Rescue her daughter, destroy her dragons, defeat his demons, go back to his lonely life. How hard can it be? When Susan Cunningham's daughter disappears from school, her pleasant life as a fashionable, dashing, and respectable widow is shattered. Amy is reported to be chasing a French spy up the Great North Road, and when Susan sets out in pursuit she is forced to accept help from the last person she wants: her childhood friend and adult nemesis, Gil Rutledge. Gil Rutledge has loved Susan since she was ten and he a boy of twelve. He is determined to oblige her by rescuing her daughter. And if close proximity allows them to rekindle their old friendship, even better. He has no right to ask for more. Gil and Susan must overcome danger, mystery, ghosts from the past, and their own pride before their journey is complete. Not your usual Regency : Jude Knight writes historical fiction with a large helping of romance, a splash of Regency, and a side order of suspense.
Have you ever wanted something so much you were afraid to even try? That was me ten years ago.
For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a novelist. I even started dozens of stories, over the years.
But life kept getting in the way. A seriously ill child who required years of therapy; a rising mortgage that led to a full-time job; six children, my own chronic illness… the writing took a back seat.
As the years passed, the fear grew. If I didn't put my stories out there in the market, I wouldn't risk making a fool of myself. I could keep the dream alive if I never put it to the test.
Then my mother died. That great lady had waited her whole life to read a novel of mine, and now it would never happen.
So I faced my fear and changed it--told everyone I knew I was writing a novel. Now I'd make a fool of myself for certain if I didn't finish.
My first book came out to excellent reviews in December 2014, and the rest is history. Many books, lots of positive reviews, and a few awards later, I feel foolish for not starting earlier.
I write historical fiction with a large helping of romance, a splash of Regency, and a twist of suspense. I then try to figure out how to slot the story into a genre category. I'm mad keen on history, enjoy what happens to people in the crucible of a passionate relationship, and love to use a good mystery and some real danger as mechanisms to torture my characters.
Dip your toe into my world with one of my lunch-time reads collections or a novella, or dive into a novel. And let me know what you think.
Another good read in this series. Susan Cunningham and Gil Rutledge have known each other since childhood as they were neighbours. Susan’s daughter Amy and her friend have disappeared from their school and they find themselves chasing after her. It was a time when they were able to talk through some of their past. Gil has a difficult childhood due to his father and older brother, as did his sisters. There was a good amount of action in this story, that takes us from Cambridgeshire to Edinburgh and various places back in England. There is a mystery concerning the French lady travelling with the girls. Gil also has family problems and importantly his relationship with Susan. He wonders if he is capable of having a family, given his tainted blood. This was an enthralling read and I’ve preordered the next in the series, I can’t wait! I received a copy via Booksprout and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Two decades and hundreds of battlefields has not helped Gil Rutledge forget the love of his life. Nor has it lessened his hatred of certain members of his family that cost his that love. Now facing a familial responsibility, he never wanted Gil must try to find his way through handling the family who wants nothing to do with him. Until the one person he never thought to have any interaction with appears before him in need.
Two decades, a marriage, and three children have Susan Cunningham thinking she has forgotten the one man who held her love. Until he shows up on her doorstep in her hour of need. Her determination to keep the wall built around her heart where it concerns him may not be as strong as she thinks.
As Susan and Gil work together to first find Susan’s daughter then uncover the nefarious plot she discovered will they continue to deny their attraction or give in to the love they’ve always had? As always, a wonderfully written tale by the talented Jude Knight. Ms. Knight’s writing draws the reader into the story so she feels each emotion the character feels. And what feelings Gil and Susan have!! Susan’s frustration with Gil had me wanting to shake the man! While shaking Susan and asking why she hesitates to tell Gil what she wants. Then yelling at them both to COMMUNICATE!! Oh, and the history of these two, both together and apart, had me bawling while Gil’s interaction with his nieces had me falling in love with him.
Naughtiness 2* Wow definitely does not cover how awesome this book is, I loved every second very much, most definitely an epic read.
I will not give spoilers but this book is definitely one you can loose yourself in and has lots of adventures, twists, characters all of which very brilliantly written. I won't give spoilers but will say anyone who loves regency with romance, adventure, and a lot more will love this book . Its not a short either which I loved, being a greedy reader lol. I do hope we see more characters with their happy endings featuring these amazing characters and their stories especially our hero's sister in law.
Thank you Lady Jude for writing this amazing story. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
WOW! What a story! Absolutely amazing! The writing is exceptional and the story an exciting mystery from the start. I couldn't put the book down and I couldn't help but fall in love with the hero and the heroine. The highlight? Gil's letter to Susan. It brought me to tears. I highly recommend this book!
