A Fair Judge by Christina Dudley
#6.5 Hapgoods of Bramleigh
Historical Romance
Publisher: Christina Dudley
Published: 1.1.22
Pages: n/a
Rating: 4 stars
Format: ebook
Source: Free with author’s newsletter sign-up
Sellers: n/a
ADD TO: GoodReads
GoodReads Synopsis:
To all who know him, Mr. Norman DeWitt is famous for his few words. But the events of an afternoon at the Blagdon Hill fair force him into action and speech, with telling consequences to his heart.
Sophia Rose's Review:
Can a man who barely utters a sentence at a social event put enough words together when he has just saved the lady of his dreams from a charging love-sick bull? Christina Dudley wrapped up her Hapgoods of Bramleigh series, but I was tickled that her free novella available when I signed up for her newsletter gave a familiar side character throughout the series his own romance.
A Fair Judge happens chronologically in the background of the rest of the series. I chose to read it at the end and, because it is percolating in the background over a few years, I think that is exactly when it was best to read it.
Norman DeWitt is brother to the heroine in book three, but his family are near neighbors to the Hapgoods and he has brief crushes on the oldest Hapgood girls and falls out of love, if love it was, before he has his romantic adventure on the way to a nearby livestock fair on an errand for his father. Norman is born to a gentleman, but he is most interested in farming so enjoys helping his father and older brother on the family estate.
This one time, he encounters a woman he is comfortable enough to exchange a bantering dialogue with and has a strong attraction to, but then a surprise interrupts this early potential of courtship. Over the next few years, he encounters his dream lady once and it was not a pleasant scene at the ball.
Norman’s sister-in-law is determined to match-make, but he sinks more of his time and interest in one of the farms on the estate. No one knows his secret dreams. But, then there is an opportunity for a second chance if caprice doesn’t ruin it for the pair yet again.
This was novella-length, but it was fully developed for plot and characters. There is the amusing mishaps that are signature to the series and, of course, Norman’s silent nature is part of it. I was glad to get this final entry in the series and recommend to other series fans this short, final series romcom.
Author’s Bio:
Christina Hwang Dudley is the author of clean historical and contemporary romance.
Her historical romances include the Hapgoods of Bramleigh and Ellsworth Assortment series of Regency romances, including THE NATURALIST and TEMPTED BY FOLLY.
In contemporary romance, her forthcoming PRIDE AND PRESTON LIN (Third State Books, 2024) riffs on Austen, but this time the story is set in the San Francisco Bay Area, with Asian American protagonists who hail from different ends of the economic spectrum.
Website: https://christinadudley.com/
Sophia’s Bio:
Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophia.rose.7587
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sophiarose1816
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose
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