The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot

The Wolf and the Wildflower
Publisher: Amara
Pub Date: 27 February 2023
Genre: Historical Romance

Panda Rating:

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📖 SYNOPSIS

USA Today bestselling author Stacy Reid’s addictive tale of two lost people who are found…by each other.

London is buzzing with the news that James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton—thought lost at sea a decade ago—survived in the harsh wilderness of the Yukon. Now he’s been returned to his family, his responsibilities, and a nightmarish world of artifice and noise. He has three weeks to become a refined, elegant duke for the Queen…or doom the entire family to ruin and scandal.

Promising psychologist Jules Southby knows a lot about disguises. She’s secretly been living as a boy since birth, enjoying the freedoms of men and knowing little about how to behave like a woman. When she meets the alluring duke, she’s unprepared for his raw, masculine beauty and icy intelligence…or that he can see through her darkest secret.

Jules has very little time to transform the duke into a true semblance of an English gentleman. Yet his very presence seems to unravel her in every way. Their attraction is stark and achingly real—and forbidden. But loving the lost duke would mean losing every sacrifice she’s made to earn her freedom…

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Difficult childbirth, forced pregnancy (not the FMC)

TL;DR: This plot was absolutely bonkers but it is absolutely the best thing about historical romances. What a romp! I loved Jules and James so much and the way their relationship evolves throughout the story. The way this man fell on his knees for this woman had me swoony! And his nose and sense of smell… 👀 Other than the fun and sexy elements of this book, this also had some emotionally heavy and trauma-filled moments but Reid handled them so well! Overall, a delight and I can’t wait to read more by this author.

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot
Publisher: Random House UK
Pub Date: 1 June 2021
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

_{(4.5 pandas)}

📖 SYNOPSIS

Life is short.

No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni. But as she is about to learn, it’s not only what you make of life that matters, but who you share it with.

Dodging doctor’s orders, she joins an art class where she bumps into fellow patient Margot, a rebel-hearted eight-three-year-old from the next ward. Their bond is instant as they realize that together they have lived an astonishing one hundred years.

To celebrate their shared century, they decide to paint their life stories: of growing old and staying young, of giving joy, of receiving kindness, of losing love, of finding the person who is everything.

As their friendship deepens, it becomes vividly clear that life is not done with Lenni and Margot yet.

An extraordinary friendship. A lifetime of stories. Their last one begins here.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Cancer, child death (recounted), war, PTSD, Alzheimer’s, death of loved ones

TL;DR: For some reason, I feel like this is an underrated book… It’s one of those reads that’ll pull on your heartstrings. It’s simple but beautifully written and packs quite an emotional punch. It’ll make you appreciate life and wonder at death, it’ll make you cry but it’ll also make you laugh and feel joy. It’s heartbreaking at the end—after all, it is set in a hospital and tells the story of two terminally ill people who form an unlikely friendship that spans their combined lifetime of 100 years. While the ending may be predictable and the story didn’t wow me with wild plot twists and turns, it did leave me with a sense of peace and gratitude.