Fair as a Star - Review

Fair as a Star (Victorian Romantics, # 1)

By: Mimi Matthews

Publication: July 14th 2020 by Perfectly Proper Press

202 pages

Genre: Adult, Historical Fiction, Christian Fiction

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--From USA Today bestselling author Mimi Matthews comes a Victorian tale of love and longing in a quaint English village.

A Secret Burden…

After a mysterious sojourn in Paris, Beryl Burnham has returned home to the village of Shepton Worthy ready to resume the life she left behind. Betrothed to the wealthy Sir Henry Rivenhall, she has no reason to be unhappy—or so people keep reminding her. But Beryl’s life isn’t as perfect as everyone believes.

A Longstanding Love…

As village curate, Mark Rivenhall is known for his compassionate understanding. When his older brother’s intended needs a shoulder to lean on, Mark’s more than willing to provide one. There’s no danger of losing his heart. He already lost that to Beryl a long time ago.

During an idyllic Victorian summer, friends and family gather in anticipation of Beryl and Sir Henry’s wedding. But in her darkest moment, it’s Mark who comes to Beryl’s aid. Can he help her without revealing his feelings—or betraying his brother?

Mimi Matthews has become an auto-buy author for me. She does such a great job making me care about her characters and their stories.

Typically when you hear of someone taking a year-long vacation in historical fiction, the character has gone off to have a baby without anyone in their home town knowing to protect their reputation. That wasn't the case for Beryl. She struggles with what we now know as depression. Yet the characters didn't have the benefit of knowing what we've since learned about mental health and depression. And from my reading of the topic within this genre, the methods of dealing with the mind during this time were as extreme as they were harmful rather than helpful. Beryl doesn't understand her sadness any more than I do. I don't deal with depression, so I'll be the first to say that I just don't understand it. Beryl didn't understand it either.

I appreciated that Mimi Matthews knew that the love story between Beryl and Mark wasn't there to "fix" Beryl. Instead, Mark simply accepted Beryl as she was even while doing what he could to provide her with coping mechanisms.

Sir Henry was a struggle for me. He was so cold and set in his view of the world. I couldn't decide if Winifred was going to be the one to change his heart or if she and Dr. Black were going in that direction. Obviously, I could see more by the end. I'm interested to see if Mimi Matthews chooses to write Winifred's story at some point. Or even Sir Henry's story. He has to find someone to soften him eventually. One would hope anyway.

Favorite quote:

-“Loving someone isn’t a weakness,”

I do have to say that Fair as a Star isn't my favorite Mimi Matthews book. I appreciated the look at mental health from this time period, but this isn't the first book I've read that addressed this within the genre. And personally, I found it harder to relate to Beryl than other female leads. Mark was easy to like, but I didn't always fully support his actions either. Fair as a Star gets 3.5 Stars. Have you read Fair as a Star? What did you think? Let me know!