Book Review: Two in the Bush

Book review for Two in the Bush, by Judith Hale Everett.

The first book in her Branwell Chronicles, Two in the Bush is a delightful regency romance written in the style of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, and perfect for readers who feel as though they've exhausted the classics but still crave that literary experience.

It's clean, witty, and hits all the right romantic feels. From dangerous Gothic fantasies to stubbornly resisting clear attraction, this book was a fun escape into the regency era.

Find Judith Hale Everett's Regency Romance books:  https://judithhaleeverett.com/ 

What to do next:

• Read The Chronicles of Talahm starting with Book 1: Mark of Stars

Transcript

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Welcome to the Christian Readers Podcast, where you can escape into fiction without sacrificing your values. I'm your host, Colleen Mitchell, author of The Chronicles of Talam. Today is my review of Two in the Bush by Judith Hale Everett. I apologize for how long it took me to do this, but it took me way longer to finish the book than I expected what with my current writing projects. In any case, this is the first in Judith's Branwell Chronicles. It's traditional Regency romance written in the style of Jane Austen and Georgette Hayer, with third-person omniscient point of view. I've previously read her free novella titled A Near Run Thing, which takes place about 20 years before the events of Two in the Bush. So here's the blurb for the book. Sir Joshua Stiles wants nothing more than to fill the hole in his heart left by his wife's death, but it seems that women are more interested in his fortune than in himself. Cynical and ready to renounce all females, he is none too pleased when his sister invites her dear friend to visit for the season. Having survived a joyless marriage, Genevieve Breckenridge has no romantic expectations. In coming to London, she hopes only to cure her daughter's gothic fantasies. But Sir Joshua always seems to be at hand, either to witness Genevieve's most mortifying moments or to make himself so agreeable that she wishes she had not given up romance. When her daughter develops a decided tundre for Sir Joshua, however, Genevieve suddenly realizes where her own heart lies and must make a painful choice, for what loving mother could or would play rival to her own daughter. Now, right off the bat, this is a really good summary of the book and the question posed by the story. Judith did a fabulous job in how the story unfolds, especially with the daughter's gothic fantasies about danger, romance, and heroes rescuing damsels taken in by who's often referred to as the evil duke in the book. I really enjoyed all the moments where Genevieve gets flustered around Sir Joshua. The premise of both mother and daughter pining after the same man was a bit odd to me at first until you realize that age gaps back in the Regency period weren't as big of a deal as they are now. Though I don't remember it explicitly stated, I understood that Joshua was somewhere in the middle between Genevieve and her daughter Lenora. Like if Lenora is 17 or 18, part of the story is that Lenora is a bit older than usual for her first season in London, and Genevieve is in her late 30s, then that would put Sir Joshua in his late 20s. But it was not explicitly stated, so I can't beat 100%. If you're a fan of Jane Austen's sharp wit, this opener to the Branwell Chronicles is in the same vein. The story is not strictly a Christian story, but it contains subtle Christian themes and it's clean writing, though there is a moment later in the book with the villain character, which is slightly pearl-clutching, but not enough to toss the book across the room. And I only mention it because it did make my eyebrows go up. Part of the reason it took me so long to finish this book is that it seemed slow up to the 50% mark when it really started to fly. That may be an inaccurate assessment though, because uh I had a multitude of distractions while reading, including starting other books, and I always find that I need to adjust to Regency language when coming from more modern storytelling. Like if you're not used to third person omniscient and sections of telling rather than showing, it can be a bit jarring. I had the same experience the first time I read Pride and Prejudice. Took me a bit to get into it, but then I could not stop. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the Brandwell Chronicles, though it's definitely going to take me a while. You can find Two in the Bush and the rest of Judith's Regency Romance books at Judithhaleverett.com, which is linked in the episode description. If you are a Christian with a book recommendation, there is a link in the description to text me and I would love to hear it. Thanks for listening to today's episode. If this resonated with you, please share it with your friends so they can find something new to read. God bless, and until next time, goodbye.