Title:  His Forbidden Debutante
Series:  Regency Charms #4
Author:  Anabelle Bryant
Genre:  Regency Romance
Published:  March 31, 2016
Publisher:  Carina UK
My Rating:  4.5 stars
Source:  NetGalley
Cover Description:

The dance she never dared to dream…

One year after a carriage accident killed her parents and left her seriously injured, Lavinia Montgomery has finally learnt to walk again – just in time to make her societal debut. Yet while the beautiful debutante’s body may have healed, she hides a broken heart.

Before her injury, Lavinia had exchanged letters with a man she knew to be the love of her life – despite never having set eyes on him. But when she feared she’d be crippled for life, she made the heart-rending decision to let him go…

Randolph James Caulfield, Earl of Penwick, is betrothed, but cannot forget the words he once received from a woman whose name he knew, but who he never had the chance to meet. So when, at a ball, his dance partner is introduced, he can’t believe his luck. One thing is certain: if this really is his debutante, he won’t lose her a second time.

Read on for my thoughts on His Forbidden Debutante.  No true spoilers, promise.

What a charming and satisfying way to bring the Regency Charms series to a conclusion.  I have followed the series from the start and must admit to feeling a bit like I’m setting friends off on their life journey, one that I’ll no longer be a part of.  But… I’m also excited to discover what Anabelle Bryant brings to us next.  Time will tell, I simply hope it’s in the near future.

We’ve been aware of the letters between Livie and Randolph throughout the series.  No, they weren’t a major part of the plot in the earlier books, but they were mentioned.  Now we get to see just how important both the letters and connection the writers of those letter truly was.  The first letter was pure accident as it was delivered to the wrong person and Livie returned it with a simple note – an action that would bring her so much more than a simple thank you.  Randolph and Livie had corresponded for quite a while and each developed a deep affection for the other through their written words.

But life is at times quite cruel.  When the carriage accident took her mother and father’s lives and left Livie unable to walk, she did what she felt was the honorable thing.  She stopped writing to Randolph, believing that she should not burden him with a life with an invalid, a woman who could no longer walk or take part in the life they had written about.  Yes, it wasn’t fair that Livie made that decision for them both without at least giving Randolph a reason why she went silent.  Yet in her mind, it was the right thing to do.

Changes have happened in Randolph’s life as well.  Devastated at the loss of contact with Livie, he will search for her but with no luck.  The simple man he once was has suddenly taken a turn and Randolph finds himself the new Earl of Penwick, a title that he never, ever thought to fall into.  Being the last of his line, Randolph has decided that since he cannot have Livie it’s time to take a wife and set up his life in the nobility.  He is now betrothed in a loveless arrangement, a marriage of convenience as he will never love the woman who, for her own reasons, had agreed to marry him.

A year later, a year full of pain and frustration, Livie has regained the ability to walk.  As she enters the Season she keeps running into a handsome gentleman, a man who brings about feelings that she thought she had left behind when she stopped writing to Randolph.  But this man – with a simple phrase, a line written from one of their letters has brought hope… since they had never meet face to face, Livie has no idea what Randolph looks like, could the fates have possibly brought him back to her once again?

Who knew that the love of shoes could get a lady in so much trouble?  I absolutely adored His Forbidden Debutante.  It is a tale of love, adventure, danger and finally realizing a dream come true.  It is not easy to say goodbye to these charming ladies and their dashing gentlemen but it was time well spent as I enjoyed each couple’s story immensely.  If you love Regency Romance then I would highly recommend both His Forbidden Debutante and the entire Regency Charms series.  It simply doesn’t get much better than this.  Indulge yourself and enjoy.

(p.s. – Anabelle, I sincerely hope you have something for us waiting in the wings.  I cannot wait to start a new series.  🙂 )

*I received an e-ARC of His Forbidden Debutante from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. That does not change what I think of this novel.*

Available for the Kindle