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Reading Restored was like a balm to the soul. It’s a beautiful – and beautifully written – story of love, forgiveness and second chances that I practically inhaled and which left me with a warm glow and a book hangover of the best kind. It’s book five in the author’s Enlightenment series, but it’s not necessary to have read the rest to be able to enjoy Restored, as it’s only loosely linked to them and works perfectly as a standalone. That said, if you haven’t read the other books in the series, they’re wonderful and you should add them to your TBR stat.
The central characters – club-owner Kit Redford and Henry, Duke of Avesbury – have appeared briefly in other books in the series, and readers will recall it being hinted at that Kit’s previous life wasn’t always an easy one. Eighteen years earlier, Kit had been Henry’s ‘kept man’, set up in his own house and visited by his lover on a twice-weekly schedule, his contract brokered by the madam of The Golden Lily, the select brothel at which he used to work. The year-long contract has another two months to run, and both Kit – or Christopher, as he was known then – and Henry realise that they have begun to feel a great deal more for each other than is wise. Kit is a whore and Henry is a duke (and a married duke at that) and knowing that love was never supposed to be part of their agreement, neither man says anything about how he feels.
Henry inherited his title at twenty and takes his responsibilities very seriously. He’s married to Caroline, with whom he has four children, although after the birth of their youngest, Caroline told Henry she no longer wished him to visit her bed and encouraged him to seek his pleasure elsewhere. They are best friends and care for each other deeply – and when Caroline gives Henry the devastating news that she is dying, she asks him to take her and the children out of London to the family seat in Wiltshire immediately. Henry can’t help but think of Kit; he wants a chance to explain and say goodbye, but Caroline is so distraught and has never really asked him for anything, so he agrees to leave town straight away, knowing that his contract with Kit stipulates that his lover will be well taken care of, given the house they’d used for their assignations and a large sum of money.
Henry takes his family to the country and rarely visits London after that, banishing all thoughts of Kit from his mind. Caroline’s death just a few short months later shatters him, and leaves him with the sole responsibility for his children, who give him a reason to wake each morning, and who keep him going through some dark and difficult times.
Now, nearly two decades later, his children are grown, and Henry realises he has a lonely road ahead as they forge lives of their own. A rare trip to the capital finds him thinking of Kit for the first time in years – and when he learns that far from being well taken care of, Kit was left almost destitute when he they parted ways, he’s horrified. Desperate to make amends, Henry gets a message to Kit that he’d like to see him – but Kit can’t see any point in their meeting again after so many years have passed, and refuses.
Henry knows he should let things lie; he learns that Kit is the proprietor of a highly successful and discreet club for gentlemen who prefer the company of other men, and that whatever happened in the past, he’s doing well now. But Henry’s conscience won’t let him forget it. He pays a call on Kit at his home, half expecting to be turned away – and is both relieved and a little shocked when Kit appears, still as beautiful as ever but with a new wariness and hardness about him, as though he’s holding himself back behind a mask of suspicion and barely suppressed anger.
Kit is astonished at the fury and resentment that rush through him at the sight of his former lover; he thought he’d put all that behind him long ago. Even worse, however, he discovers that the attraction he’d also thought long dead and buried is still alive and kicking. As he and Henry circle each other, prodding and testing each other’s truths and vulnerabilities, both men start to see a glimmer of possibility, a hope that perhaps there are some things that can be restored to the way they should have been all along.
Restored is a gorgeous second-chance romance which brilliantly charts the journey Henry and Kit take to find their way back to each other both physically and emotionally. Old resentments and hurts are faced openly, engendering a new honesty between them and encouraging Henry especially to think seriously about the transactional dynamics and inherent inequality of their earlier relationship, and to realise that no matter how good he and Kit were together, no matter how he really felt about Kit, Kit was never in a position to make any choices for himself. Adding that new clarity to the realisation he’s come to over the years that the desire he’d previously believed a weakness is actually a part of his nature he’s no longer willing to deny, Henry longs for the chance to convince Kit that they can have something different, something real where they can come together as equals with nothing between them but honesty and love.
There’s a well-written sub-plot featuring Henry’s younger son, and I really enjoyed the insight into Henry’s family life as a father, with its attendant ups and downs. His relationship with the rebellious and often resentful Freddy is really well observed, and I liked the glimpses of the happiness shared by his daughter and her husband. Henry’s eldest son George doesn’t appear on the page until near the end, but he has an important part to play in the story (and oh, my heart broke for him and his dad both!) and if Ms. Chambers decides to write a story for him one day, then I certainly won’t object!
Henry and Kit are fully-rounded, complex characters whose flaws make them that much more human and relatable; and there are some colourful secondary characters I’d definitely be interested in reading about in future. Restored is simply lovely, a poignant, emotional and immensely satisfying tale of two people finding one another again and choosing to make a life together on their own terms. Happy sigh.
Buy it at: Amazon
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Grade: A-
Book Type: Historical Romance
Sensuality: Warm
Review Date: 29/10/20
Publication Date: 10/2020
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.
