Glimmer of Hope

By Sarah M. Eden

Stunning Miranda Harford once had the world at her feet. She was young carefree, and desperately in love. But when her new husband left for London without her, her world fell apart. Devastated by his abandonment, Miranda fled their home, taking residence at her husband’s rarely visited countryside estate. For three years, she lived alone. But now, as the holidays draw near, an unexpected visitor arrives…

Carter Alexander Harford, Seventh Viscount Devereaux, is a man driven to succeed. His work is his life, and the position of Prime Minister of England is within reach. But in truth, Carter is a man haunted by lost love. Estranged from his beautiful wife, Carter is shocked to find Miranda—the woman he loved and who he believes left him—in residence at his country home. As plans for a holiday party move forward, the uneasy couple realizes that to avoid further scandal, they must keep up appearances in a charade of marital happiness. Thrust together by fate, it quickly becomes clear that they have both been living beneath a conspired cloud of misunderstanding. As family, career, and social pressures threaten to keep them apart, can love have even a glimmer of hope?

Another book by Sarah Eden, this one is a Christmas book and one of the more emotionally twisting ones that I’ve read. Miranda is such a sweet character and I found myself connecting with and loving her character. Carter has obviously been hurt and the way he acts around and treats Miranda shows it. He is confused at why she left him four years previously, and is even more disturbed by the fact that after being around her he realizes he still loves her. Miranda tries to protect herself from old feelings when she sees her husband who she believes abandoned her, and remembering the love they used to share has been torture for her. Can the two ever be reconciled after the hurt they both experienced? Will they ever understand what happened four years ago? This is a kind of torturous love story. It’s about a husband and wife estranged from one another, and for the majority of the book, you don’t know why and neither do they. When everything comes to light it is heartbreaking. I would’ve liked to have had a little more than a glimmer of hope at the end of the book. Don’t get me wrong, things are good and the ending is fine, but the trip through had me frowning and screaming at the two characters to just flipping talk to each other! Ah, the stress of it all. This is a good story and book, but the tone was less lighthearted than I look for in a regency romance. I want to be happy and have warm fuzzies flying around my stomach at the end, but in this book I found myself sighing at the end in a sort of sad way.

I give this one a 3.25 out of 5- above average, but not happy enough.