphs that are full of info dumps and grand statements. Sometimes, they will stop in the middle of an emergency to make grand statements about other characters' psychological wounds (see the scene with the horse). This uneven balance between dialogue and action made the pacing really slow, especially in the first half of the book. Part of why the sex scenes were more successful is that they had more action and less talking.
- The plot needed more causality. Especially in the first half, there are very few plot points that built on one another or carried over from one chapter to the next, which made the pacing slow. Even when there is a plot point (like the need to plow a new field), the characters treat it with very little urgency. It's spring and they have this deadline to plant more fields than ever before, but Silas is off repairing outbuildings instead of getting the crop in the ground, so the threat does not feel real or important. Similarly, other major plot points are resolved with a shrug, including
The writing issues made me wonder if I should give this 3 stars, but I am giving it 4 because there is so much to like in this book, and I want this author to have a long career so that I can read more of her work. I think she's on the right track, and am excited to see more of her books as she develops her craft. Please, give us more steamy historical romance in other times, places, and social settings!
Loved:
- A historical romance that is not set during the Regency. Thank the Lord. Not that I don't read Regency romance, but there is so much of it right now that I was predisposed to be delighted by anything set in any other era. I thank the author for giving us another time period.
- And not a duke in sight! It was wonderful to read a historical romance set on a farm among working people. More of this, please.
- Hannah was hot. The first chapter of this book could easily be the opening to an f/f romance.
- But not all close relationships between women are romantic, and I appreciated the friendships among the women on the farm. It was nice to see Ophelia accepted, encouraged, and uplifted by the women in her life. I would have liked to see her relationship with Silas's mother instead of just hearing about it.
- There were some lovely lines. Ex: "Growing up, Ophelia had always understood that women were to fit themselves around every situation like particularly useful furniture."
- Silas's growth and self-reflection re: the way he treats women was well done.
- I thought the sex scenes were great. A little long? Perhaps. But they were meaty, with good character development and showing Silas putting his life lessons into action in concrete ways.
Not so much:
- I think the reason the sex scenes stood out as particularly good was because much of this book suffers from a lack of things happening on the page. The first half is dominated by people talking about things that have happened or will happen, but doing very little in those scenes other than talk. This structure meant that we were very rarely immersed in a scene as it was happening, rather than hearing about it indirectly. It would have been more effective to actually send Ophelia to a suffrage meeting with Hannah than to just think and talk about her new ideals. Similarly, when Ophelia thinks about women being stifled by marriage, it's just a thought, not something that is backed up by what is happening on the page. I wish the book included a woman in the village or on a neighboring farm who was in this situation to demonstrate Ophelia's fears and give them heft within the narrative. Without concrete action and interaction on the page, the threats, possibilities, and consequences all felt pretty abstract.
- The dialogue was not good. Instead of having conversations, characters speak in paragraphs that are full of info dumps and grand statements. Sometimes, they will stop in the middle of an emergency to make grand statements about other characters' psychological wounds (see the scene with the horse). This uneven balance between dialogue and action made the pacing really slow, especially in the first half of the book. Part of why the sex scenes were more successful is that they had more action and less talking.
- The plot needed more causality. Especially in the first half, there are very few plot points that built on one another or carried over from one chapter to the next, which made the pacing slow. Even when there is a plot point (like the need to plow a new field), the characters treat it with very little urgency. It's spring and they have this deadline to plant more fields than ever before, but Silas is off repairing outbuildings instead of getting the crop in the ground, so the threat does not feel real or important. Similarly, other major plot points are resolved with a shrug, including
The writing issues made me wonder if I should give this 3 stars, but I am giving it 4 because there is so much to like in this book, and I want this author to have a long career so that I can read more of her work. I think she's on the right track, and am excited to see more of her books as she develops her craft. Please, give us more steamy historical romance in other times, places, and social settings!
May 16, 2025
Out With Lanterns by Hillary Bowen
Tropes:
Friends to Lovers
Found Family
Forced Proximity
Mutual Pining
Class Differences
I received an ARC from the author. All opinions are my own.
