Mo Daoust
SAY YOU’LL LOVE ME is an utter delight: it successfully combines a captivating mystery and an enchanting love story, and fabulous characters. It is the evening of the betrothal ball for Robert Wrexham, Viscount Hinsdale, and Lady Abigail Hurst. They have been promised to each other since they were children, they have known each other forever, but Robert has been away and travelled for several years and he’s changed. While on her way to the retiring room, Abigail sees a man groping a woman who seems rather distraught, and to Abigail’s dismay, it’s Robert and a Wrexham House maid. The following day, the maid is discovered floating on the Thames; she’s been murdered. Abigail and her friends Henrietta and Georgina, sisters to the Marquess of Loncroft, Edmund Townsend, decide to investigate the matter and prove Robert’s innocence, but to do so, they will need Edmund’s assistance. Edmund has always been too occupied with his science and mathematics, but still Abigail’s loveliness does not escape him… I absolutely adored SAY YOU’LL LOVE ME! Ally Broadfield has crafted a story where mystery and romance are perfectly intertwined. The tone is exemplary, the prose unpretentious yet elegant, effective and flowing, and the dialogues are spot-on. There is not one little cliché nor a word out of place to be found anywhere. The characters are very engaging, well fleshed-out, and every little detail serves a purpose; I was completely taken in by the atmosphere created by the author. The relationship between Edmund and Abigail is compelling, and absolutely lovely. Ally Broadfield was a new author to me, and SAY YOU’LL LOVE ME was an extremely pleasant surprise; I will definitely be looking forward to further books from this author! I received a complimentary copy in exchange of an honest review.