The book would've been way more successful if we kept the focus on romance.
The couple had a great chemistry, they both had a likeable personality and I found how they communicated with each other refreshing.
When John explained to Clara early on how there was a plan for him to ask for her hand to get closer to her uncle, I was surprised. The usual scenario for this story arc is the plan being a secret that would eventually break the relationship. Him coming clean in the beginning was a point in the book's favor.
After that point, the author put a lot of attention on the family of Clara and their reactions to the budding romance, which was made worse by how infuriating some characters were.
I'm going to be direct and admit that I truly dislike the duke of Ashleigh. I hated him in his own book so it's only natural that I found him overbearing and kind of a buffoon. A character I wasn't expecting to dislike was Alice, Clara's mother.
She was a good character in the past two books, however, she suddenly turned into this ice queen who didn't want her daughter to marry a commoner, even though she knew he was a great person and actually loved Clara. The fact that she herself was married to an untitled man didn't make any difference in her estimation.
In the middle of everything happening from the malevolent viscount to the politics around the railway project, the romance took the back seat. At some point, details of the relationship's progress only came out in passing. The author wanted to cram a lot of side-plots in the book which made the structure and the general outline all over the place.
If the spotlight was more centered on the couple, the book would've been a sure success.
I didn't hate it, but it was really hard to like.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

The Winds of Change is book 3 in Lillian Marek’s Lord’s of Sussex series. While this book is part of a series it can easily be read as a standalone. This is a romance that reaches across different social classes and the MCs are LADY CLARA GRAMMONT, daughter of an earl and niece of a duke, has the world at her feet, or so it must seem to those looking on and JOHN SMITH is the orphaned son of a poor shopkeeper. He has grown wealthy through his own efforts and is now committed to bringing England into a new age. The story also focuses on the different aspirations and responsibilities of each of our MCs social classes. In a period of time when England was very divided by their class the only inter-class marriages accepted were those that the outcome improved their situation in life. Simply put a daughter of an Earl and a niece of a Duke would not be allowed to even entertain a marriage to an orphaned son of a poor shopkeeper—no matter how much of a fortune he has acquired.

Lady Clara finds herself fed up with polite society and gentlemen who lack a backbone. John despises aristocrats who are afraid of manual labor and have no desire for lower social classes attempting to improve their standing and watering down the blue blood of England. When John seeks the support of Lady Clara’s uncle, the powerful Duke of Ashleigh, the worlds between these two collides.

Lady Clara is intrigued by the idea of a railway. To the distress of her family, she is even more intrigued by John Smith. He in turn finds himself far too attracted by Lady Clara and is in danger of losing sight of his reason for meeting her. Then the powerful forces opposing the railway put both of them in danger

They must defy everyone to be together. Will they have the tenacity to fight for their happiness…

I enjoyed this book but felt the plot flowed a little slow. The chemistry between our MCs is minimal and much of the story is bogged down with the railroad and industrialization of England.

3 Stars ⭐️ | 2 Flames 🔥

What Happens When a Commoner and a Noblewoman Fall in Love?

The railroad is coming, but some people will go to any lengths to stop progress. John and Clara are caught in the middle. She is a noblewoman; he is the son of a shopkeeper. Does their love stand a chance? It is a time of transformation, and John and Clara are riding the winds of change. It won’t be easy sailing, but change is almost never smooth. They must convince her uncle, the duke, that they are right for each other, and they must defeat villains that would do them harm. There are villains, and there are heroes; there is romance, and there is danger.

It's an engaging story and we start with John, our male main character, that has Heathcliff 2.0 and Mackenna 2.0 vibes, where he's poor and comes back as a wealthy man with his own efforts and power but still is looked down on by a lot of people. Ofc, our female main character, Clara, can see through him! Then things start between them!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC
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LADY CLARA GRAMMONT, daughter of an earl and niece of a duke, has the world at her feet, or so it must seem to those looking on. However, she is bored by the gloss and gossip of polite society. She is tired of gentlemen who see nothing but her status and her dowry and expect her to be charmed by their posturing.

JOHN SMITH is the orphaned son of a poor shopkeeper. He has grown wealthy through his own efforts and is now committed to bringing England into a new age. He can see the enormous benefits that railways can bring, transporting goods cheaply and enabling people to travel quickly. He despises the idle aristocrats who will stand in the way of progress to protect a fox hunt, but he needs approval from Parliament to build the railway. And he needs the support of Lady Clara’s uncle, the powerful Duke of Ashleigh, to get that approval.

4 stars

Only kisses in this romance but lots of historical detail. It's part of a series and I haven't read the others. Uncle Peter intrigued me and I might look for his book. Clara is an interesting person she is intrigued by the non aristocratic people probably due to her step father. She meets John Smith who is keen to promote steam trains. He is an honorable man and sees the disparity in their social position might cause problems.

An enjoyable read

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The idea of John and Clara, the main couple, was sweet and ultimately won me over more than the script that presented their romantic tale. What can I say? Unfortunately, I found it slow paced and uneventful through a surprisingly majority of it and too bogged down with the railroad project itself. Sure, a brief, almost catastrophic situation was thrown in then a devious, perilous scenario occurred near the end. But I expected as much from the villain, and that part played out rather robotical/stereotypical.

