Miss Newbury's List - The Regency Chronicle

Rosalind Newbury is counting down the days until her wedding to the Duke of Marlow, a man she has only met twice, and she knows exactly how she wants to spend her time. As a child, Ros created a list of ten things to do before her wedding day. So far, she has done none of them.

She is determined to tackle each item, though she’ll have to accomplish them all in secret. After all, a soon-to-be-duchess is not usually allowed to bury treasure in the pasture, eat sweets all day, or learn how to swim. She enlists the help of her best friend, Liza, who brings along her cousin, Charlie, a prodigal son-turned-boxer who has come to the countryside to mend his reputation and learn how to be his father’s heir.

Together, the three of them work to complete the list, and as each item is crossed off, an unlikely friendship blossoms between Ros and Charlie. The more time they spend together, the more Ros falls in love with this imperfect man and his good heart.

With the wedding looming, Ros must decide to either admit her romantic feelings for Charlie and risk her family’s future, or keep her promise to marry the duke and start a new life as a noblewoman.

Meredith’s Take

Light romance doesn’t have to be plausible to be entertaining. Titled in the style of Regency hit Mr. Malcolm’s List ( 2020), author Megan Walker’s latest novel is another on-brand addition to Shadow Mountain’s Proper Romance line-up.

Rosalind Newbury is about to marry a much older duke. It’s a loveless transaction. He gets land and her family rises socially through his lofty title. Rosalind is oddly underwhelmed by the prospect of dizzying elevation to the rank of duchess, a dream-come-true that would have thrilled most young women of her era. Rosalind, however, has not even experienced the excitement of a first London Season, and hesitates to marry before she’s lived a little. Hankering for a taste of adventure, she decides to revisit a bucket list she made at age 12 of things she planned to do before she married.

Why wait so long? The question is among quite a few unanswered by the story. Readers who have a hard time suspending disbelief may be irritated by this. I did not find it a deal-breaker – a light, sweet Regency romance is not the kind of historical fiction I reach for when I’m in the mood for depth and authenticity.

With mere weeks to spare before her big day, Rosalind convinces her neighbor and friend, Liza and Liza’a infuriating bad-boy cousin Charlie Winston, to tackle the list. Charlie’s life is not going to script. An amateur pugilist whose life is upended by his brother’s death, he has to rebuild his reputation and get some new direction. When he saves Rosalind from drowning as she attempts one of her goals, they become unlikely allies.

The ensuing banter, swoony moments (Charlie makes the heart beat a little faster), and deepening attraction made me invest in a happy outcome. En route to resolving the dilemma of duty versus desires, there are occasional surprises and some food for thought about being true to one’s heart. Ultimately, Charlie is more likeable and fleshed out than Rosalind, possibly because Ms. Walker’s first person narrative does her heroine no favors.

I’m not a fan of first person narratives; the self-imposed constraints can undermine good story-telling in the hands of any writer but the most skilled. In this story, the POV choice showcased Ms. Walker’s weaknesses more than her strengths, which is a pity, for she has promise as an author. Readers who enjoyed Sally Britton’s The Social Tutor (2018) will find plenty to like about Miss Newbury’s List. To me, the story felt under-cooked, maybe rushed out too fast after Lakeshire Park. It has the feel of a revised first draft in need of developmental editing.