Listen to the Moon (Book 3 in the Lively St. Lemeston series) is a romance between two servants – a rare find in historicals. In real life, Regency Era servants had incredibly exhausting lives, but many of them still found time to court each other, marry, and have families. This book gives a happy ending to a maid and an unemployed valet.
Regency romances are full of people marrying against the will of their parents or the norms of society. John Toogood (THAT NAME!) is a casualty of one such romance. In the first book of the series, a Mr. Dymond marries a woman against his imperious mother’s will. John was Mr. Dymond’s valet, and he assisted Mr. Dymond in the courtship. When Mr. Dymond’s mother found out, she fired John.
Meanwhile, Sukey Grimes is a maid of all work. She is rebellious, tough, and funny. She works for a stingy woman who runs a boarding house and also works part-time cleaning another house, where John eventually rents an attic room.
Sukey and John immediately realize that they are both attracted to one another and that they are opposites. Sukey is intelligent but not well-educated. She’s impulsive, talkative, and prone to cutting corners on her work simply because there’s no other way to get it all done. John is a perfectionist. He wants things to be done right, and he can’t relax until they are. He’s cautious, and he speaks in the vernacular and accent of the upperclasses for whom he’s accustomed to working. John puts a high value on honor, which in his case involves pride in a job not just done but well done. Sukey, who has had a more tumultuous life and who has fewer prospects of upward mobility, places a high value on survival.
John and Sukey carry on a mild flirtation until John gets a job offer. A vicar wants a butler for his small household. It’s a perfect way for John to advance from valet to butler, because the household only consists of the vicar, a cook, a footman, and two maids. However, the vicar insists that the new butler be a married man. If John and Sukey marry, she can fill the role of upper housemaid and John can take the butler position. Thus do two people who barely know each other embark on a marriage marked by much misunderstanding and copious amounts of hard work. The question isn’t “Will these two people get together?” It’s “Can these two people manage to stay together and form a truly loving relationship?” It’s a romance novel. Go ahead and guess. I’ll wait.
There are so many things to love about this book. One of the things I loved was the details of how the house is run, and the difference between running a household and running it properly. The book does a great job explaining why one vicar needs so many servants. It also does a good job (herein lies a TRIGGER WARNING) of showing how vulnerable women in service are to sexual abuse. The reason the vicar wants a married butler is that he believes that a married man will be less likely to prey on staff than a single man – and it appears that the previous butler was a predator, leaving John to exercise extreme tact with his traumatized staff. The discussion of abuse is neither graphic nor glossed over, and the healing process that individuals go through as well as the household in general is detailed, realistic, and touching.
As far as romance goes, the relationship between Sukey and John is often playful and fun, and often painful, as two people with completely different coping strategies (but excellent senses of humor) try to connect on an emotional level. They have no problems when it comes to sex, but resolving conflict requires herculean effort and patience on their parts. It’s incredibly moving to see how they express affection for each other through considerate actions when words fail them.
John and Sukey earn their HEA because they both feel that a loving marriage is important and attainable and they both put in the work to create the kind of life that they want. It’s a life of considerably less leisure time than the life of an aristocrat, but it’s a life that will allow them to be together, to earn a decent living, and to enjoy many small pleasures (and a lot of great sex)) along the way. I found it intensely enjoyable to see people who are so often invisible in historical romance represented in a realistic yet tender and hopeful way. The characters, including the racially and economically diverse supporting characters, are well-rounded and have believable flaws and virtues. The writing is lovely and the development of the romance is deeply satisfying. More historicals like this, please!
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The review makes the book very appealing.
The cover seems incredibly misleading, however.
Just as an FYI to others with big TBR stashes, when I click on Lerner books to read the Amazon descriptions, Amazon tells me I don’t own the books already when I absolutely do. These books seem to get reissued (hence the horrible new covers) a lot, wiping out the order history banner on the book description page. I don’t know if this makes sense, but the tl;dr is doublecheck that you don’t already own the books before buying them. 🙂
That has to be one of the worst covers I’ve ever seen on a historical. I mean, I find most historical covers terrible (melting dresses and bare man-chest do absolutely nothing for me), but this one manages to be uniquely dreadful. It pains me that it was put on the book you describe, which sounds lovely and thoughtful.
I wasn’t a huge fan of the original cover, but the new one is even worse. It makes me sad, because this is such a lovely historical and it deserves better packaging.
I started this book once and then put it aside. I’ll have to give it another try on the strength of your recommendation.
