Lord Fenton's Folly by Josi S. Kilpack (feat. Miranda's Book Blog)

Title: Lord Fenton's Folly

Author: Josi S. Kilpack
Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Genre: Historical Fiction, Regency, Romance

Publication: October 6, 2015

My Rating: 4/5

Source: Publisher on NetGalley

Lord Fenton is a gambler, a dandy, and a flirt—and he must marry or else he will be disinherited, stripped of his wealth and his position. He chooses Alice Stanbridge for two simple reasons: he once knew her as a young girl, and she is the least objectionable option available to him.

However, Alice has harbored feelings for Fenton since their first meeting ten years ago, and she believes his proposal is real. When she discovers it is not, she is embarrassed and hurt. However, a match with the most-eligible bachelor in London would secure not only her future but that of her family as well.

Determined to protect herself from making a fool of herself a second time, Alice matches Lord Fenton wit for wit and insult for insult as they move toward a marriage of convenience that is anything but a happy union. Only when faced with family secrets that have shaped Fenton’s life does he let down his guard enough to find room in his heart for Alice. But can Alice risk her heart a second time?

**I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

Hey guys, so today's post is going to be a little different! I've been working with Miranda from Miranda's Book Blog and we made a little collab, which was very fun to do! You can find her post here.

Basically we both read Lord Fenton's Folly and discussed it, asking each other questions about it and now we share it with you! :) So let's get started!

My Review

After she finds out that Charles (Lord Fenton) is responsible for a fire near her house, Alice promises to keep her mouth shut if he makes sure she gets her own garden. Years after this encounter, Lord Fenton's immature and silly behavior almost gets him disinherited, so now he must find a woman to marry, and he chooses Alice Stanbridge... because she's just the least objectionable option out there.

Poor Alice has had a crush on Lord Fenton since he got her a garden at her home, and believes the proposal to be real. So, after finding out the truth behind his proposal, she is deeply hurt and decides to play the same game, which results in a lot of bantering between these two.

I definitely enjoyed seeing both characters get at each other's neck in a very witty and funny way, but I do admit that I wished it hadn't lasted that long. To me, this book turned out to be mostly about Lord Fenton's mother and her very sad life... I mean, we do see Charles and Alice's relationship grow, but don't really get that much romantic interaction between them. 

A highlight of the book for me is Charles' silliness and fashion sense, he's just a dandy with a very peculiar style. I just laughed so much because of this guy.

And, apparently, this behavior of his is mostly to piss of his father, with whom he has an awful relationship, because, let's face it, his dad is an ass. On the other hand, Charles is incredibly close to his mom, which is a very important part of the story. I'm usually not a big fan of mama's boys, but in this case I thought it was kinda cute.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this, but I would've loved it if we got to see more romance between Alice and Charles, then I would've given this book 5 stars, because it is very entertaining and I really liked the characters and the story.

Q&A with Miranda

Lord Fenton’s Folly a.k.a Lady Chariton’s Miserable Life

This part might contain some spoilers.

If you could ask the author anything what would it be? Hmmm...wonder if she'd be up for an interview…

Carla’s Answer: I'd ask her why she thought it a nice idea to toy with my feelings and give us that ending… Ok, that's why I can't do interviews. 

Miranda’s Answer: I'd ask her if she's planning on giving Charles & Alice a second story, or at least a novella. I think it's safe to say, we need more! 

Carla: Oh yes, I’d also like to know that!! 

What about Lord Fenton's wardrobe... yay or nay? 

Carla’s Answer: Hmm I say yay, because it's hilarious! But if I were in Alice's shoes I definitely wouldn't like it! I could never picture him wearing the outfits the author described!! His style is crazy. 

Miranda’s Answer: OMG, his fascination with fashion cracked me up! One of my favorite parts was when Alice realized he was actually quite handsome when he wasn't dressed like an idiot! I’m imagining Mr. Darcy but more ‘clownish’! What I imagine he would wear…

What did you think of Lady Chariton's decision to send the maid Mrs Gale to live at Foxmore?

Carla’s Answer: I think Lady Chariton's too nice for her own good, I feel like an awful human being next to her haha. But when she explains why she helped the girl I understood her reasons. 

Miranda’s Answer: I'm not sure what my decision would have been had I been in her shoes. It was a different era, and women were looked at differently. Lady Chariton said herself she felt as if Mrs. Gale did not have a choice, being as she was only a servant. She may have been in fear of losing her job if she refused him. 

What about Lady Chariton’s decision to send Adam to Foxmore and be raised by Mrs. Banner… 

Carla’s thoughts... You know, I actually thought at first that Lady Chariton was forced by her husband to leave their son at that place. 

Miranda’s... Me too, but it was a mutual decision. At first I was like "why oh why!" but after thinking upon it I realized she made that decision because she felt he wouldn't be accepted by their society and would lead an un-happy life. I'm still kind of "up in the air" about it, but I feel she made the decision out of love. 

Carla… Yes, I was like that too, I really judged her at first! But then she said that and it made a little bit more sense. Although she stopped visiting the boy :/ But I guess that hurt her too, especially since Adam didn't know she was his mom.  

What did you think about the relationship between Lord Fenton and his mother? 

Carla’s Answer: I was really surprised about how close they were, and it was kinda sweet. 

Miranda’s Answer: Their relationship goes to show great love can come out of hardships. What do I mean? Well I believe if it wasn't for Lord Chariton treating Lady Chariton horrifically and being unfaithful, then Charles and his mother wouldn't have been as close. I believe Charles was trying to protect his mother and in doing so they became very close. I hope all of that makes some sort of sense… Most men that are that close to their mothers, well it's kind of scary and annoying. But I have to agree with Carla, it was really sweet. 

Carla… Well, that's freaking beautiful. 

That just reminded me of something! I really wanted to slap Charles whenever he said he wanted to be a good husband... Because he was still mean to Alice.
Miranda… Exactly! While I think he could have been nicer, I think he second guessed himself as a husband. He was afraid he'd turn out just like his father. While he was mean to Alice, he was never cruel like his father was to Lady Chariton. 

Place to put something really random… 

Miranda: My cat sleeping …. Okay I am weird & this won’t make the final cut...but hey. :)

   

Carla: I’m sorry, I just can’t do better than that. 

I hope you guys liked this post! And thank you Miranda for the wonderful idea, I had a lot of fun doing this! :D

Thank you for reading! Bye-Bye! ♥