Book Blurb:
A reforming flirt meets her heart’s match when she models for an enigmatic sculptor.
The sculptor
Stone carver Gryffyn Kimbrell aspires to create more than headstones and hedges, so when he learns of a competition in nearby Truro, he leaps at the opportunity. And to his surprise, Miss Keren Moon provides much needed inspiration.
While the mayor’s daughter has not been particularly selective with her flirtations, he’s never been on the receiving end. But her disregard doesn't concern him; with his family’s secrets firmly guarded, he’s resigned to a bachelor’s life, and all he requires of Miss Moon is permission to sketch her. Nothing more. If only he could get his heart to fall in line.
The flirt
Threatened with separation from her young brother, Miss Keren Moon agrees to her father’s ultimatum to reform her flirtatious ways. Pointing her feet on a straight and narrow path, she resolves to avoid behavior that will cause her father to send her away.
Modeling for sculptor Gryffyn Kimbrell might be on that list, but against her better judgment, she makes a secret bargain with the reserved stone carver: she’ll allow him to draw her if he’ll provide carving lessons for her trouble-prone brother.
When Gryffyn’s masterpiece is revealed and secrets are exposed, will this unexpected couple find their way to love?
Matching Miss Moon is a complete, full-length novel and part of the Hearts of Cornwall series.
Book Buy Link: https://geni.us/matchingmissmoon
Author Bio:
GET FREE STUFF
Subscribe at https://www.klynsmithauthor.com/books/discovering-wynne to claim your free eBook. While Discovering Wynne is a complete, standalone romance, fans of Jilting Jory will enjoy this additional peek into Wynne and Roddie's tale. Discovering Wynne is the first in K. Lyn Smith's upcoming Hearts of Cornwall series.
ABOUT K. LYN
K. Lyn Smith writes sweet historical romance with swoony heroes. Sometimes a pig or two. She lives in Birmingham, Alabama with her own swoony hero, and when she’s not reading or writing, you can find her cooking with family, traveling or watching period dramas. And space documentaries. Weird, right?
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Editorial Review:
His youngest daughter. The label was telling. Not his artistic daughter or the musically inclined one. Not the beauty or the charitable one. She was his flirtatious daughter, but he could hardly refer to her as such, so she was known throughout Newford as simply the mayor's youngest girl. She had no talent for art or the pianoforte, and her looks were rather ordinary. But flirting... the skill came to her quite naturally, so long as the gentleman wasn't Gryffyn Kimbrell, that was.
Another light-hearted and easy read from author, K. Lyn Smith, and following the playbook of the notorious flirt from Pride and Prejudice, Ms Smith gifts the reader with a character introduced to us in her previous Hearts of Cornwall book, Jilting Jory – Miss Keren Moon, who goes on record for being a silly flirt to match Miss Austen's famous Kitty Bennet.
Keren makes no bones about her love and skill for flirting. Gryffyn Kimbrell, also introduced in the previous book, has a passion for stone work, and imagines a life focused on his skills where no woman might turn his head, especially Miss Moon whose uncharacteristic dullness towards him sparks a curious interest.
But when forced to interact with Gryffyn, Miss Moon's words were uncharacteristically dull, without the liveliness she displayed for others. Not that he wished for her to flirt with him – he certainly didn't have the time or the desire to navigate such waters – but he was curious just the same. What was it that so turned her off him?
Thus begins the crux of the narrative – the delving into these two character's lives and entwining them in a way that brings them to the ultimate and predictable destination of love. When she agrees to sit for Gryffyn for him to sketch her to bring her likeness to life in stone, all in an attempt to reform her flirtatious ways to appease her father, as well as to get Gryffyn to instruct her brother in the craft, then the tables turn for both of them as they struggle with their feelings. Gryffyn, a confirmed bachelor, and Keren, a staunch flirt determined never to marry, are both shaped into characters which pay homage to Miss Austen's legendary characters in her catalog of Regency era romance books. With this book, Ms Smith manages to incorporate some of the concerns of the propriety of social standards, such as Jory's concerns for a young woman's reputation in sitting for a sculptor as this sort of thing was not done, as well as presenting a delightful foray of Cornish food and scenery as to capture the attention of lovers of all things pertaining to Cornwall. The story line is light, fresh, and original, a treat for Regency romance lovers, and is an easy quick read from start to finish in one sitting. Also, as noted in the author's notes, she manages to give some insight about Henry's problems and how it was addressed during the time period, that of ADHD which was labeled in 1902 as a lack of moral control, and the use of the arts as therapy for those afflicted with the mental health issue.
If he were pressed to mark the start of it, he supposed it must have begun with their walk in the rain. Despite the impending weather, she'd come to retrieve her brother, without regard for the state of her hair or her slippers. He'd glimpsed the lady within and had been intrigued, as his image of her didn't fit one of his carvings in that way, a delicate creature waiting to be released from the stone. Their regular encounters for Henry's lessons had only worsened his condition until now, whenever he was in her company, he was hard pressed to recall his own name, much less think on whatever task he was about. And that, with not a bit of flirtation between them.
Yet, in all of this, Gryffyn has questions and secrets of his past and his family, ones which he feels might sully any attachment to a fine young lady, but his growing feelings for Keren is almost more than he can bear at times. Not to mention, how their encounters are changing Keren's flirtatious ways.
And could he simply let go of his questions and accept the Kimbrell name as his own to give? Years of holding and nurturing his secret close to his heart had left him with shadowy corners, but Miss Moon brought light with her wit and warmth and gentle strength. Perhaps it would be enough to fill him. Perhaps he could convince her they were well matched.
All in all, this is an enjoyable read and you get a sense of the author's progress in character development and narrative but again, as in the first installment in this series, this is more of light version of Miss Austen's legendary Regency romances, and is a good introduction for any one interested in escaping into this world of propriety with a dash of lightheartedness.
*****
“Matching Miss Moon” by K. Lyn Smith receives 4 stars from The Historical Fiction Company
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