@Susan, this book was originally published by Samhain, which went out of business, so that is why it has been republished. I use GoodReads to keep track of what I own, and you can see the original publishing date and the republished date there. I think books that have been republished should state that somewhere in the blurb.
The complete series, is also available as a single kindle download (published by the author on 2 Jan 2018). Three novels and a novella for the price of two novels.
@Laurel: There have been multiple iterations of the Lerner books going back to at least 2010 (at least four totally separate Kindle releases for In for a Penny, for instance). I don’t know the reason for this, but think there’s more to it than just the Samhain closure.
The Goodreads suggestion is a good one, but I own so many books that I only use GR for the books I actually get around to reading (which is still in the hundreds/year level). I rely on doublechecking my actual order history.
This may not be a problem for most folks here, but I raised it only to save others from making a duplicate purchase. Especially since Carrie’s review is bound to get people busy clicking the buy button!
Why A minus? I didn’t spot any negatives in the review, so I’m curious.
I read this back when it came out and will heartily second Carrie’s recommendation of it. It’s very warm and fuzzy without going treacly or cutting (too many) corners in the characters’s situations. I’ve always loved Rose Lerner’s writing, but the premise of this one makes it special; I can’t remember ever reading another romance where both of the protagonists were serving class people and no-one turns out to be a secret aristocrat or whatever.
I’m always on the lookout for historical romances that don’t feature the nobility so I got hooked on Rose early on with her first book, In For a Penny. All of her books are solid, well-researched, well-plotted, and have likable heroes and heroines, who sometimes make mistakes, but still keep on going forward with their lives. My main criticism of Listen to the Moon was that it had a bit too much sexy times for me but not enough tender moments to show their strengthening relationship. Still, I would definitely recommend it and all of her other books. As for the cover, luckily, I buy based on authors and blurbs, not on covers because I agree, this one (and some of her others) are not particularly alluring LOL.
This was a lovely review of what sounds like an excellent book! But, really, what the hell is that cover? She looks like the fluttery heroine of a series about lost princesses who talk to woodland creatures through the power of magic birthstones.
I’d read that, to be clear, but that’s definitely not this book.
This sounds so good! I’m thrilled my library has it.
I agree – the cover is awful, and what makes it even worse is that you can tell they were trying to link to the book (Sukey goes to a dance in a cast off blue dress and torn gloves) but the composition is just terrible.
The A- is because the conflict is so well done that the resolution is a little out of nowhere – like the characters go “OK we are out of pages so we better get our shit together.” It’s not too glaring, just enough for the minus.
@CarrieS–does she wear a fine tiara and pearl string with the blue gown and torn gloves? Because that actually sounds like a badass way for a downtrodden maid to show up to a dance.
An ex-employer loans her the dress and a necklace – I don’t recall a tiara though. There’s a fight over the dress and I freaked out as though I was reading a scene about crocodiles eating each other. It is EPIC.
@Susan Rose Lerner’s first 2 books were published by Dorchester, but then they went out of business, so they were republished (along with her next few books) by Samhain, which then went out of business, so now she’s put them out herself. That’s the reason for all the new editions! She’s such a fabulous writer – her books are always so smart and fun.
This sounds really good. I’ve not read any of her books before. I’m not naturally drawn to historicals, but if it sounds good, I’ll pounce on it. I’m forever grateful to this site for introducing me to Courtney Milan’s books. I LOVE them.
Thanks for the review, you really broke down what’s great about this book. “In For A Penny” also mostly takes place after the protagonists get married, and most of it is about the work that goes into making a strong marriage between 2 people who don’t know each other very well. I love Rose Lerner, and her books. She has a newsletter, and puts a lot of work into communicating with her readers. She does book extras(little scenes with the characters from her previous books), recipes, giveaway contests, Hamilton fangirling, and all kinds of fun stuff.
I agree that this cover gives a totally wrong impression of the book and it’s a shame because she had some beautiful cover art with Samhain. I found a couple of the old images on paperbackswap.
True Pretenses: http://www.paperbackswap.com/True-Pretenses-Rose-Lerner/book/1619227940/
A Lily Among Thorns: http://www.paperbackswap.com/Lily-Among-Thorns-Rose-Lerner/book/1619226995/
Aaaand … that’s why the Cover Snark gang so often has to explain that this isn’t Book Snark. A bad or misleading cover on a good book is far worse than one on a bad book, since its effect is to turn away potential readers.
