Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The Second Son by Vonnie Hughes

Summary:
The Second Son is how Lord John Trewbridge inherits a marquessate for all the wrong reasons, and how Marguerite Ninian, a disabled woman, teaches him to forgive himself.

John, a second son, is destined for a life in the army, a prospect he dreads. His older brother, Spencer, has spent years crowing about how he plans to run things when he becomes head of the Trewbridge family. Now the lady John loves has become affianced to Spencer. John is second best again.
Marguerite Ninian has been crippled from birth. She has no prospects unless working as a drudge for her aunt could be called ‘prospects.’
When John and Marguerite meet, fur flies. John, unhappy and disillusioned, advises Marguerite that instead of feeling sorry for herself, she should remember the injured soldiers who have had limbs amputated. Not an auspicious beginning.
Then the Marchioness of Trewbridge tosses John a lifeline and thanks to John’s suggestion, the Marchioness also offers Marguerite real prospects.
Cautiously John and Marguerite feel their way towards the future until Spencer implodes and smashes the family apart.

Reviewer: PurpleRose
The two main characters have their own interesting but very different background. Despite everything, they have something in common, they are not really happy with their daily lives and they both have few illusions as to their future. They are both rather ill-at-ease and suffer from an inferiority complex. John is the spare, the second son and this doesn't mean he's jealous of his elder brother, well not quite, but he envies the fact that one day he will inherit Trewbridge, his home, but never the title, he would never want this responsibility. Maguerite is a younger daughter too and she was born with a bad leg. Her mother sees her as an embarrassment.

When they meet by chance, neither are in a good mood. The day before, John Trewbridge learned that the woman who rejected him nine months ago, because he is only a second son, is going to marry his elder brother Spencer who is the heir. Marguerite Ninian likes solitude but she needs it too, to forget everything and everyone. She has a favorite spot where she likes to sit looking at the river. They are as civil as they can be at that moment which is not very much.

Life is strange and often unpredictable, and these two people who weren't destined to meet, will find themselves forced to deal with the accidents of life. They must each surmount their problems and accept themselves as they are before they can overcome the pitfalls ahead. Joining forces is often the best solution. In the end everyone wins.

This book just didn't grab me and I'm not really sure why! The strangest thing is that the story appealed to me immediately after reading the blurb and quite frankly, I can't say precisely what I didn't like. It's fast paced and an original story where a lot of things happen and where nothing is boring. It's not a bad book at all and it's even well written, I may again try to read it one day. For the time being I'm giving it 3 stars.

Publisher: Musa Publishing
Review Courtesy Of: ManicReaders

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