Reviews

A Spinster by the Sea, by Grace Burrowes

hammock_and_read's review

5.0

The Siren's Retreat sounds amazing- can I time travel back?!? I love this seaside village and want to find a man to build sandcastles with! Augustus is perfect for Anne and they have not only chemistry - they understand each other and what they want in society. Anne has wedding after wedding trouble that keeps showing up. Augustus was a lawyer but gained a title and is trying to figure out how to be a duke. This is a slow burn in a quick perfect read!
Love this series and they can be read as standalones.

hannah_b_nana's review

2.0

Perhaps is it merely an isolated peculiarity of this author’s Siren’s Retreat works, but in both this and A Tryst by the Sea I found the dialogue ponderously overblown, bordering on abstruse, perhaps in pursuit of witty repartee but with, in my estimation, the consequence of evoking both main characters declaiming their lines from a determinedly erudite script.

malloryboring's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.75

mariek12's review

3.5

Didn’t realize this was a novella. Heroine gets left at the altar twice, so is seen as used goods. The book opens with the hero, as the best man, having to tell the heroine’s family that the the groom ran off with the groom’s mistress. The hero is a lawyer by trade who very surprisingly inherits a dukedom. The book is very tender and clever, with a gentleness that made for east reading. The spice was pretty lacking, focusing more on the romantic connection. A little boring but definitely more satisfying than the other one of hers I read. 

taisie22's review

4.0

A lovely novella at Siren's Retreat where one can find true love. Anne Baxter is an heiress who's been left at the altar twice, leaving her reputation in tatters. Augustus, the newly minted Duke of Tindale, was the best man at the last debacle, but he's happy to find Anne on the beach when he attends a nearby house party.
Their romance is very sweet and both hero and heroine fit well together. The additional characters fill out their roles suitably, adding to the story as needed in the style of a Shakespearean comedy with a bit more froth.

mephala's review

emotional relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

TW:

Spoiler

child's death (off page)

Tropes: fake/pretend relationship, friends to lovers

Third installment in the Siren's Retreat Quartet series, A Spinster by the Sea, is this short collection's second story penned by Grace Burrowes. Similarly to her previous novella, this one once again brings to mind classic, old-fashioned romances. 

I really like one quote, that I feel rather nicely sums up the feel of this story:

"This was not a wild ride or a delicious nightcap. This was profound, courageous intimacy with the woman he loved."

Anne and Augustus's romance is not full of fireworks and high passions; it's subdued, but never lacks intimacy. Quite and domestic. There are several moments in the book, where both heroine and hero mentions how close they're becoming; how their strictly physical relationship slowly transforms into a comfortable evenings spend with one's loved one.

I enjoyed that slow, but sure progression of their relationship.

As in A Tryst by the Sea, this story also mentions some heavy subjects. 
The shocking plot twist concerning Anne's past comes out of nowhere, but explains her reservations and doubts when it comes to her relationship with Augustus. One of the best moments in the book is a conversation between Anne and him explaining what had happened and how it affected her. Augustus's steady support of Anne and his unshakable love for her shined during that scene.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Child death

writer595's review

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

robinwalter's review

emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It felt a bit clinical, there was a certain spark missing. The author's other contribution to the series was better.

booksjenrecs's review

emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

In A Spinster by the Sea, the third book in the Siren's Retreat quartet, Anne Baxter finds herself retreating to the coast to escape the gossip in town after she was left at the alter - again. But Anne is about to find respite in the last place she expected it: in the arms of her former fiancé's best man. Augustus, the Duke of Tindale, has struggled to leave his former life as a solicitor behind. But he and Anne connect like never before, and maybe having to finally accept his fate won't be so bad if Anne is his duchess. 

While each novella in the Siren's Retreat quartet can be read as a standalone, it's been great getting to revisit the same location throughout this series. The characters change, but the magic at Siren's Retreat stays the same. 

I loved who Anne and Augustus were able to become in each other's company. Augustus allowed Anne to feel seen and heard, and he never judged her as the secrets of her past were slowly revealed. Anne, in kind, encouraged Augustus to be himself, even when his solicitor background made him stand out in the ducal circles he now found himself in. 

These two main characters were refreshing in a historical romance. Both felt pretty strongly about their paths going forward, but they were able to find the love they both needed in order to make it all worth it. There was a fake-dating (ish) trope throughout most of the novella, but it was pretty clear early on that Augustus wasn't pretending and the fake courting was only for all the secondary characters' benefit. 

Both characters has some things to grapple with over the course of the novella, but I loved Anne's journey the most. She started off jilted and thinking quite low of herself. The secrets in her past did not help her as she felt bound for spinsterhood. It took a lot for Augustus to convince Anne that they could have something together, even after all the love they shared. 

Overall, the characters here were well done, even in the shortened, novella-length time we got with them. Anne and Augustus' love was sweet, and I'm glad they could find their way to each other, even after everything they'd been through. It was great to return to Siren's Retreat, and I can't wait to see what becomes of the main characters in the fourth and final installment of the quartet.