Non-Austen Reads for Austen Readers is something I started a while back for fans of Jane Austen who after reading all her works are looking for something new to read.
There are numerous variations of Jane Austen’s works, but while those adaptations are fun, sometimes you don’t always want to read the same story. Sometimes you want Austen-like works, but not exactly the same as Austen’s works. But what can you read instead?
That’s why I started this series. I will be reviewing books that have components of what we love about the Austen novels, but are not just another retelling, but their own unique story.
Anna and the Duke (An Avon True Romance #4) + (The MacLaughlins #1) by Kathryn Smith
I first encountered this Avon True Romance series for young adults with the book Victoria and the Rogue.
The Avon True Romance for Teens was written by different authors and is a collection of clean, historical romances-written specifically for the teen/YA market. Every book has romantic scenes but nothing that goes farther than light kissing.
Anna and the Duke (An Avon True Romance #4) + (The MacLaughlins #1) by Kathryn Smith
The story begins with Ewan MacLaughlin in Scotland. He is a man of many titles; the Earl of Keir, Viscount Dunkirk, Baron Kyne, a laird in Scotland; but also the first son of the English Duke of Brahm.
Ewan is of English and Scottish descent, but has spent his whole life in Scotland. After his father and mother married, his father left with all his mother’s money and went back to England, only returning when Ewan’s mother died. The Duke left after the funeral to England, remarried, and was never seen in Scotland again.
Ewan has continued to live his life taking care of the land; but all that changes when his father dies and he inherits the title Duke of Brahm, and is invited to his family home.
The last thing Ewan wants to do is go to England and meet his father’s “other family”, but he heads to England. When he arrives in England he is pleasantly surprised to meet a lovely woman in a bookstore who not only enjoys poetry but recommends a copy of Byron for him. He is interested in her but tells himself to focus on the will reading; basically take the money inherited and fix up the land in Scotland.
Anna is a beautiful young lady, who on her first season managed to snag the soon-to-be Duke of Brahm, Richard Fitzgerald. Anna is the daughter of a wealthy merchant who’s social climbing mother desperately wanted her to marry a titled lord and with the dowry Anna has there is no doubt she would be able to win over the “right” man.
Anna is more concerned with love, and is blown away when the sweet and charming soon-to-be Duke, Richard Fitzgerald, pays her attention and asks for her hand. Everything was fine until the Duke died and it was discovered that Richard will not inherit the Dukedom after all, it turns out that he has a secret older brother who will inherit the title and property. This doesn’t matter to Anna, but ever since the news dropped Richard has been acting odd. At first Anna writes it off as grief, but then begins to wonder did she ever know her fiancé?
She meets a handsome Scottish man in the bookstore and gives over the copy of Byron she was planning on purchasing. She finds him very attractive and interesting, but ignores this interest as she is an engaged woman. That evening all meet at the Fitzgerald’s home and Anna discovers that the handsome man she meet in the bookstore is Ewan, Richard’s brother.
Hester, the Duke’s second wife, and Emily (her daughter and the boys’ sister) both eagerly welcome Ewan into their home and he equally enjoys spending time with them. Ewan gets along with everyone, he and Anna having quite a lot in common…the only dark clouds being Richard and Anna’s mother (who is upset that her daughter won’t marry a Duke after all).
Ewan discovers that there is more to his father than he thought, learning from Hester and Emily about the type of father he was and also reading the letter left for him. He becomes thankful that he came to England as it was able to help him finally come to terms with the baggage he was carrying and because he enjoys being with Anna.
Yes, ouch he fell for his brother’s girl; but tries hard to not show it as he doesn’t want to steal something else from his newfound brother. However, Anna has also fallen for Ewan, although she knows that she shouldn’t try to be with him as she is engaged and doesn’t want to hurt Richard. That is, until Richard starts acting terrible and Anna realizes that she knows nothing about the man she is engaged to, she only know of the “pretend” version he played to get her dowry, a sizable fortune and part of her father’s company.
While Ewan and Anna are trying to keep their relationship at friendship level only, someone is after Ewan. Someone is trying to prove him illegitimate, and one night he is attacked by some ruffians. Thoughts turn to Richard being the one behind this, but could it be Anna’s mother?
Eventually Anna and Ewan cannot hold back their feelings any longer and both confess their attraction to each other. They plan to run away to Gretna Greene, but on the night of their elopement Ewan is captured.
Will Ewan make it out alright or be killed? Will Anna find her love? Will everything end happily ever after?
This is a fun and sweet read with some light suspense as we try to discover if Ewan will make it out okay and run away with his love.
I recommend it for Jane Austen fans as it is a regency romance that has a main character who loves to read poetry and has had it influence her ideas of love like Marianne Dashwood and Catherine Morland.
Our main character also has a social climbing mother obsessed with marrying her off and often embarrass her in front of people; along with a physically present father but one who is absent emotionally; just like Elizabeth Bennet.
I definitely recommend it.
For more Avon True Romances, go to Victoria and the Rogue
For more Non-Austen Reads for Austen Readers, go to A Match Made in Mehendi
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