Summary:The Winter Companion (Parish Orphans of Devon #4)
A winter reunion for the orphans
brings romance for Neville Cross in Book 4 of Mimi Matthews' USA Today bestselling
Parish Orphans of Devon series.
She Needed to be Seen...
As a lady's companion, Clara Hartwright never receives much attention from anyone. And that's precisely how she likes it. With a stormy past, and an unconventional plan for her future, it's far safer to remain invisible. But when her new employer is invited to a month-long holiday at a remote coastal abbey, Clara discovers that she may not be as invisible as she'd hoped. At least, not as far as one gentleman is concerned.
He Wanted to be Heard...
Neville Cross has always been more comfortable with animals than people. An accident in his youth has left him with a brain injury that affects his speech. Forming the words to speak to his childhood friends is difficult enough. Finding the right things to say to a lovely young lady's companion seems downright impossible. But Miss Hartwright is no ordinary companion. In fact, there may not be anything ordinary about her at all.
During a bleak Devon winter, two sensitive souls forge an unexpected friendship. But when Clara needs him most, will Neville find the courage to face his fears? Or is saying goodbye to her the most heroic thing he can do?
She Needed to be Seen...
As a lady's companion, Clara Hartwright never receives much attention from anyone. And that's precisely how she likes it. With a stormy past, and an unconventional plan for her future, it's far safer to remain invisible. But when her new employer is invited to a month-long holiday at a remote coastal abbey, Clara discovers that she may not be as invisible as she'd hoped. At least, not as far as one gentleman is concerned.
He Wanted to be Heard...
Neville Cross has always been more comfortable with animals than people. An accident in his youth has left him with a brain injury that affects his speech. Forming the words to speak to his childhood friends is difficult enough. Finding the right things to say to a lovely young lady's companion seems downright impossible. But Miss Hartwright is no ordinary companion. In fact, there may not be anything ordinary about her at all.
During a bleak Devon winter, two sensitive souls forge an unexpected friendship. But when Clara needs him most, will Neville find the courage to face his fears? Or is saying goodbye to her the most heroic thing he can do?
Book Review: The Winter Companion (Parish Orphans of Devon #4)
Following an accident as a child, Neville Cross is
speech impaired and that holds him back from fulfilling his dreams of a good life.
When he meets Clara Hartwright, lady’s companion with a shockingly unladylike
secret, he feels forced to challenge his low self-esteem to forge an
independent life.
In the Parish Orphans of Devon Series we follow the orphan boys Justin Thornhill,
Tom Finchley, Alex Archer and Neville Cross. Installment #4 is featuring
Neville Cross, who is apprentice steward at Greyfriar’s Abby owned by his
friend Justin. He finds it hard to do the paper work part of the position and prefers
to work outside, particularly tending to the horses. Having had a troubled
background, Neville is grateful to Justin for the opportunity to work and live on
the estate. He doesn’t think he is able to do anything else and is afraid to venture
out among people. He expects to be ridiculed for his trouble expressing himself.
The parts of the story where we get a glimpse into his thoughts about himself
and his life are heartbreaking. Neville’s confidence and outlook on life has
really taken a toll. He is convinced he has to isolate himself at the Abbey for
the rest of his life. There is not really anybody in his surroundings who challenges
him to make a change until he meets Clara.
Clara Hartwright, comes for a Christmas visit together
with her employer Mrs Bainbright. She needs her position to save enough money,
so she tries to be as good a lady’s companion as she can be. She doesn’t feel
she has the knack for staying silent and acting like a living ghost, but she has
this shockingly unladylike project that needs funding and be kept an absolute secret.
Clara seems an assertive and outspoken young
woman, so slowly but surely she manages to challenge Neville’s preconceptions.
With her help his mind is opened to dreams and opportunities he previously believed
was out of his reach.
I really appreciated Clara’s desire to rid herself of some of the feminine constraints of the time, and there certainly were a lot of them to deal with and find creative ways around. I found it refreshing that the plot includes a mix of what might have been forward thinking or even revolutionary ideas at the time. Darwinistic ideas are balanced out with, to us, very old fashioned views.
I really appreciated Clara’s desire to rid herself of some of the feminine constraints of the time, and there certainly were a lot of them to deal with and find creative ways around. I found it refreshing that the plot includes a mix of what might have been forward thinking or even revolutionary ideas at the time. Darwinistic ideas are balanced out with, to us, very old fashioned views.
Neville loves horses and the knowledge and interest in
horses and dogs shines through in this work, which I find very enjoyable.
Clara rescues old pug Bertie from being put down and secretly takes him with
her to her new position. He seems to find a new and happier life in the country
playing with his two new mastiff friends. I found him an enjoyable and funny
supporting character in his own right.
There seems to have been thorough research ahead of writing this story into how Christmas decorations were made and what games and activities were played at the time. Some of the activities I even recognize as being done today as part of pre Christmas crafting or Christmas Workshops. As the plot is set at a Christmas gathering of friends and family in Devon, I found this part of the story entertaining and enjoyable adding to the Christmas vibe.
Even though this is a 4 book series, I read A Winter Companion (Parish Orphans of Devon #4) as a standalone. It worked well, but I think I would recommend reading the series starting with #1, gradually getting up to speed with characters and events. I found this to be a sweet, entertaining read and I would recommend it to fans of Mimi Matthews other works and readers of historical romance fiction.
Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for this
ARC in return for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Info about the book: The Winter Companion (Parish Orphans of Devon #4)
- Publisher: Perfectly Proper Press (February 11, 2020)
- ARC provided by: NetGalley and Victory Editing
- Publication Date: February 11, 2020
- Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
- ASIN: B07XJGRLP8
About The Author of The Winter Companion (Parish Orphans of Devon #4)
USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews writes both historical
nonfiction and award-winning proper historical romances set in Victorian
England. Her articles on nineteenth century history have been published on
various academic and history sites, including the Victorian Web and the Journal
of Victorian Culture, and are also syndicated at BUST Magazine. In her other
life, Mimi is an attorney. She resides in California with her family, which
includes an Andalusian dressage horse, two Shelties, and two Siamese cats.
To learn more, please visit www.MimiMatthews.com
To learn more, please visit www.MimiMatthews.com
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