So, Chalon Linton is an author that is new to me. The cover is absolutely beautiful and I am all in anytime I’m handed a Regency novel. The storyline is cute as it is about a couple of kids that grew up playing together and then had a few years of separation. Are their hearts able to find their way back to each other?

Unfortunately, it was a difficult read for me. The author is speaking in first person, but jumping back and forth between the characters. That was just too confusing and sporadic. I do think it was a great storyline, but difficult to follow written as is.

I will say, I’m a natural blond…so, it could just be me! That may not be too confusing for everyone. ha!

It’s certainly worth a try. If you don’t mind that, you will love it! Check out below for a chance to win your own copy and see what you think of it. Be sure to come back and let me know after you’ve read it 🙂

Thanks for this book in exchange for my review. As always, this is my honest opinion. Here’s to many more!!

An Inconvenient Romance is such a good book that kept me plugged in from page one right up until the end. Charles and Leah have been the best of friends from a young age. They played together as kids complete with races and climbing trees. They are separated when Charles heads off to college. During the next few years, he rarely comes home. When the pressures and expectations of returning home get to be too much, he flees and goes back to school. Leah opened up to Charles about the love she feels for him, but he again fled.

When he heads home to escort his teen sister to a ball, he sees Leah dancing with another man. Charles has realized he loves Leah and wants to marry her. Leah loves Charles as well but she has been hurt by him. She feels he always leaves and will break her heart again if she lets him in. She has tried to move forward with another man, but she does not have feelings for him that stir her the way Charles does. Charles asks to court Leah and Leah is overjoyed but all plans are put on hold when a shrewd lady threatens to spread a terrible story about Leah's father if she has a relationship with Charles. Leah is forced to refuse to court Charles despite the heartbreak it causes both of them.

A series of misunderstandings only complicate their relationship. Despite those misunderstanding both Charles and Leah love one another. When a terrible incident happens, Leah is forced to face her feelings for Charles and learns that you forgive those you love.

The book is endearing and has great characters. It is well written and clean but still incredibly romantic.

I spent such a lovely afternoon transported back in time to arranged marriages, titles and propriety. I enjoyed that it was told in alternating chapter of each character. It honestly is fun to see the perspective of both characters and this was a refreshing way to do it.
This is a new author. I'm impressed with her first novel. There were a few minor confusing things that tripped up the story a little, but I still felt it a worthy read. Can't wait to read more from this author.

Rating: 4 Stars
Content: Clean
Source: Netgalley
I received an ARC copy. My opinions are my own.

This is an interesting book. On the one hand, I greatly enjoyed the format, with alternating viewpoints between the H and h. I liked both the H and h, both lovely people, and quite nice together. My problem? Failure to communicate! One honest conversation could have cleared up everything, which, of course, it eventually did. But it was a typical contrivance of the regency romance. The book is well written, and certainly contains room for other stories. It is also very clean, only one passionate kiss.

I really enjoyed this sweet Regency romance of Charles and Leah. Growing up friends, they find things are much more complicated as adults.
It was fun reading a book that switched between Charles and Leah's thoughts, feelings and story. I truly wanted to put both of them in a room and tell them to be completely honest with each other. The misunderstandings Leah's fear of the gossip of another almost destroyed their chance at happiness.
Ms. Linton delivered a charming book for her debut. I look forward to reading others by her. I hope that Charles and Leah will appear in her next books.
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing my to read this delightful book and discover a new author.

Friends from childhood, Leah and Charles are attracted to each other but their path to be together is not easy.

This is one that left me feeling rather ambivalent. I didn't hate it, but it's not a favorite either. The brief prologue was cute, but the actual story was...rather boring. It felt like the obstacles for this couple were contrived and all they had to do was have an actual conversation and not make assumptions.

There was one historical point that bothered me, and that was how the idea of a lady taking up archery was so shocking. This was a widely accepted pastime for ladies during that time, so this shouldn't have been a strange concept for the characters of the time.

While I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this one, readers who like a light, clean read may enjoy this.

This book is filled with incidentances of young friendship, relationship issues and misunderstandings that lead to mistrust. This is a debut novel and has a great start with two friends and a wager however, the story needed to be more developed and I had a hard time with the point of view changing from chapter to chapter, with two main characters,it was a little confusing.

The book was a simple read with simple characters. It was enjoyable but predictable. It was confusing to be switching from each characters point of view. Some times they would overlap while others would have more time pass. The author definitely has potential but An Inconvenient Romance felt like her first novel where she's still learning.

There were elements of the book that I liked, but overall, I just didn't feel like it moved very smoothly. Obviously there were problems that kept Leah and Charles apart, but the writing describing those problems and the misunderstandings between them just didn't feel smooth.