Out With Lanterns by Hillary Bowen is WWI historical romance novel that delves into women's place in society and their quest towards independence. This debut is perfect for fans of Erin Langston and Evie Dunmore, with its lyrical prose that jumps off the pages and its strong heroines searching for something more, as well as, elements of found family and challenging the status quo. I thought this character driven novel was absolutely stunning. Bowen's writing is evocative with her natural ability to provide descriptions that just immerse readers in the time period, offering lush sweeping elements from the pull of corset strings, to the harsh realism of working a plow for the first time. The sights, the scents, the textures are blended beautifully throughout. This was a wonderfully researched novel and it was apparent to me immediately the dedication Bowen took in crafting this story from start to finish.
Ophelia’s characterization just shines throughout. She fears a life tied to a man’s decisions, one where her voice is not heard and she’s trapped in a gilded cage. By choosing to work in the WLA, Ophelia finds herself, she learns to be useful, contribute to a cause and discover fulfillment. It was refreshing to see that Ophelia never backed down from challenges on the farm, building strength and community from it.
Silas Larke is the son of tenant farmers, who in his youth had an intense friendship with Ophelia. Circumstances led to him leaving suddenly and enlisting in the war. Due to being on the front lines, he suffered injury to his leg. As a result, he feels almost “less a man,” no longer able to provide the same strength and protection to his family. When assigned to the same farm as Ophelia, the feelings the two once shared come in conflict with her newfound independence. What I did love about the dynamic between Ophelia and Silas was that willingness to communicate and the ability to create a partnership. He loves her strength, she loves his calm and together it’s a powerful force.
The pining is wonderful from the tender graze of their fingers to the quick brush of shoulders, and once they give into their feelings, the chemistry just explodes. The love scenes are poignant, breaking down their walls and finding solace in one another.
This was an excellent debut from Hillary Bowen, I look forward to more stories from her and I’m excited to see what she does next.
June 20, 2025
"Surely a truly independent woman doesn't let the appearance of one handsome man turn her from the path?"
I can't think of a historical romance novel that explores intersectional feminism as directly and honestly as Out With Lanterns. I'm going to wave this novel around wildly every time I see someone criticize hist-rom as being an outdated genre, and that it is inherently subversive to equity, inclusion, and female empowerment. Bravo to the author for her research, and this fabulous debut about women challenging the status quo despite the dangers of ostracization among broader English society during WWI.
I had never heard of the Women's Land Army (WLA) programs before reading this book. In order to maintain farms and food production during a time when so many men were serving in the war, the WLA moved female volunteers to learn about agriculture so they could work on farms. Out With Lanterns is about one of those farms, owned by a widow in Somerset, and the three WLA volunteers sent to work with her.
One of those women is twenty-two year old Ophelia Blackwood, only child of a wealthy landowner, who has fled from the control of her abusive father. Now that she's left a life of ease behind, she is determined to help her WLA sisters save Mrs. Darling's farm from being seized by the government if it doesn't produce enough crops. Ophelia is just starting to gain confidence in herself and her choice to live independently as a single woman when Silas Larke, the (handsome) son of one of her father's tenant farmers, is stationed on the farm to work while recovering from a battlefront injury.
For those readers like me who want a romance with lots of yearning, this book will not disappoint. I absolutely love how much Silas longs for Ophelia with his whole heart, but his respect for every aspect of what makes her who she is, including her evolving ideals and values, outweighs all of his own desires for traditional marriage.
This novel is a celebration of overcoming adversity and found family, and the joy of loving freely and fiercely without shame, regardless of societal convention.
Thank you to the author for the opportunity to read and review this novel prior to publication. I was not compensated in any way, and all opinions are my own. I can't wait to read your next book!
May 26, 2025
How refreshing it was to read a historical romance with not a single ballroom scene or matchmaking mama, let alone one set during World War I.
Out with Lanterns, Hillary Bowen's debut, is a second-chance romance; Ophelia, a rich girl, spent a bucolic summer with Silas, the son of a tenant farmer on her family's estate. But then Silas joined the British army, and Ophelia, bored out of her skull and longing to get away from her overbearing father, joins the Women's Land Army. The WLA recruited women to work the farms while the men were away fighting; keeping Britain fed was critical to the war effort, and the WLA did everything from plough and plant the fields to milk the cows.
