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Blog Tour: The Aristocrat: Penelope Ward

by - Monday, August 30, 2021

  

 The Aristocrat
 Penelope Ward
Genre: Standalone Contemporary Romance
Release Date: August 30, 2021
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From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.

The one that got away. Every girl has one, right?
Mine was a charming, British aristocrat who turned my world upside down one summer.
From the moment I first spotted Leo in the distance through my binoculars, I’d been captivated. I certainly never expected to find a man showering outside of the property across the bay in his birthday suit.
Then I noticed his housemate staring back at me with binoculars of his own—watching me watching Leo.
That made for an interesting conversation starter when I inevitably ran into them.
Turned out, the handsome Brits were only renting that house for the summer in my seaside town.
Leo and I formed an instant connection, even though we were technically opposites by all appearances. I taught him how to dig for clams, and he taught me that not all wealthy and powerful guys are pretentious.
Despite knowing he was totally wrong for me, I couldn’t seem to stay away.
It was a wild and crazy few months. And before I knew it, we’d fallen in love.
We both had one wish: more time together.
But Leo had obligations back home. He lived a life I’d never fit into. And I was going to law school. So, we decided to end it and never look back.
A part of me always felt like I’d let my soulmate walk away.
I believed our story was over.
Until five years later when he sent me a letter that shook me to my core.
I’d thought my world was turned upside down that first summer?
Well, I knew nothing yet.

Felicity Dunleavy is a college grad getting ready to head to law school but is spending the summer  at home in Narragansett, RI. She is intelligent, independent, practical, nerdy, and a bit awkward. She also has trust and abandonment issues and guards her heart. 

One day she spies across the water two hot guys who turn out to be renting the house for the summer. Leo Covington is taking a break from life. He comes from a wealthy, aristocratic family and has expectations that he is supposed to meet. This summer is his last time for some freedom. And his wild cousin Sig is along for the ride and bringing the comic relief and entertainment. 

Leo and Felicity are drawn together from the beginning. But they both know their lives are too different and it could not be anything more than a summer fling. They try to friendzone it but eventually succumb to soaking up all the moments they can knowing it will all have to end. But despite both being logical, responsible, and trying to guard their hearts, feelings still get in the way. But they both have their lives mapped out and expectations that they personally have to meet.  And he has added pressure from familial responsibilities and the threat of public opinion.  

It’s a sweet, angsty, aching, summer love, opposites attract, slow burn
, star-crossed lovers, second chance romance with bad timing, but a strong connection. However, for some reason, I did not connect as strongly to the story or characters as I expected to and I am not sure why. It could have just been my own state of mind, but it also maybe I was frustrated because their hearts were unavailable and there did not seem to be a way to make it work.  

From the blurb, I knew the book was going to be written in two parts, and I honestly found myself wanting to skip ahead in the first part to see how things ended up in part two.  In typical Penelope Ward style, there are surprises and some things I never even considered that made it more interesting, emotional and brought other challenges. 

Felicity and Leo are likable enough characters with big hearts. His cousin Sig is interesting and outspoken. Initially, I was not sure if I liked him or not, but I have to say that he totally won me over and I fell for the guy. 

Ultimately this is about a connection that was deep, undeniable, and transcended time and distance. It really just will have to come down to how much they’re willing to compromise, sacrifice, and risk for even a chance of finally being together. And that doesn’t really even cover the logistics and lifestyle differences.  This is a book about true love and what it means to have it in your life for no matter how long you’re able to keep it.
                                                                                                                                                              
Felicity is preparing to leave for law school, spending the summer at home before her world focuses on school again. A chance view across the lake with her binoculars has her peeping at a show she wasn’t expecting - nor was she expecting to find someone also watching through his own pair of binoculars, catching her red handed. Turns out the 2 men renting the house across the way were cousins, aristocrats from England on holiday.

Leo and his cousin Sig have traveled around the US while Leo takes a break from the pressures of learning the family business and preparing to take over for his ailing father. His family has certain expectations of him that though he knows he will step into, are chafing a little as he prepares to take them on.

Leo and Felicity spend the summer in each others’ company, determined to keep things light and have a little fun before they each take their next steps. When they part at the end of the summer, neither could have planned for the feelings that developed or the way they would feel once they continued on their predetermined paths.

This story took me a bit to really get into. I struggled with the characters during their summer fling, knowing they had a time limit to their attraction. But also knowing something big was coming, I just wanted to get to the second half of the book. But when I got there, I could not have imagined what was in store for these characters. I was shocked and surprised at the twists and turns this story took through the second half.

Overall, this was a little angsty, a little sweet, and a little heart wrenching to watch as they navigated the situations they found. Though sometimes it seemed like the odds against them were insurmountable, their connection was such that I had to hope they could find a way around the challenges.
Penelope Ward

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.

With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

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