Her Grace in Disgrace by Claudia Harbaugh
The Widows of Woburn Place Book 1
Reviewed by Charlotte.
Her Grace in Disgrace is
a first-class debut novel bearing elements of literary merit. The dialogue is
crisp, the prose Austenesque in style. However there are inevitable downsides
with omniscient head-hopping and a larger than average cast of peripheral
characters. Throughout the convoluted storyline it becomes abundantly clear characters
are destined to star in future books. The opening chapter starts well in
lending reader sympathy to the recently widowed heroine. Her downfall during
the reading of her late departed’s will is heart-rending, until it is later revealed
her status as duchess came to fruition by feminine guile. From that point onward
I quite disliked Isobel. She never really redeemed herself in my eyes, not even
as a miraculously reformed benefactor to downfallen widows. Her scheming ways
and blatant abuse of her would-be suitor and close friend Lord Saybrooke, simply
damned her. I kept hoping and praying a nice girl would steal his heart and spirit him
out of Isobel’s reach. Alas the sick fool lost all sense of reason in a fit of
jealousy and succumbed to the inevitable. Needless to say my heart lay entirely
with Lord Saybrooke, and may God save his soul from ruination at Isobel’s hands. Reviewer
asides - There are many individual stories within this novel and really impossible to review each in turn. However, if you are inclined to
multi-layered novels and a self-indulgent protagonist then Isobel is for you. I
despised her. For all that said ‘Her Grace in Disgrace’ is a very good read.