There's a lot of lovely personal development that happens because of this, even before Silas reappears. Ophelia gains confidence as she develops farming skills, and she takes satisfaction in how her body is changing as a result; she is muscly and tan and feels stronger than she ever has before. I loved the scene where she has to plow the field for the first time and, with her colleagues' encouragement does it, feeling giddy with joy and pride afterward.
Silas, having been wounded in battle, is seconded to her farm by sheer coincidence; it's part of his recovery process and mandated by the army. It's awkward between the two of them, because their friendship kind of ended in a mysterious way.
Hillary Bowen's writing is beautiful; this is a quiet book with no superfluous plot, and she does a nice job balancing the interpersonal dynamics between Silas and Ophelia with the everyday labor of running a farm. There are external threats to be dealt with, too, but they slot nicely into the narrative.
I think two things would have made this book a five-star read for me: I felt Ophelia got in her head a bit as to her relationship with Silas and how it would, or wouldn't, fit in with her goals for the new, liberated lifestyle she was chasing. And I loved her and Silas' first time together, and it was important to the development of the relationship, but after that the sex scenes felt a bit long and unnecessary.
Altogether, a great debut, and I look forward to reading more from this talented author.
4.25 stars
Out with Lanterns, Hillary Bowen's debut, is a second-chance romance; Ophelia, a rich girl, spent a bucolic summer with Silas, the son of a tenant farmer on her family's estate. But then Silas joined the British army, and Ophelia, bored out of her skull and longing to get away from her overbearing father, joins the Women's Land Army. The WLA recruited women to work the farms while the men were away fighting; keeping Britain fed was critical to the war effort, and the WLA did everything from plough and plant the fields to milk the cows.
There's a lot of lovely personal development that happens because of this, even before Silas reappears. Ophelia gains confidence as she develops farming skills, and she takes satisfaction in how her body is changing as a result; she is muscly and tan and feels stronger than she ever has before. I loved the scene where she has to plow the field for the first time and, with her colleagues' encouragement does it, feeling giddy with joy and pride afterward.
Silas, having been wounded in battle, is seconded to her farm by sheer coincidence; it's part of his recovery process and mandated by the army. It's awkward between the two of them, because their friendship kind of ended in a mysterious way.
Hillary Bowen's writing is beautiful; this is a quiet book with no superfluous plot, and she does a nice job balancing the interpersonal dynamics between Silas and Ophelia with the everyday labor of running a farm. There are external threats to be dealt with, too, but they slot nicely into the narrative.
I think two things would have made this book a five-star read for me: I felt Ophelia got in her head a bit as to her relationship with Silas and how it would, or wouldn't, fit in with her goals for the new, liberated lifestyle she was chasing. And I loved her and Silas' first time together, and it was important to the development of the relationship, but after that the sex scenes felt a bit long and unnecessary.
Altogether, a great debut, and I look forward to reading more from this talented author.
4.25 stars
May 16, 2025
Hillary Bowen’s Out With Lanterns is the kind of historical romance that blooms slowly—rooted in a specific place, shaped by its time, and steeped in quiet yearning.
Set on a Somerset farm in 1917, the novel pairs the urgency of war with the slow, steady rhythms of healing and growth. At its core: two people finding their footing in a world that no longer fits the mold they were born into.
Ophelia Blackwood is a heroine who grabs the reins of her own life. She walks away from the marriage market and toward the Women’s Land Army, choosing muddy boots, wheat quotas, and a found family of fierce, hardworking women over being anyone’s respectable wife. When Silas Larke, a wounded soldier from her past, is assigned to the same farm, the sparks aren’t new—but the people they’ve become certainly are.
Their love story isn’t a whirlwind; it’s a slow, deliberate reknitting of trust and possibility. Silas is a man unmoored by war, grappling with a future that no longer matches the map he once followed. Ophelia is resolute but unsure, standing at the edge of a life she’s only just begun to shape. Together, they must decide whether love is a distraction or the very thing that could anchor them.
“I am afraid of losing myself, of being lost in someone else when I’ve only just started to find out who I am.”
