Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
When a storm is brewing, taking shelter could be the most dangerous move of all.
One careless, public sign of affection cost Daniel Pierce’s lover his life at the hands of a hate-filled mob. Grief-stricken, Daniel retreated from society to a sheep farm in the wilds of the north. Years later, Gregory Tobin erupts into his solitary life.
Sent to confirm the existence—or the death—of the Pierce family’s lost heir, Tobin isn’t sure he’s found the right man. The gruff, shaggy hermit calling himself Jacob Bennet bears little resemblance to photographs of the younger Pierce. Tobin needs more time to study his quarry.
With lambing season in full swing, Daniel grudgingly admits he could use an extra hand. Through a long, exhausting night, they parry back and forth as Tobin probes closer and closer to the truth. And something beyond casual attraction simmers between them.
They come together in a crash of desire, but ultimately Daniel must overcome the terrors of the past to reconcile the man he was with the man he’s becoming—a man capable of loving again.
In The Shepherd and the Solicitor, authors Summer Devon and Bonnie Dee effortlessly bring 1883 Yorkshire to life, allowing their readers to sink into many levels of society and culture of that age through their novel and characters. A lover of historic fiction, especially historic romance, that blurb attracted me with its wounded withdrawn main character and the man sent to find him and return him to society. The authors delivered not only on the promise of their synopsis but gave me a story that let me feel a part of a small community struggling for survival on the edge of a moor. Do I love this story? Oh, yes I do!
Let’s start with the characterizations first. Its the death of Daniel Pierce’s lover at a mob that the impetus for his flight. Wrong place, wrong time, one tiny gesture that gets noticed by the wrong person and a mob is ignited. Daniel barely escapes with his life, his lover perishes as a police officer watches. Emotionally destroyed, Daniel abandons everyone and everything he associates with his lover’s death and disappears.
When the story picks up the Board of Directors of the Pierce family firm is looking for the lost heir, He must be found so the company’s majority shares Daniel owns can be either sold or handled for control of the firm. The job is given to a young solicitor Gregory Tobin, a middle man in his firm, He considers this job tedious but intends to carry it out responsibility and throughly. And that and a slight clue has lead him to the wilds of Yorkshire, muddy roads and an almost inhabitable inn.
With each character (primary and otherwise), Devon and Dee set up their portraits complete with the correct set of clothing and footwear appropriate to their stations and lifestyles, their speech patterns matches their professions (lost and current), and even the books left scattered around Daniel/Jacob’s cottage is perfect for the times and education of the man in question. The authors don’t hit us over the head with their research but stash it away in the narrative in bits and pieces so we notice it as we would looking around someone’s room or house. It feels natural and believable.
A element I delighted in was the flocks of sheep and sheep dogs being raised by Jacob. The reader along with Gregory get quite the introduction into the rough life of a shepherd in 1883, from the exhaustion, pain, and joys of lambing to the bare minimum existence of Daniel/Jacob’s cottage. Through lively, vivid descriptions Gregory’s initiation into that life becomes ours as well, those passages making us laugh and often sniffle. When Gregory names a triplet of lambs after three solicitors in his office, his reasons and descriptions will sending you giggling. And when a ewe rejects her lamb and they desperately search for a solution, its feels raw, real and urgent .
That brings us to the element of romance. If you like your romance to be quick, hot and heavy, then this is probably not the romance story for you. Devon and Dee have made Daniel’s pain and trauma over the death of his lover palpable. That event caused him to totally withdraw from the world as he knew it, becoming someone totally different overtime. And time is what it takes for Gregory to start to break through those barriers and keep within the social restraints of the 1800’s respectability. Theirs is a slow build towards friendship and a romantic relationship. Its a tight balancing act, one that Daniel has lost once and is not sure he is brave enough to reach for again. I was deeply engaged in this romance and loved every slow step they took towards each other.
I even loved the ending, maybe the denouement was stretching it a little but by that time, I didn’t care whether it was as realistic as the rest of the story. I loved it and I loved the solution that the authors came up with for Daniel and Gregory, that was close to perfection.
I highly recommend this story. Even if you normally don’t read historic romance, you will love this couple and their story of love and devotion. Its heartwarming and beautifully written. I may not ever want to have lived in the 1800’s but through the writing of Summer Devon and Bonnie Dee, I feel as though I have visited there for a while. And had a wonderful time.
Cover artist Lea Kaye Suttle cover is lovely, a little old fashioned. I do wish there were some sheep on it.
Sales Links: Samhain Publishing | All Romance (ARe) | Amazon | 
Book Details:
Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words 