After the sudden death of her husband, Lady Hildegarde Croft desperately needs to find a way to save her village from the clutches of her tyrant brother in law. At her wits end, her only hope may be to turn to Lord Elmwood, who is in hiding in the next estate over, and has a special Charm, that of necromancy. Yet Lord Elmwood has vowed never to use his Charm again and so Lady Croft plans to blackmail him. What else could she possibly do? 

A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson is an absolutely hilarious historical fantasy romcom, full of banter, saucy innuendos and a touch of magic. 

Lady Hilde Croft and Lord Elmwood are both disastrous and morally ambiguous characters who despite their obvious flaws, are both adorably heartfelt. Lord Elmwood is a self-confessed rake, a man who is willing to bed anyone, to live life flippantly and without care nor fearing consequences. He can wallow in self pity at times, but then his misery is not without reason having had a father who was callous and unkind and then being part of a war where the horrors overwhelmed him and left him broken and injured. Lady Croft on the other hand cares a great deal about others, but she too is willing to bend her morals for, in her opinion, a righteous cause. I mean Lady Croft stoops to blackmailing on several occasions in order to manipulate Lord Elmwood and though she admonishes herself for it, she still convinces herself that it’s the only way. Yet through alternating POV’s Paxson shapes these characters so well because underneath the surface we discover two people who are growing fond of each other, who sympathise and care for each other, even whilst outwardly betraying and lying to one another. They are both so hopelessly chaotic and so much fun to follow! There were so many scenes where I laughed out loud at the saucy innuendos, the attempts of manipulation, their misunderstandings and the sparking heat between them! I just love Hilde and Lord Elmwood together and was rather sad to leave them both when the book ended. 

“When Rollo showed off his new trick of befouling himself and then rubbing it all over Elmwood’s lap, she laughed uproariously.

Elmwood became breathless watching her, as if he were the one laughing.

She was sitting on the lower step and leaning back with her elbows on the threshold. Her hair was up, but little wisps of it fluttered around her face where they’d come loose. She had the sketchbook and a charcoal pencil in her lap, open to an abandoned sketch of a tree. It, like all of her artistic work, was evocative.”

Caught in all the chaos are some fantastic side characters too. Han, Lady Croft’s sister, at first appears to be aloof and emotionless, but the way in which her character develops you discover the reasons behind this, which I never suspected, so that was a nice surprise. Then there was Isolde, a lady who was besotted with Lord Elmwood, she was easy to sympathise with as she’s been treated pretty badly through no fault of her own. Then there was Rollo the dog, he remains spritey and adorable throughout despite what he ordeals! Yet my favourite side character was Winthrop, and never have I been more entertained by a lawyer in my life! Winthrop had such great banter with Lord Elmwood and his friendship and ongoing persistence to make Lord Elmwood value his life was incredibly sweet.

Despite this being a fantasy romcom, there were some slightly darker themes of war, necromancy and forbidden magic. In Paxson’s world there is a war between the kingdoms of Eldmere and Relance and we are shown the cost of not only those soldiers who are sent to battle but also the cost to those left behind having to fund and fuel the war. It is done in a lighthearted manner and doesn’t dwell too much on the hardships, but it does represent how war affects so much, and especially shows us the tyrants who profit from it. Then there are those with a Charm who have to keep their abilities hidden for fear of being outed, punished and although execution was no longer established in Eldmere, Charmers did mysteriously disappear. For Charmers it was a life of fear, of having to hide something that came naturally to them and could be used for good. 

“Hilde reached up and ran her fingers absently through her unbound hair, as if she were combing out knots. Elmwood clung to the gesture as a drowning man clings to a bit of wreckage. If he were to run his fingers through that mass of hair, it would be so cool and heavy against his skin. It would weigh his hands down, pressing the tremble right out of them.”

A Widow’s Charm is a Shakespearean comedy of errors that centres on two delightfully disastrous characters and a spicy romance. This is a tale that will bring joy and much laughter. 

ARC provided by Ayo at Arcadia Books in exchange for an honest review. All quotes used are taken from an early ARC and are subject to change on publication.

A Widow’s Charm is due for publication on 2nd April – you can pre-order your copy on Bookshop.org