What makes this book shine is its sense of place. The farm is not just a backdrop—it breathes alongside the characters. Seasons of planting and harvesting echo the emotional arcs of two people figuring out not only how to be together but also how to be themselves.
Elegant, emotionally resonant, and quietly hopeful, Out With Lanterns is a story of growth in all its forms. It’s not flashy, but it is deeply felt. And sometimes, that’s the kind of love story that stays with you longest.
"And so they were sailing together, out past the bounds of any map he knew, in uncharted waters. Here be monsters, he thought. Love, jealousy, heartbreak. He would risk it all for this moment with Ophelia, this shared adventure. Sod off, he told his worries, and flexing his hand in her hair, he kissed her with everything in his heart."
Set on a Somerset farm in 1917, the novel pairs the urgency of war with the slow, steady rhythms of healing and growth. At its core: two people finding their footing in a world that no longer fits the mold they were born into.
Ophelia Blackwood is a heroine who grabs the reins of her own life. She walks away from the marriage market and toward the Women’s Land Army, choosing muddy boots, wheat quotas, and a found family of fierce, hardworking women over being anyone’s respectable wife. When Silas Larke, a wounded soldier from her past, is assigned to the same farm, the sparks aren’t new—but the people they’ve become certainly are.
Their love story isn’t a whirlwind; it’s a slow, deliberate reknitting of trust and possibility. Silas is a man unmoored by war, grappling with a future that no longer matches the map he once followed. Ophelia is resolute but unsure, standing at the edge of a life she’s only just begun to shape. Together, they must decide whether love is a distraction or the very thing that could anchor them.
“I am afraid of losing myself, of being lost in someone else when I’ve only just started to find out who I am.”
What makes this book shine is its sense of place. The farm is not just a backdrop—it breathes alongside the characters. Seasons of planting and harvesting echo the emotional arcs of two people figuring out not only how to be together but also how to be themselves.
Elegant, emotionally resonant, and quietly hopeful, Out With Lanterns is a story of growth in all its forms. It’s not flashy, but it is deeply felt. And sometimes, that’s the kind of love story that stays with you longest.
"And so they were sailing together, out past the bounds of any map he knew, in uncharted waters. Here be monsters, he thought. Love, jealousy, heartbreak. He would risk it all for this moment with Ophelia, this shared adventure. Sod off, he told his worries, and flexing his hand in her hair, he kissed her with everything in his heart."
June 9, 2025
Rating: 4/5
Thank you to the author, Hillary Bowen, for an advanced reader's copy of her debut, Out With Lanterns! Set in rural England in WWI, our female main character, Ophelia, is newly employed as a farm laborer within the Women's Land Army (WLA), when her former neighbor (and her not-forgotten-summer-sweetheart from before-the-war), Silas, shows up for a bit of active recovery at the farm while he's back from the front rehabilitating an injured leg. This is an introspective second-chance set-up, where two people are navigating expanded perspectives and hazy futures during war-time while they gently rediscover one another and untangle their shared past and sudden parting. The cover of this book so perfectly captures the atmosphere of this setting - this is farm-core for the misty-walk-at-dawn-through-the-native-grasses country kids, with lush scene-setting and prose that feels so syrupy-sweet (complimentary!!) you feel fully immersed in it from page one.
What I love best in this debut is Bowen's attention to detail, descriptive prose, focus on found family, exploration of early-20th-century suffragist organizing and her absolutely DECADENT open-door scenes (WHEW). I did wish for more conflict, though. These two are so genuinely earnest and open-hearted at all times - and talk through their conflicts so effectively - that potential conflicts don't really germinate into true conflicts. Ultimately, this will be a perfect read for those who want mature, low-angst relationships they can really settle into, with a fully realized world and a nuanced depiction of how the era's sociopolitical context might create a new vision for partnership.
