Review: The Dowager's Grand Triumph by Susanne Dunlap

Today, I'm delighted to share my review of a fabulous Regency romance with several really clever twists – The Dowager's Grand Triumph, by historian and author Susanne Dunlap. It's part of a series, but can be read as standalone quite easily.

Read on to find out more about this intriguing romantic adventure!

The Dowager's Grand Triumph is currently on blog tour with Rachel's Random Resources. My thanks to Rachel and the author for a copy of the novel.

 

 

The Dowager’s Grand Triumph

  Double-Dilemma Romance, Book #6

Susanne Dunlap

 

Review:

 

What a refreshing read!

 

When Lady Caroline's first love, Thomas Ashcombe, requests an unusual favour after decades in India, Caroline's first instinct was to decline. After all, he'd left her without a word, which forced her to marry the man chosen by her parents – a man who cheated on her. But then she realises none of this is Thomas's daughter, Anjali's, fault. Plus, Caroline is curious about this girl who was born to an English father wed to a Bengali lady from a respected, high-caste family.

 

Although their arrival is sudden and unexpected, Caroline takes young Anjali under her wing, trying to secure a good match for a girl who stood out amongst the pale English roses present at the balls & soirées of the ton. What she hadn't expected, though, is that Anjali is intelligent and strong-minded, though fully aware of her status. What Caroline also hadn't expected were old feelings to resurface, which may just be reciprocated by her first love. But she still has questions...

 

 Anjali loves languages and poetry, including from her mother's country – something that shocks potential English suitors. Well, except one: Sir Julian, a young barrister with a mop of red curls, who isn't quite as confident as he should be. The two misfits find common ground quickly, but forces out of their control are trying to uncover a secret Thomas has carried with himself since his rushed departure from Calcutta. And they don't shy away from going to extremes to get what they want, and to ultimately protect the profitable East India Company.

 

Will Anjali and Julian find the courage to admit their feelings? Will Thomas emerge from jail unscathed? And will Caroline and Thomas have a chance to delve into the bitter past? 

 

Well, read the novel to find out. You won't regret it!

 

 The Dowager's Grand Triumph is a riveting romantic adventure that strays into areas I didn't expect. It makes for engrossing reading (late into the night, in my case). The title is a bit of a misnomer, as it required the characters to work together to help Thomas, but the plot and sub-plots are utterly thrilling.

 

The characters are well-defined, and the research regarding the ton and their often suffocating rules of engagement is impeccable. You feel like you're right there.

 

The pace is swift, without feeling rushed, and I thought the intrigue surrounding the misdeeds of members of the EIC adds a strong sense of realism that goes beyond the usual Regency romance plots. For me, it was a crucial bit of history often glossed over, even if it's – in this case – fictional.

 

Before I read this novel, I was unfamiliar with this particular series of Regency romance novels, but I've now bought books 1 & 2. I can't wait to start reading them.

 

Highly recommended! 

 

 ~~~

Blurb:

Caroline, Dowager Marchioness of Lewiston, has long since made peace with the life she was given: a grand title, a comfortable house, and a heart carefully trained not to want what it cannot have.

Then Thomas Ashcombe returns.

Years ago, Thomas was the man she loved—and lost. Now he is a wealthy merchant newly arrived from India, bringing with him not only a fortune, but a daughter, Anjali, whose place in English society is as uncertain as her father’s safety. Thomas has come home with dangerous evidence of corruption connected to the East India Company, and powerful men will do anything to silence him.

When Thomas is falsely imprisoned under suspicion of treason, Caroline must decide whether she is willing to risk her reputation, her family, and her carefully ordered world for the man she never forgot.

Sir Julian Meredith has always preferred legal arguments to drawing-room conversation. Awkward, red-haired, and far too honest for his own comfort, he is no one’s idea of a romantic hero—least of all his own. But when Anjali Ashcombe’s courage draws him into a web of secrets, forged loyalties, and political danger, Julian discovers that love may require a bravery no courtroom ever demanded of him.

As Caroline and Thomas fight for a second chance, and Julian and Anjali reach for a future neither of them expected, one question remains: can love survive when truth itself has become a crime?


Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0H1HJDHBD

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0H1HJDHBD

~~~


About the Author:

Susanne Dunlap started out a historian, became an award-winning historical novelist with fourteen published novels for adults and teens, and is now the author of the Regency romance series, Double-Dilemma Romance.

She lives and writes in a converted textile mill in Biddeford, Maine.


Connect with Susanne:

https://www.instagram.com/susanne_dunlap/

https://www.tiktok.com/@susieregency

https://www.facebook.com/SusanneRomance