The author did give a lot of attention to Downton Abbey like mannerism, biased society attitudes, clothing attire, and overly descriptions of rooms, surroundings. The large cast of characters were quite a bit to juggle and keep straight in my head, as well. I did read and mostly enjoyed Book 2, btw, which not surprisingly had a similar culture vibe.

It was refreshing these two couldn’t help but be open, honest, and upfront with each other, even when it was awkward and could have served a self serving purpose to have been otherwise.

At 78% I did stop reading, so I do not know if things get steamy, folks. Up to that point, it was just a passionate kiss or two, which was fine by me. I just felt the winds of change in attitudes of people against this main couple had surely swept through by then and nothing else significant was likely to happen. I was content enough knowing they were soon going to get their HEA.

Title: Winds of Change, Series: Lords of Sussex (Book 3), Author: Lillian Marek, Pages: 263, pub date: 5/25/21, stand-alone but part of series, grew up poor self made wealthy hero, born into wealth heroine, very slow paced, some drama finally kicks in, bogged down with railroad plans.

Book 1 – The Earl Returns
Book 2 – A Debt of Dishonor
Book 3 – Winds of Change

(I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. There is no relationship or affiliation between this reviewer and the author, publisher, NetGalley, or any PR firm.)

The Winds of Change by Lillian Marek is the third in the Lords of Sussex series and features a mismatch if there ever was one, lady Clara Talmadge, daughter of an Earl, niece and granddaughter of a Duke, and John Smith, son of a poor shopkeeper. It is a time of change in England, when men of industry are coming in to their own and the peerage doesn't carry the weight it once did. They met at a house party given by the present Earl of Talmadge, invited for the express purpose of gaining John Smith an interview with her uncle, the Duke of Ashleigh, be it through Clara, or through her stepfather, an astute businessman and friend of the Duke. Smith is proposed to build a railroad and for that he needs the support of the House of Lords, or some important members therein. Clara and Smith are immediately drawn to one another, and immediately repulsed by some of the other guests, erstwhile members of the ton. On thing leads to another and the entire family, Lad Alice (Clara's mother) and her stepfather, Stephen Bancroft, The Duke and his wife, Lord Merton, a shipping magnate and friend of the Duke, and Clara have traveled to see a display of the train, which is rumored to be able to travel up to speeds of 25 miles per hour. Smith has a guard posted at the train on a hunch: he had seen, Lord D'Ivry, a ne'er do well from Lord Talmadge's house party. As it turns out, he had planned to scuttle the train, which would have injured and killed many. But he wasn't going to stop there.

John Smith knew well the differences in their stations. Clara was naive if she thought there could be any kind of life for them, but he couldn't resist her. He even came to enjoy and admire her family members. Clara was not as naive as men thought her to be. She knew her own mind and the world was changing. There was a place for the, together, in this world. Ashleigh was everything a duke should be: he could quell actions and words with a look; he had the power to accomplish things with a mere request; he was loved by his wife and his sister, and yes, even Clara, his niece. Lady Alice and John's mother came to discover they had more common ground than not. After many trials and travails, and the Duke's interference, the railroad got built and England was beginning to change. A good book.

I was invited to read an e-ARC of Winds of Change by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #thewindsofchange

Lillian Marek has written a wonderful romance story with well researched historical facts about the early days of the railroad in England.
Lady Clara Grammont comes from a life of privilege. John Smith is the orphaned son of a shopkeeper and works hard to find support to build the railway. Despite their different stations in life, they are drawn to each other and find they have much in common.
There is humor, nasty villains, and great characters. I highly recommend this story for your enjoyment.

Lady Clara Grammont is bored by the gloss and gossip of polite society and the gentlemen who see nothing but her status and her dowry. John Smith a self-made man has grown wealthy and he can see enormous benefits the railways. He needs the support of Lady Clara's uncle the powerful Duke of Ashleigh, to get that support to get the bill through Parliament. Clara is fascinated by the idea of railways, but even more impressed by John Smith. A captivating story as John and Clara grow closer opposing forces of railway put both of them in danger. I voluntarily read and reviewed this excellent book filled romance.

Well written story, with wonderful characters. This time in history was the beginning of lots of changes, and this story presented a few of them. I enjoyed the connection betwern John and Clara. Felt the pull of change on the Duke, and the courage of the mothers realizing they were wrong. Well done!

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As the daughter of an Earl, and granddaughter and niece of a Duke, Lady Clara Grammont knows that she is expected to marry well. But, she's seen her mother in a loveless marriage to her cruel father, and then find happiness with her stepfather, and she wants to marry for love, not status. When she meets John Smith, an orphaned son of a shopkeeper, who has made his way in the world and is flourishing through his efforts to promote the new railways, she's smitten. But, John needs the support of Clara's family to gain approval from parliament, and he hates having to pandering to idle aristocrats, though Clara is different. When it seems that they are going to be able to be together, and John with finally get the approval he needs for his venture, forces opposing both efforts come to light, and danger may be on the horizon.