Thank you to the author, Hillary Bowen, for an advanced reader's copy of her debut, Out With Lanterns! Set in rural England in WWI, our female main character, Ophelia, is newly employed as a farm laborer within the Women's Land Army (WLA), when her former neighbor (and her not-forgotten-summer-sweetheart from before-the-war), Silas, shows up for a bit of active recovery at the farm while he's back from the front rehabilitating an injured leg. This is an introspective second-chance set-up, where two people are navigating expanded perspectives and hazy futures during war-time while they gently rediscover one another and untangle their shared past and sudden parting. The cover of this book so perfectly captures the atmosphere of this setting - this is farm-core for the misty-walk-at-dawn-through-the-native-grasses country kids, with lush scene-setting and prose that feels so syrupy-sweet (complimentary!!) you feel fully immersed in it from page one.
What I love best in this debut is Bowen's attention to detail, descriptive prose, focus on found family, exploration of early-20th-century suffragist organizing and her absolutely DECADENT open-door scenes (WHEW). I did wish for more conflict, though. These two are so genuinely earnest and open-hearted at all times - and talk through their conflicts so effectively - that potential conflicts don't really germinate into true conflicts. Ultimately, this will be a perfect read for those who want mature, low-angst relationships they can really settle into, with a fully realized world and a nuanced depiction of how the era's sociopolitical context might create a new vision for partnership.
June 14, 2025
I love an Edwardian romance, but they're almost always early Edwardian and set among the aristocracy. (This may be an unfair statement since there are so few of them!) Out with Lanterns is set in the waning days of the Edwardian Era, during WWI, and takes place almost entirely on a farm!
Ophelia is of the manor born, abut she left her father's oppressive house to join the Women's Land Army. She's been growing both physically and emotionally as she works the farm she's been assigned to and associates with people she'd never have met before. Enter Silas, a tenant farmer from her father's estate who joined the army and is now billeted at the farm while he recovers from injury. Ophelia and Silas knew each other before, and he can see how much she's grown. Maybe still out of his reach but in a different way than she was before, as his landlord's daughter...?
I loved a lot of things about this book: Silas and Ophelia's sweet but SPICY slide into a relationship; the historical elements that were perfectly woven into the narrative without detracting from the love story; the well-developed secondary characters; the satisfying sense of place.
This was a satisfying debut, but it still feels like a debut. It had some pacing issues and some conflict issues (in that, I think Hillary Bowen loved both members of the couple so much she couldn't imagine them having a real conflict!). I think people who like reading a combo of hot sex, likable characters, and interesting history (and who don't need a ton of plot) will enjoy this one!
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
Ophelia is of the manor born, abut she left her father's oppressive house to join the Women's Land Army. She's been growing both physically and emotionally as she works the farm she's been assigned to and associates with people she'd never have met before. Enter Silas, a tenant farmer from her father's estate who joined the army and is now billeted at the farm while he recovers from injury. Ophelia and Silas knew each other before, and he can see how much she's grown. Maybe still out of his reach but in a different way than she was before, as his landlord's daughter...?
I loved a lot of things about this book: Silas and Ophelia's sweet but SPICY slide into a relationship; the historical elements that were perfectly woven into the narrative without detracting from the love story; the well-developed secondary characters; the satisfying sense of place.
This was a satisfying debut, but it still feels like a debut. It had some pacing issues and some conflict issues (in that, I think Hillary Bowen loved both members of the couple so much she couldn't imagine them having a real conflict!). I think people who like reading a combo of hot sex, likable characters, and interesting history (and who don't need a ton of plot) will enjoy this one!
This objective review is based on a complimentary copy of the novel.
April 21, 2025
Out with Lanterns is exactly what I crave in a historical romance: transportive, unique, impeccably researched, emotionally complex and beautifully crafted.
Bowen’s prose is magnificent. She does a marvelous job of portraying the gentle beauty and slow, natural rhythms of life on a farm. I felt as if I were there with the characters, breathing the heavy summer air, walking after the horses as they plowed the fields…
This is not a novel of dramatic twists and turns, but it’s never boring or one-dimensional. The idyllic setting becomes a character unto itself, and it’s used not to whitewash the horrors and injustices of the time, but instead as a thought-provoking counterpoint to the terrors of World War I, a place of female empowerment, and ultimately a force of healing and self-discovery for both main characters. This weaving of theme, character and place is somehow complex and simple at the same time. Both gentle, and incredibly powerful.
