Hearts of Briarwall

Jensen’s satisfying Edwardian debut pairs a suffragette and an entrepreneur. Rebellious women’s rights advocate Lydia Wooding’s parents died in a motorcar accident, which means that convincing her brother, Andrew, to teach her to drive will be no easy feat, especially since he still thinks of her as a child. Andrew is similarly uninterested when his dashing friend Spencer Hayes asks him to invest in Spencer’s auto parts shop—but Lydia jumps at the chance, putting a large chunk of her inheritance into the business. She’s hopeful that Andrew will come to see the wisdom in her ways—but when the secret of Spencer’s late father’s involvement in a scam is revealed, it threatens Spencer’s success and makes Lydia question her judgment, both of her own ability and her assessment of Spencer, whom she’s grown to think of as more than a friend. The romance itself is a bit bland, but Lydia’s bubbly, forward-thinking friends and the unusual backdrop of the early automotive industry breathe life into the story. Readers will be excited to see what Jensen does next. (Aug.)