With This Curse

DeWees hits all the right notes for romantic suspense fans in this Victorian-era gothic romance about an unlikely couple trapped by a deadly family curse. Clara Crofton and her widowed mother worked in Cornwall at Gravesend Hall, the family seat of Edgar Blackwood, Baron Telford, and his twin sons, Richard and Atticus. Seventeen-year-old Clara loved Richard, but his father sent her away, and Richard became a soldier and died in battle. Eighteen years later, Atticus Blackwood is trying to settle his dying father’s concerns and wants Clara to become his wife. They’ll be married in name only, and she will be free to leave—with a substantial amount of cash—after the old Baron dies. Clara, who’s just lost her position as a seamstress, thinks the offer has arrived at the perfect time, and accepts. But then Clara finds herself falling for her husband, even as ghostly elements keep reminding her of Richard and the curse on Gravesend’s owners: “You shall lose what you love the most.” DeWees effectively recreates the Victorian era and its claustrophobic attitudes about women, illuminating Clara’s intelligence and determination in stark contrast. Readers who enjoy a little shiver with their romance will appreciate this historical. (BookLife)