4.5 stars. A continuation of Grace Burrowes debut. In the novella Duke and his Duchess, Devlin St Just is introduced as a little boy who is soon separated from his mother, to go live with his wealthy father, Duke of Moreland and his wife. In Soldier, he is now in his thirties and his story unfolds.Devlin is a wonderful dashing hero. He loves children and horses and was a very good officer, loved by his men. He misses his family, especially his dead brother Bart who died in the war. He befriends Emmie Farnum and offers her a job to look after Winnie, a six year old orphan cousin, who Devlin finds on his property. They slowly fall in love. Both have secrets and have suffered past traumas. Dev has PTSD from his days as a soldier, Emmie has had a hard life as a base born woman born without a father, furthermore her aunt was the mistress of the previous Earl of Rosecroft, who Dev killed in the Heir.Emmie had turned down a proposal from the local vicar a while back but he offers for her again as he is soon to be a Viscount; his older brother is ill and childless. She uses the excuse that she's not good enough for him but really she does not love him. Devlin too wants to marry her but she tells him she is leaving him and Winnie as soon as he can hire a governess for the child. StJust has mixed feelings in that he feels his PTSD would be a burden on her and thus feels unworthy of Emmie who he treasures. He considers himself a barbarian compared to a saint of a vicar who he is jealous of. Kathleen St Just's letters were just heartbreaking, she loved Devlin but he didn't know it. I think that will stay with me more than any other part of the story. Winnie was definitely a handful, but she was also better off with both Devlin and Emmie.This reminded me somewhat of Mary Balogh's Survivors' Club series which had not been released when Soldier was published, how broken people find love and their happily ever after. The ending was a bit too abrupt for my liking...hopefully, Grace Burrowes will keep her fans in the Devlin Emmie loop. I really felt an epilogue would have made this a 5 star book for me. On to the Virtuoso next to find out more about Val! This novel has its flaws, many of them the ones that drive me a little crazy with all Burrowes' novels that I've read, such as chronology and the too-easy twisting of Regency social conventions and traditions to give her increasingly numerous illegitimate and lowborn characters places of social standing that are implausible, especially in one family, however ducal. All that aside, the moving and parallel struggles of Devlin St. Just as he tries to heal from 10 years of the horrors of war, the grief over two dead brothers, and the wounds that still fester from his birth mother's abandonment and his status as a bastard child; and those of six-year-old Winnie Farnum, the neglected, illegitimate child who experiences loss after loss of everyone and everything she cares about, are so beautifully, painfully written. The steadfast care, wisdom and fierce championing Emmaline Farnum offers Devlin often brought tears to my eyes, though it also made it nearly impossible to believe that she would act in such a devastating manner near the end of the novel, regardless of her own pain. The friendship of Devlin and Douglas Allen, Viscount Amery (though the friendship struck me as odd given that Burrowes never gives us a history between Gwen or Amery to explain Amery's care of Devlin or its intimacy) is a portrait of selfless, quiet care. Brother Valentine's presence, too, is instrumental in his brother's healing. The letters Devlin finally receives written by his birth mother are heartbreaking, and are a cautionary tale for us parents and the choices we make. Most powerful of all is Devlin St. Just's knowledge of his limits as an emotionally wounded man who cannot promise if or when he will ever fully recover, but will give all that is in his power to give unstintingly. Burrowes gives no easy fixes emotionally (circumstantially is another story). It is that emotional truth that set this novel apart for me.P.S. I had hoped that Burrowes would have the lovely vicar, soon-to-be viscount, show up as a love interest later in the series, or the Lonely Lords series, but the summaries have dashed that hope.ASIDE AFTER READING sister Maggie's story: Why was Maggie adopted and Devlin wasn't? Certainly Devlin had a mother who loved him, though he didn't know it, but would an astute mother like Esther's loyalty to Kathleen as Devlin's mother so blind her to how he would perceive the situation? His adoption was no threat to the succession. It feels an act of cruelty to me.
What do You think about El Soldado (2012)?
Okay let me just say, I love, love, love Devlin!!! This was a great book and I can't wait for more.
—hura
Bien la primera parte, a partir de la segunda mitad alarga en exceso el argumento.
—Abigail
I liked this one even better when I read it the second time. Love it!
—ultravioletdi
like a train wreak you know you should look away but cant!!!!!!!!!!!
—zougy
