Angela Blount May 30, 2012

it was amazing bookshelves: romance, favorites, historical, goddaughter-approved-picks

's review

4 ½ stars



Compulsively readable. An ambitiously original, satisfying tale of passion, devotion, and redemption.



Song For Sophia had everything this reader could possibly want: A savvy, spitfire heroine...tortured, OCD savant hero...a marriage of convenience that isn't really...awkward virginal hilarity...mutual psychological healing...orphaned children side characters who aren't just the literary equivalent of furniture...



The heroine, Sophia, was immediately endearing. A damaged (but not broken) package of prevailing wit, strength, and guile, she's no damsel in distress. While concealing herself from the brutally abusive father she escaped, she meets her match when she earns the fascination of her disreputable employer—the peculiar and fearsome Lord Devon. The ardent admiration and chemistry that builds between them proves a tantalizing work of art. Cultural and intellectual detailing is threaded through with enriching precision, and sensuality is conveyed in it's most elegant form.



Moriah Densley crafts a profound and complex story, studded with subtle tie-ins readers may recognize from her successive and equally smart piece: The King Of Threadneedle Street. Sharp dialogue, poetical prose, and keen pacing work harmoniously toward a rich, engrossing experience. Entertainment qualities aside, she builds a compelling framework for empathy toward those gifted/afflicted with autism spectrum disorder.



On a very minor note: If this reviewer had to express any regret, it was that we aren't given a little more sense for the heroine's childhood (in regards to what it was like having a raging sociopath for a father.) But this is, of course, a matter of personal preference. There are hints aplenty regarding the abuse and mind games the heroine and her mother were forced to endure in the name of survival—all of which ring true.



Ultimately I felt the handling of the post-traumatic stress issues for both the hero and heroine result in a story that is not only poignantly memorable, but also relevant—and I daresay important—well beyond the historical realm.