The Darkest Hour by Rebecca J. Greenwood

Book reviews are subjective. I tend to rate books not according to how “perfect” they are, seem to be, or are said to be in general but rather to how perfect they are to me. I received a complimentary copy of this book, for which I’ve given an honest review.

The Darkest Hour by Rebecca J. Greenwood

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lady Hester Douglas’s brother, a duke, has survived the war, but he might not survive his injuries. Hester, a spinster, goes off to nurse the duke herself, which isn’t the most ladylike choice, but her widowered minister, Reverend Alasdair Gilchrist, escorts her on the journey. Besides the struggle to keep her brother alive, Hester struggles with her long-held feelings for the reverend in The Darkest Hour by author Rebecca J. Greenwood.

While reading this novella has given me a different picture of the heroine, I’m quite a fan of the book cover: soft drama, a wonderful contrast of darkness and light, and lovely, excellent typography.

Hester is a bit of a nonstandard romance character, as is Alasdair, which I appreciate. I also appreciate how the story has some characters of color, a historically accurate inclusion that I think a lot of Regency tales miss. The emotion on the cover matches the mood of the story, which is rather dark and painful but brings the light of hope.

Although “electricity” doesn’t only have to do with our modern uses for it, I wasn’t sure if one reference to it was the best fit for this story, along with a character’s use of the word “brownnose,” a twentieth-century, American term. Also, the repeated emphasis on Hester’s physical beauty feels overdone, and I think when it comes to the story’s descriptions of the characters’ romantic sensations, a little less could have been more.

Nevertheless, this is the kind of sweet Regency tale that ChristFic romance readers should very well enjoy.

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This standalone novella is a part of The Darkest Season series, along with The Darkest Summer.