The love story is refreshingly mature. Yes, both characters are young, but both have a depth and emotional realness that is often lacking in the genre. This book is equally about Ophelia and Silas’ romance, and about their own personal journeys of growth and self-discovery… And it acknowledges the truth that in the end, you can’t love another until you accept and love yourself.
A truly beautiful book.
I was honored to be given an advanced copy of this novel, and I can not wait to see what Bowen writes next.
Bowen’s prose is magnificent. She does a marvelous job of portraying the gentle beauty and slow, natural rhythms of life on a farm. I felt as if I were there with the characters, breathing the heavy summer air, walking after the horses as they plowed the fields…
This is not a novel of dramatic twists and turns, but it’s never boring or one-dimensional. The idyllic setting becomes a character unto itself, and it’s used not to whitewash the horrors and injustices of the time, but instead as a thought-provoking counterpoint to the terrors of World War I, a place of female empowerment, and ultimately a force of healing and self-discovery for both main characters. This weaving of theme, character and place is somehow complex and simple at the same time. Both gentle, and incredibly powerful.
The love story is refreshingly mature. Yes, both characters are young, but both have a depth and emotional realness that is often lacking in the genre. This book is equally about Ophelia and Silas’ romance, and about their own personal journeys of growth and self-discovery… And it acknowledges the truth that in the end, you can’t love another until you accept and love yourself.
A truly beautiful book.
I was honored to be given an advanced copy of this novel, and I can not wait to see what Bowen writes next.
June 18, 2025
3.5⭐️
There really aren’t enough Edwardian romance novels out there, so Hillary Bowen’s debut is filling a void. This book tackles many of the issues women and men were grappling with during the early 21st century.
Ophelia is trying to figure out her place in the world and how her changing views on marriage, women’s rights, and love fit into her new life. Silas, who has been away fighting in WWI returns to England injured but determined to return to his family’s tenant farm. While convalescing he’s given orders to report to a local farm to help since so many of the men are off fighting and Britain is struggling to meet the demands on British food production. When he gets to the farm he’s shocked to see Ophelia, the woman whose father owns the estate his family’s tenant farm is on, and with whom he also developed a friendship before leaving for war.
This book was such a breath of fresh air, as much as I love regency and Victorian romance novels it was nice to break away from the ton, ballrooms, and match-making mamas and get a story from a new perspective. However, I wanted a little more out of Ophelia and Silas’s relationship, it felt slightly underdeveloped. We’re given few details about their friendship before Silas leaves for war, they didn’t keep in contact while he was gone yet it doesn’t take long once they’re reunited for their friendship to quickly turn to something more. Despite that I think this was a wonderful debut and fans of Evie Dunmore will eat this up.
There really aren’t enough Edwardian romance novels out there, so Hillary Bowen’s debut is filling a void. This book tackles many of the issues women and men were grappling with during the early 21st century.
Ophelia is trying to figure out her place in the world and how her changing views on marriage, women’s rights, and love fit into her new life. Silas, who has been away fighting in WWI returns to England injured but determined to return to his family’s tenant farm. While convalescing he’s given orders to report to a local farm to help since so many of the men are off fighting and Britain is struggling to meet the demands on British food production. When he gets to the farm he’s shocked to see Ophelia, the woman whose father owns the estate his family’s tenant farm is on, and with whom he also developed a friendship before leaving for war.
This book was such a breath of fresh air, as much as I love regency and Victorian romance novels it was nice to break away from the ton, ballrooms, and match-making mamas and get a story from a new perspective. However, I wanted a little more out of Ophelia and Silas’s relationship, it felt slightly underdeveloped. We’re given few details about their friendship before Silas leaves for war, they didn’t keep in contact while he was gone yet it doesn’t take long once they’re reunited for their friendship to quickly turn to something more. Despite that I think this was a wonderful debut and fans of Evie Dunmore will eat this up.
June 25, 2025
A gorgeous debut from author Hillary Bowen filled with earnest pining, evocative setting details, and steamy romance!
This histrom is set on a farm in the English countryside in 1917/during World War I. The setting and historical time period was exceptionally executed—the feminist focus on the WLA and rural homefront war efforts felt fresh for the genre, and the contrast of cozy, tactile details of the farm with the rough physicality of the labor of the lifestyle was a delicious combination. Truly, Hillary brought this world and time period to life on the page with great intention and skill. I was spellbound from the first chapter.
