There’s something especially tender about a love story that never truly faded, only waited. Snowdrops For Sybil by Karen M Edwards is a Victorian second-chance romance filled with longing, misunderstandings, and the quiet ache of two hearts who believed they had been forgotten. With snow falling outside and old wounds resurfacing, this novella reminds us that sometimes love doesn’t die, it simply waits for the thaw.
Title: Snowdrops For Sybil
Author: Karen M. Edwards
Series: Victorian Valentines
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating: 5 out of 5 ⭐
Disclaimer
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I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
My Thoughts:
The first half of this book was gripping because both of the main characters were teenage sweethearts, but their different classes in life kept them apart. Both thought they had forever lost the other, but a chance encounter rekindles everything they felt from ten years ago. Sybil is a simple woman, but strong in her work ethic, helping her grandmother run the family hotel. Desmond used to be her family’s gardener and was sent away when Sybil’s mother realized the attachment was growing between them.
We quickly learn that Desmond had sent her many letters over the years and he feared she never responded to him because she was ashamed or her feelings weren’t true. Sybil believed he left without a word and never tried to reach out to her.
The deep longing between these two was what really drove the romance in this story. They both feel so strongly for one another and believe the other one doesn’t feel the same at all. It was heartbreaking to watch them both feel rejected and confused.
But when that confusion is cleared, it was the most comforting of love stories. Watching them let their emotions pour out and rediscovered one another. The only hurdle they have is Sybil’s family coming to realize that he is a very accomplished man now and there is no reason they can’t be together.
Prejudice of social class runs high in this one and is found throughout most of the book. Characters all over the place are assuming one thing or another about someone because of their station or class. It’s a lesson in modesty and humility. Reminders that we are all human; we all feel emotions – especially the strongest ones like love and rejection.
Publisher’s Blurb:
Separated by miles and years, love flourishes again.
Sybil Hazelgrove longs for connection, but she was unlucky in love, and at the tender age of twenty-six has reluctantly resigned herself to a humdrum spinsterhood. The unexpected return of Desmond Murphy—her first love, who disappeared ten years ago without a word—stirs up painful feelings she thought long buried.
Ten years ago, Sybil’s parents crushed Desmond’s dreams when they summarily dismissed him—a lowly gardener—for sending their daughter a Valentine. Desmond has since worked his way up in the world to successful botanist and illustrator who travels to exotic locations with his colleague Lord Framhurst. Seeing Sybil rekindles his youthful affections, but the question of why she never answered his many letters hangs over their budding reconnection.
Sybil and Desmond’s tentative reconnection snowballs when a blizzard traps Desmond and his companions in the hotel Sybil runs with her crotchety grandmother. Can Sybil and Desmond overcome class differences, hurt feelings, an interfering grandmother, and a clingy American heiress to find their way back to love?
This is a standalone novella in the Victorian Valentines series with the tropes of second-chance love and forced proximity.
Where to Buy:
Snowdrops For Sybil is a reminder that love is not so easily extinguished, even when silence and years intervene. With themes of humility, forgiveness, and emotional courage, this Victorian romance offers a heartfelt journey back to first love. If you adore tender reconnections and class-difference tension wrapped in a snowy setting, this novella may just warm your winter reading list.
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