Lakeshire Park by Megan Walker

I didn’t know what to expect when I started reading Lakeshire Park because this is Megan Walker’s debut novel, and I was very pleasantly surprised to find in it one of my favourite romances of the year. 

Lakeshire Park was perfect in every way, from the writing, to the characters, setting and relationship development. 

We are introduced to Amelia and Clara Moore whose only security in life is about to end with the demise of their bitter stepfather, Lord Gray. He has vouched to leave them nothing upon his death, and that event appears to be close due to his growing health issues. 

Faced with this terrible news, it is with some relief and hope that Amelia Moore accepts an invitation by Sir Ronald Demsworth to a house party at his estate, Lakeshire Park. Amelia has no interest in Sir Ronald, but her sister Clara is quite smitten with him, and Amelia is committed to guarantee her sisters safety and happiness. 

In Lakeshire Park they meet several guests, but the Wood siblings will stand out because Georgiana Wood is also invested in gaining Sir Ronald Demsworth’s attentions, and her brother, is as devoted as Amelia to help his sister achieve that goal.

With conflicting interests, the older siblings soon realize that it is best to keep the other from interfering in their sisters interactions with Sir Ronald, so they agree to spend the afternoons in each other’s company  as this will guarantee they will not interfere in Clara and Georgiana’s business. 

What started as a business-like agreement soon becomes a beautiful and deep relationship which was one of the aspects I loved the most about this book. Amelia Moore and Peter Wood’s time together is filled with beautiful and touching moments where they flirt, have fun together, reveal their deepest feelings, share past memories which carved their personalities, speak of the future and what would make them happy, discuss events as they are occuring in Lakeshire etc. As all these interactions unfold in front of us, we cannot resist reading a little more to see what else the author has lined up for us. Their relationship is not shallow, it is built on a series of moments that are well built and enthralling. The reader witnesses these two people slowly falling in love with each other in a playful manner that is refreshingly different from many romances that lately seem to follow the same formula for romance development.

Apart from the romance, which was clearly one of the biggest achievements of this book, the characters were also a feature I loved., particularly Peter Wood. In a romance that has everything to appeal to Jane Austen fans, the romantic hero is as different from Mr. Darcy as would be possible, yet he is just as compelling. Peter Wood is charming, teasing and funny, but also sensitive, responsible, honourable and honest. he is perfect in every way and I must confess I didn’t miss the Darcy features even a bit.

Last but not least, I need to mention how beautifully written the house party activities are. Megan Walker incorporated in the story all sorts of activities, such as picnics, horse riding, games and competitions, dancing, and  interesting discussions which transported me into Lakeshire Park’s house party. Many of these activities were fulcral to the romance and were written with a detail that I haven’t seen in many regency romances, and this made the book interesting and lively. 

Summing up, Lakeshire Park is a beautifully written and captivating romance with a unique story that will fascinate most readers. I highly recommend it to everyone.

 

Adiobook Narration:

Elizabeth Bennet’s Level

This is the second audiobook narrated by Justine Eyre that I’ve listened to and I must say I enjoyed this one much more. The narration style is pretty much the same, but I believe the playfulness that we can hear in  Justine Eyre’s voice is much more suited for this story. She has a very pleasant tone,and it was a nice experience to listen to her narration of Lakeshire Park.

 

 

You can find Lakeshire Park at:

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

and on Audible.com