I usually avoid books with family or children in the title like the plague. A recent At the Back Fence discussed some gimmicks that have been done to death in the romance genre, and babies and instant families was one of them. When I found A Family for Gillian in my batch of books I wasn’t sure why I even requested it, but whatever the reason, I’m glad I did.
Viscount Prescott Avery is a widower in need of a wife. His three children, though adored by him, are in need of a mother and he’s reluctantly made an offer for Miss Gillian Harwell. Gillian has disgraced herself in London (deliberately) and eagerly accedes to Lord Avery’s request. She’s desperate to get away from her family and something in his very kind letter speaks to her. Yes, marriage to a stranger with three small children is a bit daunting, but it’s preferable to marriage to an aging lecher or remaining with her family.

Prescott is thrown for a loop when Gillian arrives. He’s not sure what he expected, perhaps someone like his deceased wife, fair and ethereal. What he gets is a lovely Amazon with frank brown eyes and dark curls. From the moment Gillian enters the story she reminded me of one of my all-time favorite Heyer heroines, The Grand Sophy. Granted, Gillian is not nearly as managing, but she makes her feelings known and confronts situations rather then letting the chips fall where they may. When she realizes that Prescott is far from sanguine about their marriage she offers him an out. He wants to talk about the physical aspect of their marriage and she makes sure he knows she’s still a virgin. And early on, Gillian reveals her innate sense of humor in a scene where a fish is discovered in the teapot (it had me laughing out loud).

Though Sophy will always remain one of my favorites, Ms. Blair impressed me in her ability to give Gillian real life obstacles that aren’t easily managed. Gillian’s pain as she tries to deal with children who don’t want her around, a husband who’s torn between guilt and bemused attraction, and the almost constant status of outsider is palpable. After a Christmas dinner that’s just short of disastrous Gillian’s retreat to the stables is understandable. When she tries to explain her feelings of loneliness to Prescott he doesn’t get it.

What does get him is when she simply asks if she can lean on him for a moment. That small moment is pivotal to the storytelling and a lesser author would have missed it. Prescott suddenly knows that the stalwart Gillian needs him for something and suddenly she’s less intimidating. Gillian sees his comforting presence as a signal that maybe his dead wife is finally becoming less of an impediment to a life for them. It’s a powerful moment in a small book that has many.

The only quibble I had with this book is in the shortcuts that begin in the latter third. The couple makes love and on the next page they’ve been married almost a year. I wasn’t sure why this was necessary for the action that comes later – and in fact it wasn’t. I’ll definitely look for this author’s next book though, and hope that it lives up to this one.