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Miss Ashby, in Repose
When Miss Charlotte Ashby comes to London for the Season, she expects order, usefulness, and restraint. She is to watch over her young cousin Julia, keep her clear of imprudence, and sit for a miniature portrait commissioned by her exacting godmother, Lady Honoria Selwyn. Romance, Charlotte is quite certain, can be managed out of existence by clear judgement and proper rules.
Yet London proves less orderly than she anticipates. A quiet baronet with an inconvenient habit of observing too closely; a charming gentleman whose motives are easily read; and an old family quarrel that refuses to remain buried – all conspire to test Charlotte’s confidence in first impressions. As prudence collides with feeling, and silence proves as dangerous as haste, Charlotte must learn when judgement requires restraint, and when it demands courage.
Set amid drawing-rooms, letters, and the watchful eye of an artist, this is a novel of misjudgement corrected, integrity rewarded, and love discovered with conviction.
Yet London proves less orderly than she anticipates. A quiet baronet with an inconvenient habit of observing too closely; a charming gentleman whose motives are easily read; and an old family quarrel that refuses to remain buried – all conspire to test Charlotte’s confidence in first impressions. As prudence collides with feeling, and silence proves as dangerous as haste, Charlotte must learn when judgement requires restraint, and when it demands courage.
Set amid drawing-rooms, letters, and the watchful eye of an artist, this is a novel of misjudgement corrected, integrity rewarded, and love discovered with conviction.
560 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 16, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review
March 15, 2026
A Missed Opportunity
Upon reading the sample of Miss Ashby, In Repose, I became quite intrigued by the promise of a traditional Regency Romance featuring a couple whose first encounter in Mr. Ellwood's painting studio unintentionally creates a bad first impression on each other, setting a promising start for a tale of enemies-to-lovers that would pay a beautiful homage to Pride and Prejudice without sounding like a cheap copy.
Unfortunately, the writing, which initially demonstrated great intelligence, began to seem disjointed, with information constantly repeated when it could have simply been briefly mentioned again, some sentences even identical. Characters who had not yet been introduced in one chapter, in the next, already knew each other and mentioned events that were not shown in the text. Many times I felt that I had skipped some part, but that was not the case. There were also inconsistencies regarding ages and even names of secondary characters, which sometimes changed throughout the narrative; the relationship of the main couple was not developed, being sidelined in favor of pages and pages about the uninteresting plot of the Davenports' feud with the Willoughbys; the scandal involving Mrs. Ravenshaw was a more intriguing plot, but it garnered far more attention than the main couple's relationship. The romance between Charlotte and Henry, which was described as laudable for its rationality, was in fact presented as excessively rational, and the lack of sparks between them made it seem that their union, in the end, was based purely on intellectual affinity, and not also on attraction, like that of Darcy and Elizabeth.
Miss Ashby, In Repose would greatly benefit from a complete revision, with a shortening of repetitive parts and an enhancement, as well as expansion, of the scenes of the main couple for better development. If properly edited, it could be a charming Regency Romance with an old-fashioned touch; as it stands, I cannot, in good conscience, give it more than 2.5 stars.
Upon reading the sample of Miss Ashby, In Repose, I became quite intrigued by the promise of a traditional Regency Romance featuring a couple whose first encounter in Mr. Ellwood's painting studio unintentionally creates a bad first impression on each other, setting a promising start for a tale of enemies-to-lovers that would pay a beautiful homage to Pride and Prejudice without sounding like a cheap copy.
Unfortunately, the writing, which initially demonstrated great intelligence, began to seem disjointed, with information constantly repeated when it could have simply been briefly mentioned again, some sentences even identical. Characters who had not yet been introduced in one chapter, in the next, already knew each other and mentioned events that were not shown in the text. Many times I felt that I had skipped some part, but that was not the case. There were also inconsistencies regarding ages and even names of secondary characters, which sometimes changed throughout the narrative; the relationship of the main couple was not developed, being sidelined in favor of pages and pages about the uninteresting plot of the Davenports' feud with the Willoughbys; the scandal involving Mrs. Ravenshaw was a more intriguing plot, but it garnered far more attention than the main couple's relationship. The romance between Charlotte and Henry, which was described as laudable for its rationality, was in fact presented as excessively rational, and the lack of sparks between them made it seem that their union, in the end, was based purely on intellectual affinity, and not also on attraction, like that of Darcy and Elizabeth.
Miss Ashby, In Repose would greatly benefit from a complete revision, with a shortening of repetitive parts and an enhancement, as well as expansion, of the scenes of the main couple for better development. If properly edited, it could be a charming Regency Romance with an old-fashioned touch; as it stands, I cannot, in good conscience, give it more than 2.5 stars.
Displaying 1 - 1 of 1 review