I do hope, though, that the previous book gave a satisfactory explanation for how a grown man’s mother is able to fire his valet. Good valets are hard to find, while meddling mothers are a dime a dozen.
I just checked my copy. Basically the valet was let go because the son married a poor widow and couldn’t afford to keep him. Then he was blacklisted by the mother because she was angry that he helped her son marry someone she did not approve of. She has influence with her aristocratic friends so nobody will hire him for fear of offending her.
What is going on with the cover?!?!?
Sounds like a great story, and I love Rose Lerner’s writing, but that cover…
It sounds like a book that deserves a better cover!
I love this book so much! I’m so glad you reviewed it and I’m going more people read it. Rose Lerner is like Courtney Milan – zero misfires.
In the end I didn’t feel so much like the conflict resolution was as rushed. I felt like it was clear that the H/H would continue to have things to work out all their lives, but they were committed to doing so and staying together. Which felt very mature to me.
I think I respected this book more than I liked it, although I’m having trouble articulating why; it was partly that the ending felt rushed to me too, but there was more to it than that. I’m glad to have read it, though.
I don’t really know what happened with the covers, beyond that when Samhain went under they took all Rose Lerner’s books down with them, and she was really struggling to get them re-issued—it was a huge mess. 🙁 But, definitely, Lerner’s books should not be judged by terrible covers.
Also I’m pretty sure that the other books did explain the meddling mother: all money came from her and when he got his HEA Mama Dearest wasn’t thrilled, or something. I’d have to re-read them, which I do periodically anyway. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but I really do enjoy them, right down to all the politics.
Thanks for this! Love Rose Lerner’s work. Really enjoyed the more recent novella in the Lively St. Lemestin Series, too – A Taste of Honey – about a cash-strapped sweet shop owner and the woman who works in his shop. I get bored with the standard ballroom scenes in historicals, and these are so refreshing for their depth and originality.
Apparently sometimes Amazon does know what it’s doing as this book has been recommended to me many times and I kept swiping right past it because of the cover. The review was lovely, the book sounds lovely and I’m ashamed I judged it by its cover (which in case you haven’t heard, you should never do!)
So I just one-clicked this one in the hopes that it will be as recommended, and remind me to dig deeper in the future.
I adore Rose Lerner but I’ve never felt her book covers accurately reflect the mood of her books, with their independent heroines and smart social commentary. I actually often play the game where I wish I could plop the cover from another book I’m reading onto a Lerner book, like Johnson’s A Talent for Trickery.
I found Listen to the Moon a little hard to get into initially, mostly because of the age difference in the couple. I ultimately appreciated how Lerner used it to dig into how people manage power differentials in a marriage.
I bought this one after reading the preview yesterday. I might have done a happy dance when Mrs. Khaleel (the cook) said she wasn’t Christian and her name was Noor, not Nora. Noor is a common Arabic (or Islamic) woman’s name that means “light”. So the implication was very strong that she is Muslim.
I also appreciated her commentary regarding the Anglo tendency to alter “foreign” names for Anglo convenience, without regard for the feelings of the affected person in the matter. That and the notion that India needs missionaries to “save the pagan heathens” really provided a glimpse at colonialism and the microaggressions of colonialist attitudes and assumptions.
The cover could be the most ridiculous thing on the planet and I will still buy everything Rose Lerner writes. She is brilliant.
Love seeing all the love for Rose Lerner here! She is my go-to author when I need to step out of the Regency ballrooms.
I sort of figured that the covers for the seried were supposed to be an ironic hipster take on 70s Harlequins. That said, the book is great. Several people have compared with Courtney Milan, and I love how both she and Rose Lerner explore supposedly “modern” social or medical issues through a historical lens. That said, my only grievance was that a few times I could see the 21st century author creeping into the characters. But that is a very minor grievance compared to the complex, heartfelt characters and communities that Lerner creates.
All four novels are available as single download but they are not currently three for the price of two. They are exactly the same price bundled as they are individually as of 1/16/18 – it’s $17.96 either way.
I hate to be the rainy day parade, but this book was a DNF for me. I just could not connect to the characters and felt like they didn’t really even like each other? It just was not my cup of tea I think.
I loved this book. It reminded me of Ishiguro’s THE REMAINS OF THE DAY in all the ways of good 🙂 And I agree with @Heather S about Mrs. Khaleel and her name along with her pushback with the curate on the need for missionaries to India.
John and Sukey were a refreshing glimpse into life below stairs and Rose Lerner does this really well.