I liked this book, particularly for its inclusion of the Darlington-Stockton railway, and visits to the North East of England - where I'm from - but I didn't enjoy it anywhere near as much as I had the previous one. I never really grew to care much for John or Clara, and though the book was only 263 pages long, I felt moments of it dragged. The danger and intrigue was promising, as were the moments we saw of previous characters, but those characters seemed very much different to how they'd been in books 1 and 2, and not always for the better. All in all, an okay book, but missing something.

Being a commoner and having made his fortune, he felt such disdain for the aristocracy.
She was the daughter of a earl and granddaughter of a duke, but she felt the same about many of her peers. What could these two have in common?

This was truly just a great story and it involved some history of the railroad and actual people who were involved! A wonderful journey to find love, even when it seems it might not be possible!

Lillian Marek is fast becoming one of my favorite romance novelists! I love her writing style and her ability to bring forth independent, headstrong female leads. Not to mention her skill in writing sexy, charming male leads! We met Lady Clara Grammont in the second book of this series, as the daughter of Lady Alice and niece of the Duke of Ashleigh. For this book, Lady Clara takes front stage as a beautiful 22 year old girl in search of a life beyond the boring expectations of society.

I absolutely love that even 10 years later, Clara is the same free-spirited, outspoken, bold young lady that she was as a child. Her character is exactly what I pictured for her after reading about her when she was 12 years old. I enjoyed reading about her determination and enjoyed her strong will when it came to our male lead, John Smith. John was a strapping young fellow with a good head on his shoulders. He disliked the nobility, and for good reason given his past with the upper echelons of society. Of course, that doesn't stop Clara from winning his heart and vice versa. I loved the romance between the two. It was so much fun reading about these two characters connecting and watching their relationships grow and flourish.

The storyline itself was also good. Aside from the romance itself, we have John trying to gain support for the railways despite heavy opposition. Given that John needed the support of Clara's uncle, the Duke of Ashleigh, this novel could have been spun in a typical dramatic fashion with lies and half-truths that would have sent the romance careening sideways, but Lillian Marek avoided that route and I am so thankful lol.

Overall, I found the novel to be well-written with great characters. It's definitely a cozy read that can be finished on a quiet afternoon. If you like the comfort of a regency romance novel, this is definitely for you!

Although primarily written as a romance, I found this novel interesting as it dealt with the development of technology that we take so for granted today. Lady and Clara and John Smith have more in common than would at first seem possible. Once they got beyond their respective stations in life, they were able to meet on common ground and communicate as few people can. A plot is developed to discredit John by various people for their own reasons and unfortunately, Clara and John's sister get caught up in the mix. Fortunately, they are resourceful young ladies and make their own stand against tyranny. I found the background to the Quakers enlightening, especially as so many businesses still survive that were started by this religious group at that time. I enjoyed this book, the compromises that were made, and the successful conclusion. I received a copy of this novel through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Clara is tired of the fortune hunters. John is a commoner who has worked himself into a successful businessman. He has no use for the ton, except to get their approval for railways he wants to build. They are both attracted to each other but face many obstacles to their happiness. I received an ARC from NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for my honest review.

Once again Class comes into play and John Smith who has worked hard and made something of himself is still looked down upon by the haute ton! Lady Clara sees the interesting and intriguing side of John and soon this is not going to make others happy. Actually, due to the railway and Johns influence it could pose a hazard for Lady Clara and anyone associating with her.

The author has written a well researched book that makes it engaging so much so I read it in one sitting! The book has attention-grabbing scenes and the characters are delightful because they are hilarious especially when the proposed in-laws of one set of characters meet!

I laughed out loud and definitely would recommend this book!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

4.25 Stars
Lady Clara Grammont, daughter of an earl and niece of a duke, who is bored by the gloss and gossip of polite society. She is tired of gentlemen who see nothing but her status and her dowry and expect her to be charmed by their posturing. John Smith is the son of a poor shopkeeper. He has grown wealthy through his own efforts and is now committed to bringing England into a new age. He can see the enormous benefits that railways can bring, transporting goods cheaply and enabling people to travel quickly. He needs the support of Lady Clara’s uncle, the powerful Duke of Ashleigh, to get that approval. So a house party is arranged so that John can meet Clara & pave his way to meeting her uncle. Lady Clara is intrigued by the idea of a railway. To the distress of her family, she is even more intrigued by John Smith. He in turn finds himself far too attracted by Lady Clara and is in danger of losing sight of his reason for meeting her. Then the powerful forces opposing the railway put both of them in danger.
This is the third book in the series & can easily be read on its own even though characters from the previous books do feature. I loved both John & Clara, he’s the strong self made man who dislikes the aristocracy, she’s the bored young woman. The attraction between the pair is sizzling & they quickly become friends & fall in love but the journey to their HEA is almost derailed several times as there’s the class divide & schemes to discredit John. However it made for an engrossing read, it started slowly & I found the time at the house part to drag a little but then the pace kicked up & I found the second half very hard to put down. I would have liked an epilogue set a few years later to show how John & Clara settled & also to see if the hints for Mary came to pass
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read