A Misguided Devotion by Rachel Knowles: Book Review (ARC)

Details

• Genre: Historical fiction
• Series: The Merry Romances (Book #4)
• Length: 481 pages (EPUB)
• Publication Date: August 18, 2026

Tropes

• Forced proximity
• Class difference
• Secret identity
• Enemies to lovers

My Rating

Book Description

“An ambitious painter. A dutiful companion. A house full of dangerous secrets.

William Merry is desperate to make his name as a portrait artist. Nothing he paints satisfies him, but he’s confident all he needs is the right inspiration. When family duty threatens his ambitions, William flees to the coast and stumbles upon the muse he’s seeking. He refuses to let anything stop him from painting the beauty. Not even her annoying companion.

To fulfil her grandfather’s dying wish, Kitty Bruce travels to Weymouth to visit his sister. But the woman’s shocking revelations leave her reeling, and Kitty grasps the opportunity to become companion to the old lady’s granddaughter. She is determined to do her duty, protecting the beauty from Mr Merry’s unwanted attentions.

Desperate to paint the beauty, William becomes a guest in her father’s house. But all is not as it seems. As William and Kitty overcome their differences to work together to uncover the house’s secrets, more than their hearts are in danger.”

— from Goodreads

My Review

A beauty caught his eye, but it is her companion who captures his heart.

William had a lot of maturing to do at the start.  To be fair, he was quite young and I could understand being overwhelmed by responsibilities you never expected.  But wow, did I want to shake some sense into him sometimes.

Kitty has no home or relatives to take her in. So when she’s offered a position as a young lady’s companion, it seems almost too good to be true.  And maybe it is.

Kitty and William were the only two characters I could fully trust.  Hugh and Laura were clearly hiding things.  And even the dutiful Mr. Jenkins seemed to be more than meets the eye.  Not to mention, the mysterious smoker in the garden, a possible madman living in the basement, and a smuggling operation on the island.

William’s interactions with Kitty proved she was the right woman for him, before he even realized it.  Her steady faith grounds him, and she isn’t afraid to call him out for being selfish or ungrateful.

While I could understand his family’s misgivings about their relationship, it was so sweet how they defended each other.

Thank you to Rachel Knowles for the gifted ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Favorite Moments

🎨 trapped in Cave Hole
🎨 Epilogue

Favorite Quotes

“‘One day, you’ll meet a lady who doesn’t succumb to your charm. You had better pray you don’t lose your heart to her.’“

Rachel Knowles

“She had little control over the way she looked on the outside, but that did not stop her from becoming more beautiful on the inside. And that was a beauty that didn’t fade.“

Rachel Knowles

“‘…I have no right to call myself that now.’

He took her hand and squeezed it. ‘A lady is who you are, Miss Lacey. Not what you do.’“

Rachel Knowles

“Kitty bit back the smile that jumped to her lips at the sound of his mirth. It was hard to keep despising him when he made her laugh.“

Rachel Knowles

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