Ophelia and Silas are steady and strong romantic leads, building a partnership of equality and tender love on every page of this book. Theirs is a slower-paced love story, and I mean that as a compliment! Their love story builds and builds and builds until it reaches an unstoppable crescendo by the book’s conclusion. It felt indulgent, rich to both the senses and heart. It was very satisfying for me as a reader.
What I enjoyed most about this love story is how fresh it felt for the historical romance genre—from the setting, to the time period, to the pacing, to conflict (both style and resolution), culminating in the (slightly) nontraditional HEA at the end that felt *right* for the characters…there is so much to love here! I can’t wait to see what Hillary writes next.
This histrom is set on a farm in the English countryside in 1917/during World War I. The setting and historical time period was exceptionally executed—the feminist focus on the WLA and rural homefront war efforts felt fresh for the genre, and the contrast of cozy, tactile details of the farm with the rough physicality of the labor of the lifestyle was a delicious combination. Truly, Hillary brought this world and time period to life on the page with great intention and skill. I was spellbound from the first chapter.
Ophelia and Silas are steady and strong romantic leads, building a partnership of equality and tender love on every page of this book. Theirs is a slower-paced love story, and I mean that as a compliment! Their love story builds and builds and builds until it reaches an unstoppable crescendo by the book’s conclusion. It felt indulgent, rich to both the senses and heart. It was very satisfying for me as a reader.
What I enjoyed most about this love story is how fresh it felt for the historical romance genre—from the setting, to the time period, to the pacing, to conflict (both style and resolution), culminating in the (slightly) nontraditional HEA at the end that felt *right* for the characters…there is so much to love here! I can’t wait to see what Hillary writes next.
July 7, 2025
Out with Lanterns is many of the things I love in a historical romance: immersive setting, tension-filled longing between the MCs, and rich roots in a piece of history itself.
First off, Hillary's prose is beautiful. She absolutely shines in her descriptions of the countryside, and the affection between Silas and Ophelia feels palpable and true. I loved the representation of Silas's injury from the war, and of Ophelia's self-determination to rise above the box her misogynistic father wanted to put her in. There is clear character development as these two navigate their own perceived inadequacies, and while the romance still takes center stage (and it is oh so swoony, by the way!), we get the clear sense that Silas and Ophelia are individuals on their own journeys. Supportive partners who choose to be together out of genuine love, foregoing a lot of the traditional labels of the time.
On the history side of things, it was lovely to break from high society and ballrooms and focus on the practical day-to-day lives of "regular" people. Before reading, I knew very little about the Women's Land Army during WW1. Hillary did a fantastic job interweaving valuable, historical fact into Ophelia's character arc. These women were tough and adaptive, playing a crucial role in wartime Britain.
There is a real sense of camaraderie between the characters in this book--even the side characters are vivid and lovable. I'm already looking forward to Hannah's book!
First off, Hillary's prose is beautiful. She absolutely shines in her descriptions of the countryside, and the affection between Silas and Ophelia feels palpable and true. I loved the representation of Silas's injury from the war, and of Ophelia's self-determination to rise above the box her misogynistic father wanted to put her in. There is clear character development as these two navigate their own perceived inadequacies, and while the romance still takes center stage (and it is oh so swoony, by the way!), we get the clear sense that Silas and Ophelia are individuals on their own journeys. Supportive partners who choose to be together out of genuine love, foregoing a lot of the traditional labels of the time.
On the history side of things, it was lovely to break from high society and ballrooms and focus on the practical day-to-day lives of "regular" people. Before reading, I knew very little about the Women's Land Army during WW1. Hillary did a fantastic job interweaving valuable, historical fact into Ophelia's character arc. These women were tough and adaptive, playing a crucial role in wartime Britain.
There is a real sense of camaraderie between the characters in this book--even the side characters are vivid and lovable. I'm already looking forward to Hannah's book!
June 16, 2025
Out with Lanterns, by Hillary Bowen, is the WWI/England set love story of Ophelia “Fee” and Silas “Si.”
