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Have you ever finished a romance novel and needed a few moments of quiet reflection before you can rejoin ‘the real world’ again? Time to sit and savor the pleasures of a well written story? If you haven’t – or, if you’re eager to do it again – I recommend you read Fair as a Star. Gentle, tender, poignant and deeply romantic, it’s the best romance I’ve read this year.
After a year’s sojourn in Paris with her Aunt Hortensia, Beryl Burnham is returning to her home in the small village of Shepton Worthy, near Somerset. The year away was meant to help her recover from the periods of melancholy that have plagued her since childhood, but Beryl knows the sadness – the unhappiness – is never far away. She’s anxious about her return and ruminating on whether she’ll ever truly be well again, when she spots the local chapel in the distance. When she spies the doors to the chapel thrown open, she impulsively orders the carriage to stop. Ignoring her aunt’s admonishments to remain inside, she jumps out and tells her she’ll walk the remaining distance. Surely, if the doors to the chapel doors are open, Mark Rivenhall, the village curate, must be nearby?
Mid-conversation with a parishioner, Mark stills when the woman calls out a greeting to the person behind him. It can’t be Beryl – his older brother would have told him if she was returning earlier than expected. But it is. Momentarily thrown by her sudden appearance, he can’t control his smile as she happily greets him and admits the chapel was her first stop. Beryl never revealed what led her to leave Shepton Worthy so quickly, and Mark ignored the rumors – that she was pregnant and/or was nursing a broken heart after his brother Jack was killed in Bhutan (he knew for a fact it wasn’t possible or true) – but he worried about her. He also hoped he might finally stop loving her while she was away. He didn’t.
When Mark first sees her, Beryl thinks for a moment that he’s angry, until he smiles and offers to walk with her to the Grange. She thanks him for his letters during her year abroad, and apologizes for not telling him she was arriving home sooner than expected. They enjoy a companionable walk until they reach a fork in the road; Mark proceeds on to Rivenhall and a visit with Sir Henry Rivenhall, his brother. Beryl walks home to her family at the Grange, and contemplates her own delayed visit to Rivenhall and Sir Henry… her fiancé.
Beryl tries to reacclimate herself to life in Shepton Worthy. Although the local doctor recommended more aggressive treatment and suggested she ‘acted sad’ to gain attention, her mother and aunt disagreed. The trip to Paris was meant to give her time to recover – and she did – but Beryl worries what might happen if she succumbs again. Her horse-mad younger sister Winnifred is a happy and welcome distraction, as is her friendship with Mark, and her volunteer work at the church. She tries to ignore the gossip and rumors about her abrupt departure, and is hopeful neither her mother or Dr. Cooper shared the true reason for her absence. But when her mother reveals that she spoke to the vicar about Beryl’s condition, she mistakenly assumes Mark must also know. The news sends her in a tailspin. She’s weeping, hidden away off the beaten path, when Mark discovers her.
When he follows the sound of someone weeping during his walk home from the chapel, Mark is horrified to discover Beryl in tears. After she reveals the cause of her upset, he assures her he didn’t know anything about her reasons for leaving the village, and then asks her why she’s so unhappy. When she reveals that she’s been unhappy for a long time and that she doesn’t know why, his heart breaks for her. He gives her solace and a shoulder to lean on. Mark doesn’t try to fix her or tell her she’ll get over it, but offers to help whenever, and however, he can.
“This burden of yours – this sadness – I want you to leave it with me for a day or two.”
Her chest constricted. She was grateful for his kindness. It was well meant, however wrong-headed. “It’s not something I can hand off at will. And even if I could…” Her eyes met his. “You can’t fix this, Mark. You can’t fix me.”
He gave her a brief, lopsided smile. “Of course not,” he said. “You’re not broken.”
Le sigh. Mark is so lovely and wonderful, and he’s deeply, irrevocably in love with Beryl. He tries valiantly to repress his love because he knows it’s wrong… but he can’t. Instead, he’s a stalwart friend who looks for ways to support and help her, and tries to provide the light Beryl needs to see her through her darkest moments. Reader, I want to marry Mark. Unfortunately for me, he finds his perfect match in Beryl. Beautiful, generous and good, Beryl hides her sadness behind a happy facade. With Mark’s support, she begins to believe her sadness doesn’t define her, and that it isn’t something that needs to be cured, or fixed. He encourages her to seek out things that lift her spirits, and to ignore outdated advice that suggests she’s selfish or damaged. With his encouragement, she embraces the people and things that make her happy, and stops pretending her sadness isn’t sometimes overwhelming. Friends, Mark makes her happy. His affection and tender regard remind Beryl why she loves Mark, but as they grow closer over the course of this novel, Beryl slowly realizes she’s fallen in love with him, too.
I want to tell you more about this charming pair, but though the central relationship is rich and satisfying, there’s so much more to Fair as a Star. Matthews does a superb job rendering Shepton Worthy – an idealized imagining of rural country life – and the interesting secondary characters who inhabit it, and I especially loved her characterization of horse-mad and headstrong Winnifred, who falls passionately in love with a horse (while the new local doctor not-so-secretly pines for her), and of Henry. While most writers would be quick to paint him as the villain of the story, Matthews takes a much more nuanced approach. Henry is a product of the events and experiences that shaped him, but he also loves his brother and wants the best for him. By the end of the novel, I liked him, too.
Fair as a Star is a deeply romantic, low steam love story that captured my heart. Profoundly moving, tender and lovely, it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year.
