Once Upon a Time in Millsbury by Iris Lim is a Regency novel, which will be published on December 15th. I got the chance to read an ARC of this book. This is the story of neighbors, who were practically like family, falling in love and marrying. I don’t think I’m ruining the book by saying that. The author makes it pretty clear from the beginning how this story is going to play out.
Basic Premise
Garrett Laurence’s family is rich, and as the only surviving son, he will inherit it all. The only problem is that he needs an heir, and as he’s now 30, time is running out for him when it comes to marriage. Unfortunately, all of the women he meets are wrong for him.
Then there’s Melodia Reese. She’s a bit of a whimsical character. At times, I feel like she comes off as a bit childish. She is quite a bit younger than Garrett. She’s around 20. I’m thinking that she might even be 19. Not only are Garrett and Melodia neighbors, but she’s close friends with his younger sisters. Garrett has to look beyond the age difference and his current view of her to puruse this relationship.
My Thoughts
This was an overall good book. I read a lot of Regency novels, and for me, this book didn’t stand out enough from other similar books to make it a 5-star book.
While the plot of the story makes it clear early on where the story’s going to go when it comes to romance, I never really felt like our two main characters liked each other until suddenly they really liked each other. I would have preferred more hints of these feelings earlier on. They’ve been neighbors forever. I felt like he thought of her more as a much younger sister than as a potential love interest, and then suddenly they are both in love. I had a hard time buying that they really felt anything for each other. Along with that, while I did like both characters, I’m not sure that I like them together. I wanted a better feel for why they were a good match for each other. Still, this was a fun, fairly quick read.
Is It Clean?
This book is clean. There’s no swearing, violence, or sexual content. The most scandalous thing is that two of the characters engage in some kissing and touching, which would have been deemed improper during this time period.
Would I Recommend It?
Whether I would recommend this or not depends on your interest in Regency novel. If you like them a lot and enjoy the ones that were written more recently, you may enjoy this one as well. If you only like the occassional Regency novel, I’d probably pass on this one. There are other better ones that represent the time period better.
