Review: The Noble Guardian by Michelle Griep

Item: The Noble Guardian
Rating: 5
Author: Lillian

Posted June 3, 2019 by Lillian in Reviews / 4 Comments

I received this book via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of this review.

Review: The Noble Guardian by Michelle Griep

The Noble Guardian by Michelle Griep
Series: The Bow Street Runners #3
Published by Shiloh Run Press on 2019-06-01
Length: 320 pages
Reviewing eARC from Netgalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: #NGEW2019, 2019 New Release Challenge

A Cross-Country Trip through Regency England Brings Intrigue, Rogues, and High Adventure

The must-read conclusion to Michelle Griep’s Bow Street Runners Trilogy: Life couldn’t be better for Abigail Gilbert—but it’s been a long time coming. Having lived with a family who hated her, love is finally within reach. Abby sets off on a journey across England to marry one of the most prestigious gentleman bachelors in the land—until highwaymen upset her plans and threaten her life.

Horse patrol captain Samuel Thatcher arrives just in time to save Abby. But to him she’s simply another victim in a job he’s come to despise. Tired of the dark side of humanity, he intends to buy land and retire.

Abby pleads with him to escort her on the rest of her journey. He refuses until she offers him the thing he desperately needs to achieve his goal: money. Delivering her safely will earn him more than enough to settle into a quiet life.

So begins an impossible trek for the cynical lawman and the proper lady. Each will be indelibly changed by the time they reach her betrothed, if they don’t kill one another first—or fall in love.

Oh my heart! The Noble Guardian by Michelle Griep is the latest installment (and last if I’m not mistaken) of The Bow Street Runners series. Previously I said that The Innkeeper’s Daughter was my favorite of the series. Y’all this one blows that one out of the water! All the feels! My heart can’t take it. Samuel Thatcher’s and Abigail Gilbert’s story will stick with me for a long time.

Abigail Gilbert, or Abby for short, is leaving her home for her betrothed. Heading across England, through dangerous lands with naught but a maid and hired postillion. Abby is naive, kind, and an eternal optimist. Her life to this point had been bleak, but she chooses to look on the bright side. Hoping that the life awaiting her at the baronet’s is everything she could have asked for. My heart ached for Abby, and I couldn’t help but love her. She’s fiesty and determined when needed, yet kind and gentle the rest of the time. Honestly she’s a perfect match for the dour runner.

Samuel Thatcher is captain of a small band of horse runners who keep the roads safe from highwaymen. His current assignment is to find and take down Shankhart Robbins, a notorious thief and murderer. If you’ve read the previous books, you’ll remember him as the ghost contact Moore has with Ford in The Innkeeper’s Daughter. I was intrigued by him them, but I fell head over heels for the guy in this book. The captain is a devout man, but oh so bitter at the opening of the story. Several years have passed since the second book. He no longer finds joy in what he does as a runner and has been saving to buy his own small piece of land. This assignment is to be his last, his contract up in three weeks. When he rescues Miss Gilbert and inadvertently kills one of highwaymen associated with Robbins, the captain takes on the role as guardian of Abby, hoping to deliver her safely to the baronet. What he doesn’t count on is the woman herself.

Each book in this series has interwoven fact with fiction. That is the case here. The author creates Robbins and his gang after a real gang on a real highway in England. Everything else is fiction. Unlike the previous two books where the runners are investigating, Thatcher is protecting. He isn’t hunting anyone, instead he becomes the hunted. The added suspense of this plot made for a fast-paced read. I read it lightening quick, not wanting to sit it down. Abby and the captain’s chemistry is also off-the-charts compared to the last two couples. I love their banter and how they complement each other. Her hopeful nature balances his negative outlook on life.

Overall I really enjoyed The Noble Guardian. It is going down on my favorites list for sure! Abby and the captain tugged at my heartstrings that I’m not ashamed to admit left me in tears more than once. And little Emma….I didn’t mention her in the review but she was a perfect surprise! If you enjoy Christian romance or historical romance, I highly recommend you add this book to your reading list. While it is the third book in the series, it can be read as a standalone with minor spoilers to the previous books.

About Michelle Griep

I hear voices. Loud. Incessant. And very real. Which basically gives me two options: choke back massive amounts of Prozac or write fiction. I've been writing since I discovered blank wall space and Crayolas. I seek to glorify God in all that I write--except for that graffiti phase I went through as teenager.