The Guardian by Joan Wolf

The Guardian by Joan Wolf
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Genre: Historical, Romance
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Mistflower

Gentle Reader:

My husband is dead and my four-year-old son is the new Earl of Weston. Perhaps even more catastrophic, however, is the news that my husband named his brother, Stephen, the guardian of Giles and of all the immense Grandville estate.

Five years ago, Stephen was banished to Jamaica and now he is coming home. Once the thought of Stephen coming home to me was all I wanted out of life. But not anymore. I have made my life without him. I have my son, my horses, my home.

There are some things that are unforgivable, as Stephen will find out if he thinks he can take up where he left off with me.

My fondest regards,
Annabelle Grandville

Chapter one, first sentence, “My God, my God, my God, he’s reading Gerald’s will.” What an amazing start! I know my eyes bugged out and I was immediately engaged into further reading the story. I was already intrigued after reading the synopsis. I’m officially a fan of Joan Wolf so I knew I wasn’t going to be able to put the book down with a start like that.

This is a historical romance which is one of my favorite genres. I am however a reviewer that doesn’t get stuck on how accurate an author is or not in the time period that she is writing. I read for pure entertainment purposes so if you are a reader that enjoys historical accuracy then I can’t testify to that. However, I can testify that this book was very entertaining.

The romance between the hero, Stephen and the heroine, Annabelle, was sensual and dangerous. There is a plot thread wrapped around their relationship that was suspenseful and mysterious. I didn’t feel this story was predictable. I felt like there were many moving parts that kept the story flowing at a steady pace.

The synopsis says “There are some things that are unforgivable, as Stephen will find out if he thinks he can take up where he left off with me.” I don’t usually quote a synopsis very often but in this case, it was called for. I enjoyed reading the love relationship between Stephen and Annabelle. It was fun to see how perceptions can be misleading. It’s interesting how lies and secrets can be manipulated in certain circumstances.

There are many layers in this story among the cast of characters. I felt the characters were well developed and relatable. I was given the sense of a strong loyal family with a few dysfunctional relatives. They all lived in a community where everyone knew each other. I didn’t have any trouble following along with the story line.

I appreciated that the book ended with an epilogue. Every detail was wrapped up in a pretty bow. I was sad to see the story come to an end.

I definitely would read this book again. I encourage others to give it a try. Happy Reading!