Jane Reviews: A Most Noble Heir by Susan Anne Mason

Genre: Historical Romance
Publisher: Bethany House
Released: March 6, 2018
370 pages

About the Book:

When stable hand Nolan Price learns from his dying mother that he is actually the son of the Earl of Stainsby, his plans for a future with kitchen maid Hannah Burnham are shattered. Once he is officially acknowledged as the earl's heir, Nolan will be forbidden to marry beneath his station.

Unwilling to give up the girl he loves, he devises a plan to elope--believing that once their marriage is sanctioned by God, Lord Stainsby will be forced to accept their union. However, as Nolan struggles to learn the ways of the aristocracy, he finds himself caught between pleasing Hannah and living up to his father's demanding expectations.

At every turn, forces work to keep the couple apart, and a solution to remain together seems further and further away. With Nolan's new life pulling him irrevocably away from the woman he loves, it seems only a miracle will bring them back together.
 

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My Rating & Thoughts:    🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟    (4 stars)   

I quickly became engrossed in these characters lives, so engrossed I did not want to put the book down. Nolan and Hannah begin the story as a couple in love planning a future together, but their plans are challenged when a secret is revealed in a death-bed confession. It was finding out how this revelation was going to affect them that kept me immersed.

I easily fell in love with Nolan and Hannah as a couple. Nolan will do anything to make Hannah happy, I liked that he would ask for her input before making decisions, and he granted her wishes even when it pained him to do so. He has longed to know his father for years, but is willing to sacrifice that chance for Hannah. They both have good hearts and deserve happiness, but they face so many obstacles along the way you wonder if a happy ending if possible.

Aside from loving Nolan and Hannah there were many other great characters that added to this story, but there are two in particular the stand out for me. Aunt Iris who was not the type of woman you would expect for her standing in society, but she was just what all these characters needed. Edward is probably the character that I saw the biggest change in. At the beginning he annoyed me, manipulating Nolan for his own benefit and having no compassion for anyone else’s feelings. I was especially frustrated with his actions when he was the one person that should have been understanding towards Nolan’s feelings after having been in a very similar situation once. He needed someone to stand up to him (and I cheered when Nolan did just that), but over the course of time he changes and becomes a character I wanted around.

This story took me through many emotions, I was elated when things were going well, hurt for them when things weren’t, and afraid of what might happen next at other times. There was one part of the story where I literally yelled out loud ‘NO that can’t happen’. I appreciated how I could see growth in each character. The theme I took away from the story with is that with God as the center of your life you can handle anything. This is the first book that I have read by Ms. Mason but I will be looking to pick up others by her, I enjoyed her writing style and appreciated how she was able to get me to care about these characters.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House through NetGalley.

Opinions expressed in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)