The two become fast friends one summer in their youth, only to be torn apart by the cruel manipulations of her father. More than a year later, Fee has left her father’s home and is assisting with the war effort at a farm. Si has returned from the front, injured, and is assigned to the very same farm. After the shock of their reunion fades, Fee and Si get the chance to become friends again and fall in love. What follows is a gentle, cozy, hot, and romantic love story.
Bowen’s writing is really something to behold, and this is her debut. I cannot wait to see what she does next.
Also, this cover, holy sh*t I love it!
Despite the evil father and being set during WWI this book is very low conflict and does suffer a bit from a lack of action.
Thanks to Hillary for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.
The two become fast friends one summer in their youth, only to be torn apart by the cruel manipulations of her father. More than a year later, Fee has left her father’s home and is assisting with the war effort at a farm. Si has returned from the front, injured, and is assigned to the very same farm. After the shock of their reunion fades, Fee and Si get the chance to become friends again and fall in love. What follows is a gentle, cozy, hot, and romantic love story.
Bowen’s writing is really something to behold, and this is her debut. I cannot wait to see what she does next.
Also, this cover, holy sh*t I love it!
Despite the evil father and being set during WWI this book is very low conflict and does suffer a bit from a lack of action.
Thanks to Hillary for the ARC, in exchange for my honest review.
December 22, 2025
This book caught me by surprise. I was expecting a nice historical romance and what I got instead was a GREAT historical romance and a journey of self discovery that warmed my heart and that lifted my soul.
To think that ideas that are obvious and common place to us today could be so radical not even a hundred years ago is something that never fails to shake me. And to Ophelia learn and experience these new thoughts and organize them and realize what her truth is was so inspiring. No less inspiring was Silas being awed by how brave she was in going through this change and decide to go on a journey himself.
It did not go pass me that there was purpose behind Ophelia's name. Thanks to Taylor Swift, I learned a lot about Hamlet and Ophelia this past year. And to see a woman named after a character whose whole life was controlled by the men around her, set herself free of the expectations thrust upon her and carve her own way was beautiful.
To think that ideas that are obvious and common place to us today could be so radical not even a hundred years ago is something that never fails to shake me. And to Ophelia learn and experience these new thoughts and organize them and realize what her truth is was so inspiring. No less inspiring was Silas being awed by how brave she was in going through this change and decide to go on a journey himself.
It did not go pass me that there was purpose behind Ophelia's name. Thanks to Taylor Swift, I learned a lot about Hamlet and Ophelia this past year. And to see a woman named after a character whose whole life was controlled by the men around her, set herself free of the expectations thrust upon her and carve her own way was beautiful.
August 6, 2025
As I didn’t love this book, I’m keeping this review short. Out with Lanterns has much to recommend it: a great setting, thoughtful social history of WWI, feminist storytelling, and likable characters. While I did enjoy those aspects of the novel, it fell short in other ways. The characters were too perfect and often behaved more like 21st-century people than those of their time. I can appreciate some modernisation in historical fiction, especially when written for a contemporary audience, but in this case, it made me feel too removed from the setting and, subsequently, the story. There were also some editing errors that detracted from my enjoyment. 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
Would I try this author again? Probably. But if the story didn’t overcome the issues I found in this book, I likely wouldn’t finish it.
Thank you to the author for the ARC; all opinions are my own.
Would I try this author again? Probably. But if the story didn’t overcome the issues I found in this book, I likely wouldn’t finish it.
Thank you to the author for the ARC; all opinions are my own.
August 15, 2025
This was a beautifully written debut - great characters and setting, intricate and thoughtful development, and just enough plot to keep things moving. Can’t wait to see what else we get from this new author!
September 6, 2025
Lush, breathtaking prose. Incredible characters. A gripping and poignant plot. Gorgeous friendships, and a love story that’s so full of longing, I could cry 💛
January 4, 2026
Rescue a horse (from a veterinary emergency), ride a farmhand (you’ve had a thing for for years), save the farm (you used to be a spoiled aristocrat, now you're a kick ass behind a plow). More romances set in WWI please!! Did Downton Abbey teach us nothing?!
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