Review: The Last Casterglass

The Last Casterglass by Kate Hewitt
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

And so we come to Seph (short for Persephone), the youngest Penryn, aka the forgotten sibling. Seph has a huge chip on her shoulder, all of her siblings left home and completely forgot about her (not altogether surprising given the big age gap), visiting rarely and always seeming just a little bit surprised to see her. Her parents, never the most on-the-ball people in the world, had totally abdicated parental duties by the time Seph came along which is why she never did the usual things like go to school or get childhood vaccinations. When she did try to go to the local senior school (not boarding school like her siblings) she was mercilessly bullied and soon dropped out, feeling more overlooked and odd than ever. Now her siblings have returned home determined to make he castle a going concern Seph feels more alone than ever, being pushed from pillar to post and told what to do all the time, so she reacts by being surly and hides away from everyone else.

The Penryns have taken on an intern, Oliver, who is keen to learn how to make an old building pay. His family home (or at least that of his uncle) may only be a farm, rather than a castle, but he loves it dearly and is desperate to prove to his uncle that he can run the farm - otherwise his uncle will sell the farm and give the proceeds to Oliver's cousin. Oliver hasn't had the easiest of lives: he never knew his father; his mother left him with his uncle and aunt when he was a toddler; and his aunt left his uncle when he was a young teenager. His only stability is the farm and its the only home he's ever known. His history of abandonment has made Oliver a people-pleaser, no matter how nasty people are, he will turn the other cheek and put on a brave smile.

Seph is determined to hate Oliver, especially since he's an Oxbridge graduate with an upper-class accident, just like her siblings while she is stuck with the local Cumbrian burr. But when the people-pleaser meets the isolationist they find more in common than they think.

I really liked the first one of these books featuring the oldest sibling Althea but I fear each subsequent sibling has become sadder and drippier than the last. I know it's the style of book that Kate Hewitt writes but these virgin/practically virgin couples ore me to tears, especially when they start doing internal monologues about how they default to people pleasing/antagonism when they are hurt (yawn). I really wanted Seph to turn out to be a brilliant artist who could save the castle single-handedly from her copious savings. Or maybe for her to meet a jaded artist/critic/dealer who falls madly in love with this prickly artist - I think all these romances are a bit small for me.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher Tule in return for an honest review.

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