Summer Reads: Underestimating Miss Cecilia by Carolyn Miller

*This is sponsored review. All opinions 100% mine.

I'm up bright and early and on a Sunday morning to write a review for the romance novel Underestimating Miss Cecilia by Carolyn Miller, which I just reading yesterday. That's right, I read the entire 352 page novel yesterday afternoon, despite the fact it was a difficult for me to read thanks to my allergies and dry eyes. I just received the title a few weeks ago for the Kregel Publications book tour, and, I guess you can say time slipped away from me pretty quickly as I almost forgot I had to review the book by August 4th, which is today.

I used to read (and review) a lot of romance novels but after a while I gotten a bit burned out on them and this has resulted in me reading a wide variety of genres this year. The only reason why I signed up to review Underestimating Miss Cecilia (the second novel in Regency Brides: Daughters of Aynsley series) is because I've previously read a few other titles by author Carolyn Miller. She's a good writer and I figured I would like her newest novel.

What's the book about?

It's set in the early 19th Century England and centers around Cecilia Hatherleigh, a young woman who has always had her eyes on the earl's son, Edward "Ned" Amherest. The only problem is Edward has never had the same affections for Cecilia. He's always treated her more like a sister than a possible future wife. Despite her intelligence, she's is seen as nothing more that the second daughter of Lord Aynsley in the eyes of many, including Ned.

Circumstances occur that leads Ned to make a few major decisions in his life, which includes resurrecting his legal career and looking for a wife. He's also determined to help the poor and suffering people living on the streets of England. His quest to help other leads him to spend more time with Cecilia. Remember, this is a romance novel, so you can take a guess at what happens next.

Final Thoughts

One of my biggest gripes about many of my reads this year are the lack of descriptions. Well, the good news is I didn't have that problem with Underestimating Miss Cecilia. Carolyn Miller has a natural talent with descriptions and she sure does use them in this novel. All the characters, even the side ones, have plenty of depth to them. The dialogue is written with intelligence and grace.

The only issue I had with this novel (and it's just me nitpicking) is the odd artwork on the cover. It's a little too photoshopped for my liking. Honestly, if I saw this book in a store and I didn't know who the author was, I would never purchase it. Actually, I would never even pick it up. Great covers sell books. It doesn't matter if those books are good or bad, incredible covers will always grab a readers attention. If they like the cover, then there's a good change they'll pick it up and read the blurb. If they like premise, there's even a better chance that they'll buy the book. I know... I know I'm not supposed to judge a book by it's cover but in my opinion this cover is just plain ugly.

Overall, I enjoyed reading Underestimating Miss Cecilia. Yes, there were a few cliched moments here and there but none of them annoyed me to the point that I didn't like what I was reading. Like I already mentioned above, the descriptions are wonderful and I could easily paint a picture of the scenery by only reading a few sentences.

About the Author

Carolyn Miller lives in New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. A longtime lover of Regency romance, Carolyn has won a number of RWA and ACFW contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers. Her previous bestsellers include The Elusive Miss Ellison and The Making of Mrs. Hale.