Buy it at: Amazon or shop at your local independent bookstore
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Grade: A
Book Type: Historical Romance
Sensuality: Kisses
Review Date: 12/07/20
Publication Date: 07/2020
Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.
I love romance novels - all kinds.
I love music - some kinds.
I have strong opinions about both and I like to share them.
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Thanks Em! I’ve been in an HR wasteland. So relieved to find out that Mimi Matthews has a new book out! I’m also starting the new Mia Vincy and hoping it’s as wonderful as her first book vs. as disappointing as her 2nd.
I’m sorry you didn’t like the 2nd Vincy! I also didn’t like it as much as the first…until I listened to it! The story (which I did like) improved in audio, and resonated much better with me.
This story is simply lovely.
I love Mimi Matthews’ books. Despite the fact that they are in no way explicit, most of them are very sexy and all are really emotional. My favorite is The Lost Letter but I really liked The Work of Art. For her Parish Orphans series, my favorite was the 3rd – A Convenient Fiction. I’m excited that she has 2 books coming out this year – Fair as a Star this week and Gentleman Jim in November!
Mimi Matthews is so very good, and this novel is another wonderful example of how talented she is.
I enjoyed The Lost Letter – in fact, I reviewed it (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2124335501)! But since reviews of her more recent books were mixed and I like my books with more steam, I hadn’t picked up another one until Fair as a Star. I love how she handles Beryl’s depression, small town life (and gossip), and this slow burn relationship. It’s a lovely, wonderful story.
I read and listened to three (1, 3 & 4) of the Parish Orphans books and wasn’t wildly impressed. I liked the first one the best, but it started well and then fizzled out in the second half, which was something I found in book 3 as well. I’d come to the conclusion that she just isn’t an author for me, but I may give this one a try.
This one holds up all the way through!
I do admire this author and will read this one in due course. But, something I’ve wondered about, Caz, is the difference between the print and audio format especially as you say you both read and listened to 3 of her books. I don’t use the audio format. For a start, I no longer need to make a long commute to work where it might be a godsend and second, although I have tried a few, it wasn’t a format that really worked for me. So, the question is this: How significant is the difference in the experience of reading as opposed to listening. I appreciate the experiences will be different for everyone but unless I could not actually see to read, I am not sure I could pick up on all of the nuances of print in audio. Also, it seems to me to be easier to put a book down, or turn off the kindle, to do some research on something that catches my interest whilst reading than it would if I were listening to a story. Probably a topic for a column but just wondered about it.
Well, I rate an audiobook for the story as well as the narration, so theoretically the grade I give a book for the content should be the same as I give and audiobook for the content. There are times when a good narrator will really elevate a story, but then I’m only talking about maybe half a grade or so – even the best narrators can’t make silk purses out of sow’s ears after all. Similarly, a poor narrator can have an adverse affect and ruin a good story – but if you listen to the whole thing (which I usually do if I’m reviewing) it’s possible to tell if the story is decent, although I might not give it as high a grade as I would have if I’d read it. So, mostly, I’d say the difference in format doesn’t make a huge difference in the grade. A good narrator isn’t going to make a D grade book into an A grade one and vice versa. And in fact I often find I notice certain things MORE in audio whthan in print, although I’m sure that isn’t the case for everyone. But a really good narrator will bring out all those nuances and can bring something to a story that even the author didn’t realise was there – believe me, I’ve heard that more than once. As to putting an audio down, it’s like with a book, easy to do when you have to (to answer the door or whatever) – and the advantage is I can keep listening while I’m cooking, washing up, ironing…
In the case of the books in question, the two I listened to had a very good narrator, but even he couldn’t paper over the cracks in the story. The one I reviewed here got a B-; the two I listened to got a C+ and a C, so no huge disparity due to the different formats.
Audio doesn’t suit everyone, but it can be fantastic. I do about 50/50 print/audio these days – I couldn’t do without it.
Thanks for your thoughts.
I’ve only recently become an audiobook convert (mostly thanks to Caz), but I definitely think stories that are good can become great with the right narrator. I enjoyed Circe, by Madeline Miller, but the audio is transcendent. It absolutely elevates that marvelous novel. The Sebastian St. Cyr series is another excellent example; I listened to the first 13 books during my morning commutes and LOVED them. Then I read the 14th book. It just didn’t have the same impact, and it was over much too quickly! I ignored the print version of 15, and waited for audio. The Lady Sherlock series is the same; I’ve read it, but listening to the books is better! That’s another favorite – in audio – series.
I was commenting below re: someone starting to read the newest Vincy. I enjoyed all three books in the series – but I loved the first two in audio! Caz reviewed the latest one, and I’m waiting for the audio to post my own.
Narrator’s make such a big difference! I’ve tried a few one-off’s and been disappointed. I mostly stick to favorites – and FTR, I love Davina Porter, Kate Reading, Joel Leslie and Gary Furlong. Perdita Weeks IS Circe (wow!!!! – here’s my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2650603541), and Nicholas Bolton. I also enjoyed the narration for Song of Achilles (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2435695373). Both books are wonderful in audio and you will spend many happy hours listening to them.
My 2 cents!
Matthews books are terrific, poignant and subtle, with great atmosphere. The Parish Orphans series had some real tear jerker moments for me and The Lost Letter was great, too. Really looking forward to this one.
This sounds very interesting. I may bust my estrangement from HR and read it!