I am a bit late getting this book review of “Daisies and Devotion” up. I do have a reason why. Last month, I won the most coveted award at my office, along with my team, for most outstanding work. While that’s all great, what goes with being “most outstanding” is triple the workload the very next day. What adds to this was the type of work I was doing was not fun or pleasant because I had to read about child sexual abuse. 300 cases. So being able to completely focus on a book review was just out of the question.
Since I haven’t had to read a case in the last two weeks, I can refocus on reviewing books. So let’s get to this story.
[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of an unbiased review. This post contains affiliate links.]Synopsis
Content Warning: D, M.
If you love Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, you will enjoy the latest novel from Josi S. Kilpack. “Daisies and Devotion” is the second book in the Mayfield Family Series. The first book in the series is “Promises and Primroses.”
You can read “Daisies and Devotion” without having read the first book, but all I can say is…WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT???? You would be missing out on such an incredible *sigh* worthy book!
Another reason why you should read the first book is that it goes more into detail with the marriage challenge being presented to the Mayfield siblings. It was first presented in the first book and it ended up working out very well, because Peter Mayfield found love. In book two, Timothy Mayfield’s response to his brother finding love before marriage is that it is simply unheard of. Imagine how modern the concept of love before marriage is!
Some elements of Book One are brought into the second book, but the book is written where even if you do not read the first book, you will be ok.
In “Daisies and Devotion,” Maryann Morrington has entered the London season looking for a husband. Her entrance into the season was delayed a few years because she was helping her mother while she was ill. Before her mother passed away, her sister married and later miscarried a child. Deborah moves to London with her husband, Lucas, and sponsors Maryann (now 22) while she is in London.
After her mother’s passing, Maryann comes into her very lucrative inheritance. With that information becoming public knowledge in London, the majority of men that knock on her door are only interested in her because of her money.
Deborah and Lucas decide to introduce Maryann to Lucas’s childhood friend, Timothy Mayfield. He is up front about his reasons for courting her – he needs a woman with a fortune. Oddly enough, Maryann appreciates his brutal honesty and begins to fall for him.
When Timothy’s uncle puts forth the marriage challenge proposal, guaranteeing a well off livelihood, he no longer needs to look for a wife with a fortune. He now has the freedom to marry any woman he chooses.
When he informs Maryann he is no longer obligated to find a wife with money, he tells her of his list for a perfect woman and it is everything she is not. She tells him this list is foolish, there is no such thing as a perfect woman. But Timothy insists on finding this kind of woman.
Brokenhearted, she parts ways with him after they have harsh words with each other. He does not even understand what he did, but feels remorseful he hurt her feelings, so he sends her daisies he picked himself, her favorite flowers.
The two finally come to an accord, agreeing to be just friends. Then they agree to help each other find the right match. Timothy introduces her to Colonel Berkins and she introduces him to Miss Shaw (the woman who is literally Timothy’s list).
The only issue is that Colonel Berkins is courting Maryann under false pretenses. When Maryann discovers the reasons behind his courtship, she decides to leave London and go back home. She is done with the season and the idea of looking for a husband.
This announcement shocks Timothy. Yet, it takes one dance to make the situation as clear as day for him.
Review
Like all of the titles from Shadow Mountain’s Proper Romance, this was another sigh worthy book. It may be a little slow getting into, but once that dance happens, you will have a hard time putting the book down. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.
I swear, this book was like looking into my own past and seeing the similarities, dissecting each issue to better understand it. Luckily for Maryann, when she ran, deciding to give up on love and move on with life, love followed her. It wasn’t ready to give up on her. Love was willing to fight for her…and that is what makes you sigh.
Part of me wishes that we still had London type seasons where if you are looking for a spouse, you attend all of these gatherings hosted by the same group of people who help people find matches. Everyone attends the same dinners, dances, events, etc. There are certain rules involved in getting to know people, as well as a certain decorum in how men and women should act towards each other.
I really enjoy Josi S. Kilpack’s books. They are G-rated. Believe me when I say that sometimes the best love stories are the ones without all the sex and heavy petting. When it comes to real love, you have to talk about matters of the heart, not the lust. Josi’s focus is telling the stories that go on from the heart.
We read about the fear that goes on inside of their minds and the self-doubt. There are the lies we tell ourselves that we are not good enough, pretty enough, or desirable. There are even the stories we tell ourselves that someone doesn’t like us, we are not their type. Or that we may have misunderstood what was happening, so we break our own hearts and move forward in life…and when they try to tell us we were right, we refuse to believe them.
Kilpack does an excellent job of delving into the issues of love and learning how to love. She examines it, dissects it, learns from it and issues out the truths, no matter how difficult it is to accept. Seriously, where were these books 20 years ago? I could have used them then!
Rating: A-