Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and the author for my gifted Ebook in order to write my honest review for the tour.
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?
My Review
My first time reading anything by this author and it turns out I jumped into a series 6 books in! I don’t usually do this but the blurb caught my attention. I am happy to report it was an easy story to jump into.
Susanne Dunlap has cleverly woven a tale of romance, intrigue, drama, and even danger together. Caroline, who is the Dowager Marchioness of Lewiston, is a woman who knows she has everything, but her heart tells her differently. Then the man she loved a long time ago returns home. He is a wealthy merchant with an Indian daughter, Anjali. Between Thomas having evidence of corruption within the East India Company, and the norms of London society, both father and daughter are on the edge of danger.
This is a book that gave me so much enjoyment. The history captured me, the romance had my heart and the intrigue and danger just gave it such an edge! I felt for Anjali from the start and when Sir Julian Meredith crosses her path, I cheered them on so much!
On the other hand, her father’s position is a dangerous one, and Caroline has a hard decision to make. Can she chance her reputation for Thomas? A reputation hard won for a love she never forgot?
The Dowager’s Grand Triumph is a novel that ticked all my boxes! I am a history nerd and I know about the East India Company through my Dutch husband, so it was so interesting to read this. I was swept back in time so easily, learning about Anjali’s life in India compared to London, such an immersive read.
The characters are well created and they made me really feel for them. All the battles they have to fight for not just love but truth itself, really endeared them all to me. I am planning to go back and read the full series now!
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0H1HJDHBD
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0H1HJDHBD
Author Bio
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.
Social Media Links
https://www.instagram.com/susanne_dunlap/
sharonbeyondthebooks.uk 