Edwina - Patricia Strefling

Remember that chat we had on a previous post about e-books? Well, I'm back with yet another great find! I know what you're thinking: "what in the name of Alexander Hamilton is an Edwina?" or maybe "why is the cover pic such terrible quality?" To answer the first, Edwina is a very old-timey sounding name. Like Agnes. Or maybe Ethel. As for the low-resolution cover, I'm guessing it's because few people actually bother buying a physical copy of an e-book, which means fewer available pictures for use by bloggers like yours truly. But enough about that.

Edwina Blair is a small-town librarian whose greatest aspiration is to write the perfect romance novel. Painfully practical, plain, and a little overweight, Edwina's life is as routine as her father's yearly sock purchase during the January whites sale. Contrarily, Edwina's half-sister, Cecelia, is beautiful and business-minded, believing that her success has nothing to do with her good looks and movie-star mother. Despite their differences, the two get along well aside from the occasional spat. When Cecilia books a relaxing vacation to Scotland, she naturally tries to get Edwina to go with her. Anticipating a negative response, Cecilia took the liberty of including Edwina in her plans before letting her know about the trip. Once she finds out, it's too late for her to cancel without significant cost to Cecilia, and Edwina, never one to throw away money, resigns herself to a tour through Scotland. The two are preparing to board the plane out of the States when Cecilia is called away by an emergency. Alone and inexperienced, Edwina flies to Scotland without her wordly sister's help. Once there, she realizes just how far in over her head she is: the ritzy hotel, booked by and held for Cecilia, refuses to accept Edwina in her place. The overwhelmed and exhausted Edwina faints dead away at the desk and comes to a few moments later in the arms of a very handsome Scot who was in line behind her. Aware of the ordeal facing the American and anxious to get home to his fiancee, he insists that Edwina come to stay at his home until she has recovered enough to get back on her feet. Edwina, too overwrought to protest, finds herself the guest of one Alex Dunnegin, a Scottish laird and owner of the beautiful castle Edwina is taken to.

Once situated in the Scot's home, Edwina realizes she's been given the opportunity of a lifetime; the romantic Scottish hills, handsome laird, and rich surroundings are the perfect fodder for her romance novel. Soon, however, she realizes that there's something more going on at the castle than what's on the surface.; Laird Dunnegin is constantly being called away on mysterious legal matters and there are murmurs of a tragedy not long past. Edwina tries to take everything in during her short stay, but she feels oddly remorseful when she leaves for the rest of her trip. After some vigorous touring, Edwina is surprised to find Laird Dunnegin calling on her at the hotel. A dinner meeting reveals a job proposition, one made relevant by the departure of the now ex-fiancee, but it's cloaked in secrecy. True to her nature, Edwina ultimately declines, citing her job, family, and obligations at home as the reasons she can't possibly accept. Believing the matter to be closed, she returns to her tiny apartment and routine life in Michigan.

Edwina finds that things have changed since her trip, but she's startled to discover that she's changed too. When she's fired from her librarian position on false claims, she's almost relieved to be free of the daily grind her life was before the impromptu vacation. She decides to go visit Cecelia in one of the new apartments she's fixed up in New York, especially as she's preparing for guests Edwina invited from Scotland. The guests arrive as planned, but the accompaniment of Laird Dunnegin comes as a shock to Edwina. Once again, he has a job proposition for her, but now he reveals some of the details that were in the dark the last time. Should she choose to accept the position, Edwina would act as a teacher for Laird Dunnegin's daughter, who is currently the focus of a legal dispute meant to take her away from him. His wife, who died when the child was very young, was the daughter of a rich American, groomed to take up the family business. With her dead, Paige is next in line for the business, and her grandfather intends to get her however he can. Again, Edwina declines the offer, but she realizes that the things that had prohibited her last time were no longer an issue. Aside from that, she desperately wants to help her knight in shining armor and show that his faith was not misplaced. A little nervously, Edwina accepts the position. As she uproots her life to move to Scotland, will she be able to fulfill her duties without her feelings for the handsome laird getting in the way? Will Laird Dunnegin be able to keep his daughter from the clutches of her grandfather? Most importantly, will a common bond bring the two closer than the employee-employer relationship they have now?

To be honest, this is a pretty far cry from the books I normally read/review. This is, unabashedly, a romance story. Yeah, it's got a little bit of mystery and some fun cultural tidbits, but not enough to make it anything but a romance. With that being the case, it's a teeny bit surprising that I love it as much as I do. Generally speaking, I'm the one laughing at the sappy romance cliches, but I really relate to Edwina and her struggle to find her place in the world. Her safe life is a result of her insecurities, but all it takes is one spur-of-the-moment trip to Scotland to make her realize that there's so much more to life than saving a few bucks a month by having a shower instead of a bathtub in your apartment. She's got some really fun, quirky habits and she's surprisingly funny. 

My biggest critique of this book is a structural issue. I don't know if it's because it was converted from an e-book or what, but my paperback version is LOADED with misspellings and formatting errors. Of all the books on my shelf, Edwina easily has the most errors in it, which drives me absolutely insane. As far as problems with the actual text, there are a couple of instances where Edwina comes across as really whiney, which also drives me absolutely insane. Additionally, sometimes the timeline is a little confusing; for example, a few days in Scotland translates to a substantial first part of the book, but when she returns, a couple of weeks go by in a page or two. While that actually ties in kind of well with how her life goes in general, it can still be a little disorienting.

Pros:

• Handsome Scottish lairds with castles
• Not your typical "beautiful girl and handsome boy fall in love and live happily ever after" story
• Relatable characters with really great development arcs

Cons:

• SO. MANY. FORMAT. ERRORS.
• Not consistent in how much time is represented per chapter (awkward wording, but check the last paragraph and you'll see what I mean)
• Really (really really really) short chapters, probably another side effect of e-book to actual book