David W Wilkin

This is a charming Regency. The brothers Coldwell are both struggling to reacquaint themselves not only with family, but just who they are and what direction to take with their lives, post war. Though neither is excited by their elder sister’s machinations for matrimony, the inevitable happens and they are besotted and yes, confused by hopes, doubts and possibilities. But after a declaration of one of the misses that she could never consider the elder, the brothers hatch a plan that makes their sister’s look tame. The farce that follows is amusing yet handled with care.

Normally stories of twins exchanging identities makes me cringe but Mr. Wilkin pulls it off with the feel of a Shakespearean comedy laced with enough reality to prevent it from becoming too ridiculous. He deftly uses the truth of scars unseen and facts of life at the time to balance the humor and what could have been cruelty on the part of the brothers. The ladies, not to be outdone, plot a counter attack that even Wellington could never have imagined. Beatrice and Benedict would have danced at the weddings in perfect charity.

I love stories that contain more than one romance. That family and friends - the kind we all want to be and have - do not live their life in an isolated story line used to translate well to the written tale. It is a fact of modern fiction that we expect One Great Hero and One Awesome Heroine per story with nods to the secondary characters that might have their own book, later, if sales are good. I’m not sure if that’s due to reader preference or the fear of writers and publishers. Either way, I am always delighted to find an author willing to flesh out a well crafted story of more than one couple, especially when they make me laugh!

For several generations, we’ve been romanced in fiction by wonderful authors explaining their view of how women believe men think and feel. Mr. Wilkin provides a generous glimpse of a man’s perspective in a formulaic genre that is quite consistent with the literature of the era while mindful of his modern audience. I can only hope more men are as bold and more women alert to the subtle differences in perspective that remind us all just how romantic the differences can be. This is definitely a *keeper* for my bookshelf.

Reviewed for Romance Reviews Magazine - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review… (meer)

It was like being tucked in the corner of a drawing room and observing the lives of friends. The emerging tenderness between Katherine and Brian provides affirmation of both an intense intimate life but also, as both characters acknowledge, an emotional and mental accord that twines between them like ivy on a cottage. The book is entirely free of the recent trend in romances to hurl the hero and heroine into adversarial straightjackets so the resolution is a strain to declare a happy ending. However, this is no two dimensional facsimile of the hay-day of Regency publishing either.

Katherine is a formidable woman, made so by life, her own will and her late father’s fortune. She is not crusading or rebelling; she desires to be something more than expectations might grant and is determined to do so in a way society will accept. Shunned by a family unknown to her and then the society of India where her father had not only made his fortune but also a difference, Katherine understands the narrow paths allowed to her and though there are moments she frets, she does not falter. She plans, prepares and progresses without becoming an anti-heroine, more than once I found myself thinking: Yes, that’s how it was done.

Brian is equally formidable with enough genuine humility to prevent him from being a Beta Hero. In a wonderful turn of the tables, we observe the man economizing and stretching every penny to keep soles on his shoes. The details of a man’s existence are just the right amount of fact and reflection without bogging you down. Even better, Brian does not turn to the gambling hells, wild speculation or indifference while raking his way through the muslin company. He genuinely cares for others and their good opinion of him does matter. It was refreshing to find a group of male friends not based on school or some gruesome trial of life but because they enjoyed each other’s company. He is a man to be admired and Katherine not only sees this, she acknowledges it in the most forthright manner.

Both are resolved to survive without violating their honor or the rules of society they are glad to dwell in even as the work to change it for the better, not just for themselves but others as well. Her blunt proposal nearly knocks those re-soled shoes off his feet and from then on, you sit on the edge of your seat waiting for the explosion that never actually comes, except in the matter of life common to all mankind. Well, all right, that and a few ironic twists of fate that can only be found in fiction. You are not the least sorry to skip the fireworks of misunderstandings and foolishness so common in this genre. These characters are too well-educated from their years of deprivation. It is a glorious treat to have characters that have actually learned and willingly applied those lessons from the life they lived. It is even better that when they make stupid mistakes, they don’t give up; they keep trying until matters are once more as they should be.

I could easily see this as a weekly installment such as Gaskell’s work. But instead of the over blow cliff hanger required by the press of the time, our author leaves us with the subtle anticipation ending each chapter so you do in fact pause and savor before turning the digital page. It is not written in a faux historical style but the flavor of each word is crisply intended to provoke the tone of the era. I was not shocked to discover at the end of this wonderful read that D. W. Wilkins is a mister, only surprised. I did laugh at myself for making notes about the masculine detail that was charming and the lack of endless feminine wardrobe descriptions that was a precious gift. The romance was as delicately handled as the historical details and I confess to a sigh or two as I read. This is definitely a *keeper* for my bookshelf.

If you are looking for a Classic Regency with characters that you genuinely empathize with while enjoying their foibles and falderal, this is a book I earnestly recommend.

Reviewed for Romance Reviews Magazine - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review… (meer)

The stories of Humphrey and Gwendolyn. Published separately in: Trolling, Trolling, Trolling Fly Hides! and We'll All Go a Trolling. These are the tales of how a simple Woodcutter who became a king and an overly educated girl who became his queen helped save the kingdom of Torahn from an ancient evil. Now with the aid of their children and their grandchildren.

Long forgotten is the way to fight the Trolls. Beasts that breed faster than rabbits it seems, and when they decide to migrate to the lands of humans, their seeming invulnerability spell doom for all in the kingdom of Torahn. Not only Torahn but all the human kingdoms that border the great mountains that divide the continent.

The Kingdom of Torahn has settled down to peace, but the many years of war to acheive that peace has seen to changes in the nearby Teantellen Mountains. Always when you think the Trolls have also sought peace, you are fooled for now, forced by Dragons at the highest peaks, the Trolls are marching again.

Now Humphrey is old, too old to lead and must pass these cares to his sons. Will they be as able as he always has been. He can advise, but he does not have the strength he used to have. Nor does Gwendolyn back in the Capital. Here are tales of how leaders we know and are familiar with must learn to trust the next generation to come.… (meer)