Hello!
So, I am back with the second book of the “Ladies of Devon” series by Kasey Stockton. If you haven’t seen what I thought about The Jewels of Halstead Manor, you may want to check it out or if you’re on the fence about giving the entire series a try, you can skip these posts altogether because they contain spoilers here and here.
She wants to forget she ever knew him; he just wants her.
Mabel Sheffield is too tall, or so she believes. It one of the reasons she has given up on finding a husband and instead embraces her role as a spinster, dedicating her days to managing her grandmother’s estate and her seven-year-old sister. But when Liam MacKenzie shows up at her house to stay for the summer, she’s unsure if she can keep her resolve. The problem: he’s the other reason she’s a spinster.
Book two in the Ladies of Devon series, The Lady of Larkspur Vale is a childhood friends-to-lovers and second chance romance story. It is a clean Regency romance that continues telling the story of the four women who make up a literary society in Devon and form a lasting friendship
taken from Goodreads.
Mabel is at the heart of the Sheffield House, being its mistress, taking care of her staff, family and friends is what she’s been doing, since her father has returned to the Royal Navy. Even with chronic issues with her leg, she’s fine to sit out whenever her friends go dancing, she thinks about the next day’s menus and dealing with a stubborn seven-year-old sister, she feels like she is the head mistress of the manor, with no husband. Mabel can and will do it all.
Out of everything going on, reuniting with her cousin Charles Fremont, and meeting a small group of his friends Misters Desmond Pemberton and Liam McKenzie. or “Mac” at least that’s what tell his friends and definitely want to continue this way around Mabel as they have a history, Unfortunately for Mac though, Desmond has invited his two sisters Lydia and Sophy with their chaperone Ms. Boucher. Poor Mabel and the rest of her staff at the Sheffield House are about to have a lot of guests popping in and out all summer long.
If she needed them, Giulia, Hattie, and Amelia would be at her door without hesitation. And she always had Pippa and Charles. She would not be alone.
There were a lot of things that resonated with me. Mabel’s leg issues are real to even the modern times, and there was a scene where she knew she’d done too much in the day and her leg wasn’t going to hold up much longer. I imagine having any kind of a disability like Mabel’s, she’s lucky she’s not in a wheelchair or worse put in an asylum for the rest of her life. There wasn’t much to reduce the pain like we do, but I’ve been in Mabel’s shoes in a way. Mabel’s bad leg does affect her day-to-day life, and being the mistress of the house, means she’s enduring longer hours and making sure everybody is enjoying the Sheffield hospitality.
I had explained to my mom that as much as I am enjoying learning about Mabel and her family’s story, but my focus was really on Mac. This happens every once in a while, where I find the male main character can pull me in the story, I thought he was different, but there’s an echo to families who did deal with members gambling away almost everything, Mac is trying to do right for his mother while trying to save up money to bail his father and his overall reputation as a gentleman. He is definitely affected by Mabel and her life, but I liked knowing more about his family.
The larkspur was in full bloom, a sea of dark violet stretching forth and filling the small valley surrounded by a grove of full chestnut trees.
There were a lot of things I found deeply humbling about Mabel and Mac. Mabel has just off that side of her of being the best dancer at the balls and parties, but she has found a way to be at the foreground of her life as “Mistress of the House” and she takes it all like a pro, even though. Mac is dealing for his issues and as he leaves without a word to her, he wants to settle the other stuff before going back to Graton and possibility make a fool out of himself once again.
I really enjoyed this story. I was worried about it, because I like the elements in Guila’s story, but as I continue reading through the rest of the series, I am finding out that I see myself in all of the women. Mabel for her toughness and despite her disability, she works through it, and everyone understand her requests for time to herself to heal up before an even more exciting adventure with her family, friends, etc.
Have you read “The Lady of Larkspur Vale” by Kasey Stockton? If not, you can find it on her YouTube channel and listen to the audiobook. They have captions and time stamps too! Anyways, if you have read this book, what were your thoughts on it?
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