I loved the Regency setting in this friends-to-romance story! Charles and Leah are so informal with each other as youth, there was a real contrast to how polite and civilized they must act around each other as adults. All the fun parts of their relationship are shown in the prologue when they are young, but the majority of the story is full of hurt feelings, misunderstandings, lack of communication, and heartache. Even with all the angst, there is an underlying tone of hope and perseverance that makes the characters endearing (despite their flaws) and I was rooting for a happy ending as Charles and Leah flounder from the obstacles standing in their way. Leah's father and sister were grounding and their wisdom helped Leah as she is faced with decisions that will determine her future happiness. Another secondary character that balanced out Charles' moodiness is his friend from university who is visiting and knows just how to tease him and also propel him to fight for Leah. While I would have liked to see more happy moments between Leah and Charles throughout the book, I enjoyed the plot and would recommend this book to fans of sweet romance!

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)

Charlon Linton's debut novel 'An Inconvenient Romance' is delightful! It's easy to see that Jane Austen has a heavy influence on this author. We see plenty of spunky 'Elizabeth Bennet' in the heroine, Miss Leah Hastings. Leaving out the usual titles we see in most Regency novels today, it has the familiar feel of Austen's work, without the classical writing style. That is where the comparisons end. Fresh new story, in which we find childhood best friends Mr Charles Brumley & Leah inevitably destined to be together yet thwarted at every turn! Charles has returned ready to claim his lady, but there has been bumps in the road and he isn't sure Leah even wants him more than a friend.

With competition on the horizon, a spiteful woman who uses threats to intervene and make Charles a match for her own daughter, endless miscommunications it appears love will not conquer all. Just when a possibility arises tragedy strikes, and all is now lost.

I loved so much about this book. The movement around a variety of locations, is something I crave in a story, especially Regency England. (I'm English and homesick and I love being taken around the country!) It keeps the story interesting and prevents it from getting a little stagnant. The introduction of Charles' Cambridge buddy Fausett, brings lighthearted relief. There's a lack of humor within the group, and the banter between the two friends is fun to follow.

Charles is an endearing character. He's lost his father and has had to come to terms with his new role of taking care of the estate, and his family. He knows what he wants, and that something is Leah. It was nice to see him unwavering and despite every pitfall he did not easily give up. Leah on the other hand is a little more difficult for me to connect with. I liked her enough, but her constant flitting back and forth got a little tiresome. She realizes she must love Charles, then we are back to just friends. I know the events that play out in the book played a large part in keeping them apart, at times I could literally feel Leah's agony over the situation she was put in. I would have preferred once she realized she loves him, as she does early on, for her then suffer that 'love loss' without questioning her feelings. The emotional flip flopping with Leah is my reason for this not being a 5 star review.

That said, I could not put this down! I absolutely loved the way this was written, the plot and the way it all came together. Plenty to keep the reader guessing and unpredictable. I cannot wait to read more from this author!


Thank you to Covenant Communications & Netgalley for the complimentary copy. This is my honest review.

An Inconvenient Romance is a great regency era romance. I thought it was a wonderful debut for Charlon Linton and look forward to reading more by her in the future.
5+ stars

Oh how I long for the days when a lady can be indisposed, retire with a headache and have a tray brought to her room. Childhood friends Leah and Charles are kept apart by time, distance and misunderstandings that threaten the future that they both desire.

Derbyshire England - 1811

Charles Christopher Brumley, age 15, is teasing Leah Hastings as they race each other. Charles and Leah have played together for many years as they live on neighboring estates. But today, Charles has come to tell Leah that he is leaving to attend Cambridge which leaves Leah crushed.

Derbyshire - 1817

Charles has studied hard at Cambridge secretly knowing he has missed Leah. In the years he was away, he saw Leah on occasion, but only briefly. Now, Charles’s father has passed away and his mother is not well. He has been tasked with escorting his sister, Rachel, to a dance. There he sees Leah and realizes that she has always owned his heart. But Leah appears to be enjoying the attentions of Captain Wilkins, leaving Charles seething with jealousy. Leah tells Charles that her life did not stop when he left for Cambridge. Now that he is back, he knows that he must work hard to win Leah’s hand.

A house party is planned at Charles’s home and many people are invited. One person is a lovely young lady and her overbearing mother who is determined to see her daughter marry Charles. While at the party, Leah’s father is accidentally shot and injured while hunting. It appears that Charles may have been the one to shoot him. This bring about hard feelings between Charles and Leah and he fears that he will never have the woman he loves.

This story started off well but seemed to stumble along quickly running out of steam. I understand that it a debut novel, but the author needs to do some work on her writing to make her story run smoothly.

Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was pretty excited about reading this one. It has a fun beginning where the reader catches a glimpse of the relationship between Leah and Charles when they are younger. Best of friends, full of mischief, fun and carefree moments. I really enjoyed that initial glimpse into their relationship as well as the little snippets of memories throughout the novel.

I couldn't quite figure out how old they were and the book doesn't quite tell us right away. It feels like Leah is 10 or so and Charles close to her age. But a little bit into the book we find out Charles is 15 and heading away to school. I think after reading further into the book that Leah is also 15. After the opening scene we have a little bit of explanation that time has passed and Charles is home for good, 6 years later. Leah's age isn't revealed to the reader until later in the book, she is 20. Ok, not that the ages of the characters are super important, it was just a question that I had while reading and I thought if I had it maybe other readers would too so I figured I'd clear that up.

Leah's character could be a real spitfire and full of fun and life and then other moments very withdrawn into herself. Now a lot of that has to do with several factors that fuel the story and plot line. I enjoyed her character, as well as Charles. Charles growth and aha moments were interesting to read about and endeared me to him more. Now of course there are several moments where you wish the characters would just step up, speak their mind and clear up all these misconceptions, but hey if that happened then we wouldn't have a full length novel. So we get to read about several back and forth almost clear ups and then the misconception would be bigger.

I don't think I've read another regency book written in this same style, so it caught me off guard a little bit, but I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed reading every other chapter from Leah, then Charles POV, and written in first person. I liked being "in their head" per say and reading their impressions and their misperceptions and their thoughts and feelings of the other as well as other people around them.

One part that I felt was left out and I think would have clarified and helped the plot was a confrontation between the two. Now I'm a no spoiler kind of person so I really won't spoil it for you but will tell you that sometimes there is a reference to this confrontation and other times I was left thinking and feeling that something was missing that didn't make the angst between the two characters quite make sense. Am I completely confusing you? Yet at the same time knowing what was said in that confrontation would have caused Charles' confusion in much of the book to disappear...Maybe I'm way off feeling that but I'm an avid read and I really think that maybe just a flashback about that scene earlier on, without even adding dialogue would have added more to the book. You may feel differently when reading this and not even want to know until the end. I'll let you decide how you feel about it. My main point in saying this was that if it feels like something is missing and not quite adding up just keep reading and this will slowly start to reveal itself.

I loved the family members of both Leah and Charles. Oh they were so fun! They all knew and saw what these two MCs were tiptoeing around. Their playful banter and fun comments had me laughing and cheering them on. Super fun addition to the book. Aunt Evelyn, ha! She was a little bit of a mystery at first because I wasn't sure how to take her character, it's not what a traditional regency older aunt would say/do, but the further in I realized she wasn't necessarily the traditional, staunch and proper aunt. She was fun and loving and had a great sense of humor.

Leah and Charles had some insecurities, and unfortunately we have another character who steps up and threatens Leah that if she tries to pursue her friendship or anything else with Charles then there will be dire consequences. Leah is torn, especially when what she has always wanted and dreamt of starts coming to pass. Which way will her heart choose? Will Charles finally decide what he wants? Will he be able to fix the past, present and future? As in all relationships, there are mistakes but how each person in that relationship chooses to fix it and move on determines the strength of the relationship.

There were plenty of back and forth moments, struggles, sorrows, danger, illnesses and sparks of love. Will this inconvenient romance bloom or fade away?

Content: clean

I received a copy from the publisher, Covenant Communications, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

This novel was a quick read. The author alternates between first points of view between the two main characters, which is different than what I have normally read for regency era novels.
Charles Brumley and Leah Hasting were best of friends growing up. When Charles is leaving for Cambridge, Leah is very upset. Charles felt more than friendship for Leah just before he left. Leah was in love with him. Several years pass and Charles' father dies. Leah sees him and tries to speak with him, but he does not feel worthy of her and leaves her after her confession. Several months later, they meet again. Charles is excited to see her while Leah is trying to move forward with Captain Wilkins. Charles returned since he heard someone else was pursuing Leah. Leah is conflicted when she sees Charles. They realize they still have deep feelings for each other. However, there is a character that wants her daughter to marry Charles. She blackmails Leah into staying away from Charles, which hurts her heart. Charles does not understand Leah's change in attitude towards him, but Leah will do whatever is necessary to protect her family from a secret that could ruin them. When Leah's father gets hurt and Charles is blamed for the incident, she sees this as an opportunity to make sure he does not pursue her. However, Charles is determined. Once other factors come to light, Leah realizes her errors? Will Leah be able to forgive Charles and be together or will Charles chose another path?