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What a lovely book – I own up to having ‘something in my eye’ for a fair bit of it!
I thought the relationship between the MCs was wonderfully well-written and liked how the subplot didn’t take over. Freddy had a very Heyer-heroine’s brother feel to him (April Lady/Convenient Marriage).
I, too, hope that some of the characters appear in future books – especially George, who really needs his own HEA/HFN.
I think I may have read that there is something in the works for George… but don’t quote me on it!
I second everything you say here, except I found the Freddy subplot too distracting. I wanted more of our principal couple and I especially wish we saw more of them prior to their separation. I’m hoping we do get George’s story & I got the sense that ending was purposeful. I hope more readers try the Enlightenment series. It’s probably in my top 5 historical romance series & it’s lovely in audio, too! I think Caz and I have reviewed all of them so far?
I’m pretty sure that between us, we’ve covered them all in print and/or audio!
I agree with ‘happy sigh.’ Had a sort of plan to read this Friday as a first-day-of-vacation treat, but I couldn’t wait. Read it last night. Maybe I’ll re-read it over the weekend.
There is a lot of Consequential Talking in this book. Neither man wants to be misunderstood this time, or leave anything to chance. I was glad that the slightly suspensey bad-guy sub-plot was left reasonably resolved, though I think there’s a chance that Bad Guy may come back to haunt the scene later.
Also agree with you re: George’s story. Do want.
Oh, and for people new to this author/series? JC does a newsletter, and if you subscribe you will get links for some related shorts.
This looks really interesting. I don’t think I’ve read a book with a ‘kept man’ story line. It sounds a great use of the common ‘mistress’ trope.
I’ve been trying to work out why I’ve never read any of Joanna Chamber’s books. I think it must be because the romance in the earlier Enlightenment books plays out over more than one book, and this didn’t appeal to me at the time I considered reading them.
Now, of course, I think I read more books where the central relationship develops over a series than any others!
I bought the first Enlightenment a few days ago when I saw you mention this new book, but now I don’t know which one to read first!
You could read this first and then go back – you will want to read the others in the trilogy as soon as you finish the first one!
Since there are four books before this one, I assume the first three form a trilogy? Then the fourth is another stand alone? Amazon has them numbered 1 through 3, then 5 and 6. I’m just a tad confused! LOL!
Yes, books 1-3 all need to be read in order. Book 4 – Unnatural – is a standalone and so is this. I don’t know about book 6 – this is five, and there are a couple of novellas/short stories that are available via the author’s website/newsletter. But this is definitely book 5 and can absolutely be read and enjoyed on its own.
ETA- I just went to Amazon and the numbering is … not right. The series order is Provoked, Beguiled, Enlightened, Unnatural and Restored. There’s a novella called Season’s Pass which goes between books 1 & 2, and a short, The Legacy, which takes place before Restored. Both are available at the author’s website – http://www.joannachambers.com.
Thank you!
If you’re not opposed to contemporary romances, Joanna Chambers and Annika Martin co-wrote the very good m/m romantic-suspense, ENEMIES LIKE YOU. If you’d like to give it a try, the first few chapters are a self-contained story, ENEMIES WITH BENEFITS, which is free in the Kindle Store. I enjoyed the opposite-attract/antagonists-to-lovers romance—I just wish Chambers & Martin would have written more similar stories.
Loved this too! My review: https://allaboutromance.com/book-review/enemies-like-you-by-annika-martin-and-joanna-chambers/
i hoped it would be a series. Nope. Bummer. Also I liked the original cover better.
I started reading Restored this morning – decided to read it first, then go back to the connected books in the series as Caz suggested.
The reason I only got to it this morning was because I HAD to finish a series that I started in the summer, had taken a break from, and never managed to get back to finish. That series was L.J. Hayward’s Death and the Devil series – so you can see that sexy assassins are very much my thing @DDD! I’ve bought Enemies Like You, so that’s another one on my TBR pile!
OMG, that series is SOOOOOO good! Ethan is one of my all-time favourite characters. I’ve never got around to reviewing it here (I reviewed the audio of book one at AG), but it’s fantastic..
I’m pretty sure that you suggested I read Death and the Devil, and the Seven of Spades also!
I really like Ethan too………………
My library has all of the Seven of Spades ebooks, and the first Death and the Devil book. I’ve put them on my for later pile because they look a little brutal for right now, but I look forward to reading them in the hopefully better new year.
Both those series are superb – you’ve got some treats in store.
i wouldnt recommend SoS in audio, but book one of the Hayward is available (sadly it’s the only one of the series in audio) and the narrator is really good, (There are reviews ar AG)
You have fantastic libraries – last I looked, mine had a handful of historicals and most of the romances are what I’d call “sagas” – I dont think there was any m/m.
Since the early days of homeschooling my children using mostly library sources, I have been keenly aware of how fortunate I am to live in a county that has prioritized it’s library system. Our completely brand new Main Library building will open as soon as the pandemic allows, and will include a Maker’s Lab with 3D printer, a recording studio, and much more.