Disclaimer: Although I received a copy of this book from the publisher, the words and opinions below are my own.
Let me start by saying, this is probably the first of Carolyn Miller’s Regency novels in which she got to set scenes in her home region of New South Wales, Australia. Early scenes in her latest work are set in old Sydney Town, an area full of convicts, released convicts, and other miscreants, and very different to the cosmopolitan city it is now. I got to spend a week in the city some thirty years ago, and my father has just announced he will be returning next year. While trying to follow the steps of our fictional hero, Anthony, on a map I got hopelessly sidetracked, looking to see where I once was and wondering which places my father might decide to visit.
But enough about me! What about the book?
Well, I’m going to have to throw in more about me because I understood Verity in a number of ways. Okay, the opening scenes don’t put her in a good light at all, but I’d come across her previously in other books so I wasn’t immediately put off. But the truth is that Miss Verity is a very insecure girl. She wrestles with thoughts of low self-esteem, partly due to the way others have behaved towards her. We’re often told that God doesn’t make mistakes, that we are made as He intended, but it’s sometimes difficult to believe. And, if you’re told something often enough, you will believe it. Verity also struggles with her identity. Yes, she’s the daughter of a Viscount but is that all? Ask yourself: how are you identified? Is it about your status in society, your gender, your family, your actions and behavior, or is it about who you are in God? These are all things I could identify with while I read Verity’s story.
Misleading Miss Verity is the third, and final, title in Miller’s Daughters of Aynsley trilogy, and I do suggest reading the others first. This series has been great at looking at some of the social issues during the Regency era. Here we have the plight of crofters in southwestern Scotland when they were at the mercy of their landlords. There’s also a bit of a bit of the old Scottish-English rivalry (sometimes verging on animosity) that still goes on today. Just as I was in the 1990s, Verity is an English girl, with an English accent, living in Scotland. That’s not always a good thing! But, on a wider note, it’s always sad to come to the end of a series and say goodbye to characters you’ve come to love. I would love to see more of Verity’s Scottish host family, but I realize that’s unlikely to happen. Sadly, it appears this might be the last time Miller visits this Regency era I’ve come to love through her writing.
Product Details:
Publisher: Kregel
Publication Date: 26 Nov 2019
McCombs on Main 