Book Review: At Love’s Bidding by Regina Jennings

by Sandra Ardoin

It’s always thrilling to find a new author whose work you want to read again. Regina Jennings is that new author to me, although I do have another of her novels still in my stack. At Love’s Bidding was a good introduction to her talent.

Miranda Wimplegate is a young woman from a Boston family of auctioneers. She believes she hasn’t the courage to do the unusual and extraordinary. Wyatt Ballentine grew up the adopted son of a backwoods Missouri couple after his alleged Boston family refused to claim him. He can’t see himself doing anything other than fulfilling his adoptive father’s wish to own Pine Gap’s auction house.

When a need to track down a valuable painting leads Miranda and her grandfather to Pine Gap and ownership in the local auction house, she finds herself stretching her confidence muscles while staving off her attraction to Wyatt.

There were moments of humor:

She crashed backward into his chest. Her arms flung out. He caught her beneath her arms, his hands coming shockingly close to her …

“Bust your ankle and you’ll be sorry,” he said.

And moments of spiritual introspection (mostly on Wyatt’s part):

And again his other Father—the one in heaven, not the one who loved him or the one who died before he knew him—his Heavenly Father reminded him that He had a plan and that the forming of Wyatt’s character meant more to God than whether he succeeded in his ambition.

I really enjoyed this story of Miranda’s need for the courage and confidence for independence and Wyatt’s desire to honor loved ones while seeking his own path. I chuckled at the occasional humor and delved into the intricate plot with its mysterious and, sometimes, odd characters. 

If you’re looking for a light, entertaining historical romance to combat your busy holiday schedule, look for At Love’s Bidding.

Share your latest “new-to-you” author and the book title that hooked you.

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