England 1812 Love lost is often given a second chance and as Gil Rutledge sees Susan Cunningham, the woman he has loved since he was 12, he was struck anew by his feelings. Having been out of the country at war for the last twenty years, Gil is returning home to deal with his family responsibilities. The hated family that had kept he and Susan apart when his elder brother, now deceased, had bought his commission and shipped him off to service.
Susan Cunningham had thought Gil had just left and abandoned her. So finally marrying, having three children and left a widow she cannot not believe it when she sees him. Finding her eldest daughter Amy has left school with her friend Pat, Susan is desperate to find them and bring them home. As Gil finds out what has happened, he insist he help her on her journey as they follow clues that indicate the girls have been kidnapped by a french spy. What you say?
As the two travel together, they try to deny the attraction to each other that has come out stronger that it ever had been. Can they deny their feelings, while searching for answers and uncovering a mystery that takes center stage in their search?
Jude Knight has written a wonderful story with her gift for bringing the story alive and making the reader fully engaged with the characters. I fell in love with Gil, who felt he was not good enough for Susan due to his terrible family and all the horrible things they had done. Susan on the other hand had such strength and determination, but she kept waiting for Gil to make a move. I smiled, wanted to cry with the strong emotions coming out and cheer as the story unfolded.
Do not miss this exciting story that you will hold in your heart long after the last page is turned. Well done Jude Knight..
When Susan Cunningham’s daughter disappears from school, her pleasant life as a fashionable, dashing, and respectable widow is shattered. Amy is reported to be chasing a French spy up the Great North Road, and when Susan sets out in pursuit she is forced to accept help from the last person she wants: her childhood friend and adult nemesis, Gil Rutledge who is now Viscount Rutledge. Gil has loved Susan ‘The Goddess’ since she was ten and he a boy of twelve. He is determined to oblige her by rescuing her daughter. The close proximity allows them to rekindle their old friendship.
A lovely, engrossing read which kept me turning the pages. The characters were very well portrayed & had plenty of depth, I loved Gil & Susan although I could have shaken both of them at times whilst saying talk to each other. Their journey from Cambridge to Edinburgh gave them time to be reacquainted & for the reader to learn more & more about them. I particularly liked that both of them were mature, in their late thirties & had loved each other since they were children. The story flows very well with adventure, secret codes, misunderstandings & of course romance, Gil’s letter, oh my, so beautiful & reduced me to tears. I look forward to more books in the series
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
I think this was my first experience with this author, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that she writes a good book. There were times when I felt she could have shortened the plot so it didn't become tedious, but I liked Susan and Gil and the interaction between the two of them. I may try another of her books.
I received this book as an ARC for a honest review. This book held my attention all the way through it to the end. I loved it. There were plenty of twists and turns in the story to keep you guessing what was going to happen next. I would recommend this book to anyone.
Jude Knight has never disappointed me. I have absolutely loved every one of her books, and this one especially. "Realm of Silence" is the latest novel in the series, "The Golden Redepennings." Each book in the series features one of the Redepennings and their friends. This book features the strong and beautiful widow, Susan Cunningham, who must rescue her adventurous daughter, Amy, as she and her friend, Pat, slip away from school to capture a French spy. In Susan's attempt to save her daughter, she joins forces with Gil Rutledge, a man she has hated/loved for most of her life. Their pursuit of Amy and Pat leads them all the way to Scotland and through working together, they come to understand that they don't hate each other--quite the opposite. In spite of their past misunderstanding, the book does not stretch on and on in ridiculous miscommunication and missed chances. The whole story flows from beginning to end, and doesn't get bogged down in unnecessary situations or plot lines. The characters are good people worthy of admiration. The dialogue is so funny at times, especially when the runaways discuss proper etiquette when dealing with a kidnapper. I love references to other family members that I have read about (and cared about), and there are hints that there will be more marriages and relationships among other family members in the future. This is a GOOD book. It is entertaining and it left me feeling happy. I look forward to the next one. Although I was allowed to read an advance copy of "Realm of Silence," for this review, I had already purchased the book because, like I said earlier, Jude Knight has never disappointed me.
I usually enjoy the author's books and although I liked the adventures and twists I thoght the plot boring and not that interesting. It took me a long time to finish because it didn't captivate me at all.
Jude Knight has taken my favorite trope (childhood best friends) and written a wonderful action packed spy hunting adventure tale for the ages!
Susan Cunningham, a stalwart, take no prisoners widow and Gilbert Rutledge, former career military man, now viscount, encounter one another on the Great North Road as Susan pursues her missing daughter to Scotland. No, young Amy is not eloping to Greta Green.
If you haven't read the two previous Golden Redepenning books, no worries, this tale definitely stands on its own, but my advice to you is to read everything in Knight's wonderful world. Her characters are smart and savvy. You will find no TSTL heroines in the bunch.
