Do you ever finish a book and wonder why you allow the author to put you through the emotional turmoil they do? Why you willingly read a story knowing it may rip your heart out and leave you agonizing whether the hero and heroine will have their HEA? For me it’s because it’s Christi Caldwell. I enter every book knowing she’ll quickly get her emotional hooks in me with a story that is impossible to forget, leaving me in heart-wrenching, happy ending tears. That’s why I read her. She rips my heart out every single time, and at the end of each book, I’d gladly do it all again.

If you’ve followed this series, you know that it’s been discovered that Stephen was not a young orphan brought into the Diggory gang, but the son of a marquess, kidnapped from the folds of the peerage. Now he must return to his father who thought he was dead. For seven years, Stephen has been with Broderick Killoran and his “sisters”. The only family he remembers. He’s no longer the innocent, happy toddler he was but an angry and jaded child who wants no part of a life he can’t recall. To ease his transition to his rightful place, Gertrude, the sister who has taught and cared for him, decides to accompany him and convince Edwin Warwick, the Marquess of Maddock to allow her to stay with his son.
Edwin has spent the last seven years tortured by the memories and rumors around the loss of his family. Bitter and broken, he’d become the madman everyone thought him to be. Now, face to face with his son who is now a stranger to him, he’s at a loss. And to have the daughter of the man who stole everything from him requesting to accompany his son is more than he can bear. Knowing to send her away would only further damage this new beginning with his son, Edwin relinquishes and allows Gertrude to stay temporarily.
In the days that follow, Gertrude and Edwin set aside their resentments in the best interest of Stephen. And in so doing, they begin to see each other in a different light. In working together for the sake of Stephen, an unlikely bond is forged. Gertrude saw that Edwin wasn’t mad but a devoted father so riddled with the pain of losing his family that he’d come to believe what was said about him. The fact he even allowed her to stay showed he had compassion in him. She’d never known that kind of devotion and she was captivated by him. With him, she was beginning to feel a level of closeness she’d not even known with her siblings. Edwin was impressed with Gertrude’s bravery and spirit. No one had ever stood up to him before. She was very capable with Stephen. The way she could anticipate his needs and moods spoke to her devotion to his son. In getting to know her, Edwin came to realize he’d never considered that she too had been a victim of Mac Diggory. She was not the monster he’d thought her to be, but a young woman whose family had made a mistake. He’d thought these last seven years that he was a man incapable of feeling anything. But he was beginning to feel for Gertrude, and to imagine a life he’d never thought to know.
This entire series has sucked me in with its intensity and deep emotion. But this story, with its tender relationships between characters, is definitely the best. I empathized so much with Edwin. I couldn’t blame him for his hate and resentment after having his whole life ripped from his hands. He carried so much guilt over that loss. Stephen was no longer the child he’d lost, yet in spite of Stephen’s animosity toward him, Edwin still loved and wanted him. I ached for the thrill he felt just having his son speak to him, even if it was only to sing the praises of the Killorans. Watching that bond between the two starting to rekindle was touching.
The bond between Gertrude and Stephen was just as moving. She’d thought him closer to her sisters, but when she was the one to stay with him, their bond only strengthened. I wept when he was able to let his guard down with Gertrude and express his fears.
The relationship between Edwin and Gertrude was the most thrilling though. Gertrude didn’t judge or blame Edwin. She understood his pain. With her quiet strength of spirit she challenged him to reclaim his life. She made him want to be a father again and to be a better man. She made him feel worthy of that. Gertrude had always hovered on the outside with her family, feeling that she wasn’t as strong or as valuable because of her disability. She felt pitied and like she was treated with kid gloves. And because of that, she never challenged them or expressed her opinions. But with Edwin, she was able to give her opinion. He listened and often agreed. He looked to her to be his partner in making the best choices for Stephen. Through Edwin’s eyes, Gertrude saw her own worth.
If you’ve not read other books in this series, I recommend you read them first. While this could be read as a stand- alone, I can’t imagine reading it without knowing the history of all that these characters have endured and overcome. In reading this beautiful and deeply emotional series, you’ll not just believe love exists, you’ll believe in the power of love and its ability to survive and to heal. A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team selection.

I loved Gertrude and Edwin's story!!

Gertrude demands that she be able to stay with Edwin when her adopted brother (his son) is return to him. Edwin fights it, but finally agrees. Gertrude just wants to make sure that her brother gets settled in and knowing that she will forever be separated from him, wants to spend as much time with him as possible.

Edwin finally has his son back and he couldn't be happier about it, except that the daughter of the man that kidnapped him has worked her way into his life. As much as he wants to hate Gertrude, their is just something about her that speaks to him. Can he ever get passed who her family is?

I've been waiting for Gertrude to get her HEA for what feels like forever and Caldwell didn't disappoint!! I'm so glad to see her finally come into her own and shine within her family!

While just as beautifully written as all the previous books in this series, "The Bluestocking" has a bit slower and has a much more sad feeling to it. The heartbreak that Edwin has felt for so long, all the guilt and blame and horrific prejudices that society lays on Gertrude and her family combine in this installment. It is not a light and happy story to read.

Still, Ms. Caldwell works her magic and through all the sad, a beautiful relationship grows - two, actually. Because, as Edwin's heart is slowly being softened (and that is NOT an easy task!) so too is his relationship with his son taking root. Kudos to Ms. Chase for penning a story that can break a heart and give one hope all at the same time!