Thank you, Abigail Wilson, NetGalley, and Thomas Nelson–Fiction for the opportunity to read this book. It was released on January 11th, 2022!

I love a good regency romance. When it comes to regency romance or any type of historical romance, I know I am getting very little historical accuracy–and that is ok! I am in it for the setting and the romance. Twilight at Moorington Cross is the first book that I have read by Abigail Wilson. I was intrigued by the setting and the fact it was also labeled as a murder mystery. Amelia Pembroke was sent away by her late husband for her sleeping spells. She faints, sleeps often, and has sleep paralysis. She was sent to a hospital run by Dr. Cluett, who uses mesmerism to treat his patients. He is soon mysteriously murdered and his will read. The will states that Amelia will inherit as long as she marries one of two gentlemen suitors in 30 days. The solicitor, Ewan Hawkins had come to Moorington Cross to read the changes to the will, but after meeting Amelia, he sees what a horrible position she has been put in. Together, they will solve Cluett’s death and figure out which suitor will be best to marry—but what if she falls in love with someone who isn’t a suitor?

Predictable would be the first word I would choose when describing this book. Again, most historical romance books are predictable. It is obvious from the get-go that Amelia’s two suitors are not going to be the love interest. One suitor is handsome but a complete rake, the other cold and aloof. The question that is asked constantly: why are these men the choices? Well, the answers don’t come until way later but the suitors have the answers all along. At first, I thought the pace would move quickly as everything is introduced and Mr. Cluett murdered fairly quickly. But then the next 80% just drags. This book could have been a novella. I am not sure if some scenes were useless or if that was the author’s attempt at misdirection–either way it did not help the pace of the story. EVERYTHING gets spilled out in the last 5% of the book. My biggest issue is that the answers to the mystery aren’t revealed…they are explained, and rather quickly too. At this point, I did not care about the details of the murder. I was so disconnected from the story that it did not matter.

I did find the themes of mesmerism to be unique and interesting, as I have not read that in a book before. If the book was a little more organized, it would have come together quite nicely. Amelia was a sweet main character but rather typical. Overall, with some altering of a few scenes of the book, this book could be a favorite. For me, I rate it 2 out of 5 stars.