My Dearest Enemy

While this is an older historical romance, it holds up well in the writing and characters. Lily is a suffragette who inherits an estate provided she can show a profit in five years. Otherwise, it'll pass to Avery, the heir who was supposed to get the house except his uncle derided him because of his asthma. So Avery travels around the world while he waits for the time to pass. Lily and Avery write to each other as a condition of the will and get to know each other through their letters. But when Avery returns, they must confront their feelings despite their conflict over the estate.
I loved Avery. He's a gentleman who is consistently rude due to his honesty and lack of dealings with women. It leads to some funny scenes as he'll always show more open a door or seat a lady, but misses verbal cues. Lily is good-hearted but her family background leaves her unprepared to think of marriage. It becomes annoying at times as she wrestles with her feelings vs. her upbringing. The secondary characters are great, and I haven't looked but I expect there are some more books dealing with them. It's a quick but satisfying read. show less

A brilliant book. A wonderful romance. And one of the reasons Connie Brockway is one of my favorite authors. I was laughing and crying and loving every minute of My Dearest Enemy. It's a book to reread and delight in over and over again. There won't be much more besides delirious gushing in this review, and I'm ok with that. The romance is beautiful. It develops over time and encompasses a growing friendship and sizzling chemistry. Besides two wonderful lead protagonists, the secondary characters were also great. They were interesting and human in their own right and didn't distract from the romance but rather enhanced it.

I was taken by surprise by the rather tragic bent the book eventually took. Not that I don't like troubled or show more difficult romances as much as I enjoy light frothy ones – when it’s done well I’m a sucker for all the angst and high blown, larger than life emotions swirling around when love is doomed and forbidden but still can’t be denied. My Dearest Enemy is a skillful blend of both kinds. Maybe the tragic aspect just seemed more intense because of the light heartedness and fun that preceded all the weightier, darker emotions surfacing later on. Avery Thorne and Lillian Bede are placed in opposition to each other, not only by virtue of the fact that they are competing for the same inheritance: the estate of Mill House. They are also separated by some fundamental beliefs concerning marriage and children. This barrier to their happily ever after really put me through the wringer - and it puts poor Avery though hell. So much so that I started to get really fed up with Lily for her prolonged blindness and lack of trust. Her issues are understandable and sympathetically explored, and it's not that I'm siding against her and with Avery on the issue of marriage. But, with the way things pan out, it comes down to her being about to throw away a chance at love. How could she even think of throwing away someone like Avery? Ugh! But it's a testament to how great a writer Brockway is that I didn't end up hating the book because of this difficulty, which, in the interests of true love, is eventually resolved satisfactorily - even if my response to Lily's ultimate capitulation/awakening is "It's about damn time." (Too bad it has to be a kind of capitulation though...) And even if it takes some contrived circumstances to bring about her revelation. I still love the book. I still love Avery - one of the best heroes ever. The power of his love, his yearning for Lily takes your breath away. My Dearest Enemy has me happily melting into an incoherent puddle of mush with every word, every encounter between Lily and Avery, every twist and turn of the story. And don’t think I’m exaggerating! It's everything a romance should be, and I can't sing its praises enough. show less

This is the story of Lillian and Avery, whose love begins with a series of biting letters that cross continents and oceans to reach one another. Their lives are pushed together when Avery's uncle dies and leaves what should be Avery's property to Lillian, with the caveat that if after five years of managing the property she hasn't made a profit, the property turns over to Avery.

Rather than stay in England and slowly go insane waiting for "his" property, Avery leaves and starts adventuring across Africa. Over the next 4.5 years, the two gather together a hodge-podge of people to them who become their surrogate families; Avery, in the form of other adventuring men from around the globe, and Lily, in the form of Avery's extended family, show more suffragists, and young unmarried pregnant women.

The letters become something of a game between Lily and Avery, and their writings amuse all of their companions. Indeed, by the time Avery finally returns home a few months before the five years has ended, their chosen families know that they love each other, even if they can't see it themselves.

Hilarity ensues as the two circle each other like two tomcats attempting to mark their territory, though the serious side of the story is prevalent as mishaps threaten Lily's meager profit.

I laughed out loud at several different parts of this story. If there's one thing that Brockway excels at in this novel, it's the witty repartee between Avery and Lily. Her writing flows, it's descriptive, and it draws you in. The only reason that this didn't get 5 stars from me is because I feel like the male/female battle lines and the misunderstandings that ensue between Lily and Avery are overdone. I know that both of them are social outcasts, but it's still cringe-worthy stuff.

Overall, a great book, and I recommend it to anyone who likes more intellectual romances. show less

I was charmed by this book. I had my share of problems with it, but overall it was wonderful. I'll be putting it on my keeper shelf for a future reread.

The letter exchange that Lily and Avery participated in was so perfect. Their back and forth banter was one of my favorite parts of the story. I really loved the feel of the scenes when Avery would pull out the newest letter and read it aloud to his friends. Being able to see a little of his interaction with his friends in that setting really helped add insight to Avery too.

I loved that Avery kept bellowing that he was a gentleman. It cracked me up. His ability to ignore or insist on his gentlemanly qualities as the situation warranted was cute. I really found his character endearing. show more The scene where he comes in and bellows for Francesca really illustrates his personality.

I didn't warm to Lily as much as I did to Avery. I thought she was a little hypocritical. I loved the scene where Avery acted like he felt violated because she had forced her attentions on him. I really felt like she got what she deserved then. I didn't enjoy her reasons for not wanting to marry. I thought wanting to be with Avery but only her way was selfish. I really respected Avery when he refused to have children with her if they did things her way. Bravo for him.

I found Francesca more interesting than Lily and couldn't help but want to know more about her. I really felt that she stole the show whenever she was in a scene with one of the other characters.

This was my first Connie Brockway book, but I'll be on the lookout for more. show less

Wasn't as impressed with this one of Brockway's as I was with Bridal Favors. A dying/dead old coot gives the heroine the challenge that if she can keep his house in order and have it prosper for some odd amount of months then she can keep it, if at the end of the time period it's in the red then she looses the house and has to publicly announce that women are not capable of managing such things and the property will go to his grandson. I really enjoyed the letter correspondence section of this book and would've enjoyed the plot more if it that had lasted longer. I also would've liked if the hero had stayed the awkward and lanky guy that he was built up to be during the first half-ish of the book instead of turning into a buff stud. I show more did, however, enjoy that he was a little shy. show less

A solid Victorian romance with flare.

Two lost souls thrown together by an old man's will is the centerpiece of this book.

The first is Avery James Thorne, nephew to Horatio, the recently deceased. He had hoped to inherit Mill House, where he spent vacations as a child but his uncle had other plans.

He gives Miss Lillian Bede an near-impossible task, to make Mill House profitable. If she can, she'll inherit. If she can't, Avery does.

Avery sets off for adventure in the far corners of the world. Lillian does her best to secure her possible inheritance.

Avery returns to Mill House, a few weeks before the five years are up.

Sparks fly between the two. Misunderstanding flourish. Add in some conniving relatives and a fine plot ensues.

This is the story of LIllian Bede who is trying to make a success of Mill House, she has five years to do this or the house goes to Avery Thorne. Avery was a sickly child and as an adult is determined not to let this to get in the way of his adventuring. He decides to leave England while she works. The two of them correspond by letter throughout the period.

It's a fun read with two very opinionated characters.