The characters in this story are so in love, but each, for their own reasons, hold back their declarations to the other. Susan has been hostile to Gil due to a situation he had no control over for 20 years. Gil hesitates to declare himself for his own reasons. This rift combined with their combustible attraction makes for compelling reading.
Jude Knight knows how to sell the sizzle without the sausage. I know how sex works. I don't need a blow by blow account of it in my books. In fact, for me, authors waste pages of copy with insert tab A into slot B descriptions of the act. Frankly, I appreciate an author who closes the door on that type of intimacy and describes the true intimacy as we see here. That's hot!
I generally do not care for road trip books, but this is the third book by Knight with characters going to and fro all over England and Scotland as a main plot device that I have devoured and loved. A Raging Madness and The Gingerbread Bride are the other two. She handles this plot device well and her works do not read like travelogues as others sometimes do.
I recommend this story to all who enjoy reading about mature protagonists handling real world problems and seeing strong heroines who can save themselves and the people they love. 📚❤️️📚
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It is a Regency Romance, but not your typical Regency at all. I like how Jude Knight uses a famous quotation for her title from George Eliot, and I loved the main characters- Lord Gilbert Rutledge who she calls Rock Ledge and Susan Redepenning who Gil calls The Goddess. I don't want to spoil it for you, but these two have two come together to rescue Susan's daughter and her classmate who have been abducted by their French teacher who may be a spy. This is an action packed adventure, and an entertaining story I know you will enjoy.
Once again Jude Knight's Regency world and her wonderful Redepennings (this time the widowed Susan) delight me. She adds in Gil, who spent much of his childhood running tame with the Redepennings, much happier in their home than his miserable residence. Gil and Susan both have reasons for avoiding an entanglement, but when the actions of her impulsive daughter propel them into a frantic chase up the Great Northern Road together, well, sparks fly. Once she changes her mind, her challenge is convincing the stubborn man to cooperate. No respectable romance heroine would sit back and let him be all noble, and Susan is no exception. Terrific read, with wonderful characters. Sit back and let Jude pull you into her world.
I absolutely loved this splendid tale of spy intrigue, brother betrayal, haute ton retribution with a tide of familiar support. The newly titled Viscount Gil Rutledge is my new book hero. His suffering of brotherly betrayal as well as discord at a crumbling estate makes him all the more honorable in his quest to aid his childhood friend, the widow Susan Cunningham, in tracking down her wayward daughter and friend. Their story is one of second chance love and family and I couldn't put it down. I wholeheartedly recommend this book by Jude Knight whose name has been added to my short list of favorite authors. Realm of Silence is a perfect read for a vacation road trip of your own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I have been reading the Redepenning stories and enjoying them, and I enjoyed the characters in this book. I like showing the story from both points of view. I also like that (unlike many writing in this field), Jude Knight is aware of the proprieties of the time and the dangers to women who did not observe them.
There is, however, one critical problem with the plot, and that is that the journey from London to Edinburgh by coach took 16 days in the early 19th century; people did not just pop up and down between the two cities. The journey was such a major undertaking with so many hazards that passengers on the mail coach had to prove they had written their wills before they could embark (said to be the origin of the phrase "where there's a will, there's a way"). And so treating the journey as a jaunt around the Home Counties didn't really work for me.
It might be silly, but I do love a historical romance book with a good chase! Much of this book is a journey through England and Scotland to first find missing children who deliberately left school in an attempt to track down a spy, and the story continues as the main characters try to figure out what the children have discovered. It was fun to track the story all over Britain. I particularly liked Gil, the hero. He and the heroine had been childhood friends, and as might be typical for youngsters, their relationship had aspects of love/hate. But Gil is a good man and wants to help his former friend in her hour of need. Along the journey, their relationship evolves in a way that is delightful to watch.
There are some issues with this book. While the author did better at maintaining conflict and suspense compared to some of her other books that I have read, I still felt like there were some unnecessary scenes that didn't really have much of a dramatic impact, move the story forward, or show character. When she attempted to mimic a Scottish accent, it was practically unreadable. Here is an example: “But ’en he got aw radge, and up the twois ay them went tae the bed chamber.” I'm still not quite sure what all of that was supposed to mean. That is very distracting because I just want to know what the person said and keep moving! There were some other issues with grammar, punctuation, and usage. All in all, I enjoy the chase and the romance enough so that they outweighed these other issues.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
Gil Rutledge has sold out of the army as he's inherited a viscountancy from his awful brother, who has left the family split and the estate bankrupt. Gil is at a loss how to turn it round, how to reconcile with his sisters, his sister in law and his nieces who he doesn't know and how to survive without the love of his life the now widowed Susan Cunningham, as he can't marry anyone with his mother over riding everyone.
