Review: The Heir

The Heir by Grace Burrowes

Publication Date: December 2010
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Genre: Historical Romance
ISBN-13: 9781402244346
ISBN: 1402244347

(Received for review from Sourcebooks)

Purchase: Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, Borders, IndieBound

If you live in Morehead, KY or the surrounding area:

Purchase from our local independent bookseller: CoffeeTree Books
Borrow from our local library: The Rowan County Public Library

Grace Burrowes Website: www.graceburrowes.com

Excerpt: Click HERE!

Synopsis (Book Blurb):

THE DUKE'S OBSESSION

The Duke will stop at nothing to get his sons to marry and ensure the succession...

AN EARL WHO CAN'T BE BRIBED

Gayle Windham, Earl of Westhaven, is the first legitimate son and heir to the Duke of Moreland. To escape his father's inexorable pressure to marry, he decides to spend the summer at his townhouse in London, where he finds himself intrigued by the secretive ways of his beautiful housekeeper...

A LADY WHO CAN'T BE PROTECTED

Anna Seaton is a beautiful, talented, educated woman, which is why it is so puzzling to Gayle Windham that she works as his housekeeper.

As the two draw closer and begin to lose their hearts to each other, Anna's secrets threaten to bring the earl's orderly life crashing down - and he doesn't know he's going to protect her from the fallout...

Thoughts:

Debut author, Grace Burrowes is setting the Regency period on edge. Would the son of a Duke, really propose marriage to his housekeeper? But there's a lot more to Anna Seaton than meets the eye. This is a novel with several aspects: the bond between brothers, forbidden love, secrets, and what one might do to get what they want...

Gayle Windham is the Earl of Westhaven, and being the heir to the Duke of Moreland comes with some responsibilities, including producing sons to ensure the succession of the family. But Gayle isn't your typical man about town. He has some difficulties when it comes to being involved with women of his own station. He prefers quiet and solitude and decides to stay at his London townhouse while the rest of the ton retires to the country for the summer. That's when he becomes intrigued by the new housekeeper, Anna Seaton. There is something not quite right about her. She's very well spoken, beautiful, and appears to be well educated, what could she be hiding?

There are so many good things to say about this novel. Grace Burrowes is a new voice in historical romance world. Her smooth style is refreshing and very easy to get comfortable with. She uses irony is very meaningful way in this novel. It is ironic that a well educated woman, would end up as a housekeeper. It is ironic that an Earl can't seem to find a wife. Burrowes use of dialogue is also very well done. The way that the Gayle and his brothers interact is a really good example of this. Their banter is fun to read and adds a lot of depth to the story.

I think the best part of this book is the character development. Not only are the main characters, Gayle and Anna very well written, but right down to the very smallest of supporting characters. Each and every character who passes through this book, has a story, a place and a personality that Burrowes develops with ease. This gives the reader a sense of who these people are and why they are important.

Gayle is such a great character, a man who didn't expect to be the heir and is having a hard time adjusting. A man who wants a real marriage not one in name only. He is lonely and that loneliness really comes through in Burrowes writing. Anna is very resourceful. She has a plan. She has a secret and she is determined to keep it. She knows what she has to do and she does it, without question until Gayle makes her pause. It's those little moments when we pause just for a second that can change our lives... I loved the way the author was able to convey that feeling.

Some would say there are a few historical inaccuracies in this novel, in the way the Regency period would have viewed the relationship between an Earl and servant and perhaps in the way the household was being run, that differ from what is expected, but that doesn't mean this sort of thing didn't go on, it just means that not too many people wrote about it. This is the sort of thing that might get under the skin of some readers, but given a chance, this is a really well written and wonderful novel.

I would recommend this book to readers of historical romance and romance in general. The characters are so well written and the heat from Gayle and Anna is exceptional. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from Grace Burrowes in the near future.

The Heir is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.

I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!




Grace Burrowes is the pen name for prolific author of historical romances whose romances have so far won, finaled, or garnered honorable mention in Romance Writers of America contests in Georgia, Indiana, New Jersey, and Florida. Burrowes is a practicing attorney specializing in family law. She lives in rural Maryland.