So when Gil thinks he sees Susan's daughter Amy, with an unknown woman and young man he'd concerned although not a hundred percent sure it's A!y as he hasn't seen her in years. But when he bumps into a distraught Susan who's just learnt her daughter and best friends have been kidnapped or run a away from school with a suspected spy (their thoughts), Hip is able to give Susan an idea of the direction they've taken.
Book has two voices, one Gil and Susan , the other the girls and their music teacher. We meet lots of characters we know from previous books, although there are some couples who in reading this book I feel like I've missed their story. A rather lovely letter pulls the whole book together.
When Susan’s daughter, Amy, and Amy’s friend Pat, go missing from school, Susan and Gil find themselves on a race to find them. Poor Gil, a retired Colonel and now Viscount Rutledge, has been in love with Susan for most of his life. Through the machinations of his awful older brother, Gil lost his chance with her and had to stand by and watch her create a family with someone else. Now, years later, she, a widow and he, every bit still in love with her, are on a mad dash to catch up to two young ladies. This story is fraught with emotion. Each yearning for the other, but neither saying the words of their heart. Add to that a couple of gunshot wounds, unscrupolous men, an ailing prisoner, estranged family members and a deranged mother, and you get a tale that will engage your emotions, keep your interest, and have you rooting for two wronged lovers.
A book worthy of admiration. Bummer this is the last book of Jude Knight for a while. I really would like to thank her for putting them on Booksprout! Gil Rutledge is a character that you cannot help to admire and Susan Cunningham she is so determined not to let Gil see her love for him. This story is a second chance for these two, but will they find each other again or will unknown obstacles become roadblocks. There is mystery, suspense and drama mixed into this well-written piece. Do not be surprised when you find tears in your eyes. There is a reason why Jude Knight is a bestselling author and this is an example of why. High praise! So recommend! A must-read book! I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
I loved this story about Susan, Gil, her daughter Amy and Amy's school friend Pat. The other family members were also there at different times giving us chance to follow their lives. The main story was the race to rescue the two young girls which meant Susan and Gil had to work together. It was a lovely story with 2 strong characters. Gil feels tainted by his dreadful brother and mother and guilty for events that were completely out of his control. Both Susan and Amy ably demonstrated the power of women when faced with a crisis. I loved the comparisons of Susan to a General in battle! The series is best read in order. Looking forward to the next one.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This may be my favorite story of the three books in this series so far. It was a very interesting and unique storyline with a lot of twists and turns and unexpected situations. The romance was good, and so was the adventure the two teenage girls had. The only real issue I have, as usual with this author, is the extreme amount of detail and extra scenes that don't really add much to the story. It seems a lot of people enjoy it, but it's just a little tedious for me.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
What a wonderful story this is, there are two different plots running simultaneously in this book. The one of hunting for and locating Susan’s daughter. Then there is the romance between the childhood friends, Susan and Gil who have spent a lot of years fighting to forget each other. It was a delight to read this story.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
her life seems alright until her daughter goes missing while chasing a spy. Now she is going to need help to find her and she needs help from the last person she wants to ask. He will help her hoping she will finally see how much he loves her. Can they find the daughter? Will she finally see him for him? Follow their journey
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This is intriguing and suspenseful. Gil and Susan had each once thought that they would marry, but Gil's brother saw to it that they were parted. Then after years of not seeing each other, Gil forced his way into Susan's search for her missing daughter. Many truths came to light during that journey, truths that started them thinking of what ifs. I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This is my honest and voluntary opinion of it.
I absolutely loved this wonderful historical romance and would highly recommend it. The characters are well developed and the author has brought them to life with her words. The storyline contains mystery, intrigue, danger, and a second chance for romance.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Have a tissue handy and allow two days (unless you can pull an all-nighter) for this PG (according to Jude Knight, but there are parts I doubt anyone under seventeen will understand) Regency romance about two British schoolgirls following a French spy from Oxford to Scotland in the summer of 1812. Mild chuckles are likely to ensue. I had an ARC via Booksprout and this is my voluntary review.
This authour tried to describe emotion using a lot of words that did not evoke emotion at all for me. Also tried to evoke sexual tension, in a friendship of over twenty years of not seeing eachother. Ugh! I quit at this point as the story was not all that interesting either.
Very entertaining and interesting story. It was well written with characters you can enjoy. It’s almost like second chance as Gill loved her and still is willing to step in to help her. He will help ..
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
This novel seems to end about half way through, but keep reading for the second half is differently delightful. Trying to find two kidnapped girls, two old friends make their way up and down England and all the way into a love match.