Wholly Matrimony: Book 1 of the Carlton Lodge Trilogy by Kitty Buckland
Description:
“In this continually unsettling world, treat yourself to a few gentle evenings of laughter with the goings on at Carlton Lodge. – Kitty Buckland
Carlton Lodge is a jewel of the English countryside, beautiful, ancient, and catastrophically in debt. Maxwell Carlton’s improbable schemes to fend off the creditors rarely help. So far, they have not ruined the family, largely because his wife Maria quietly dismantles each potential disaster before it gets too out of hand.
Now, with their daughter Lizzie’s wedding only weeks away, Maria is holding things together by sheer force of will.
But Maxwell has one more scheme. It involves a stolen heirloom, an insurance claim, and a plan so straightforward that nothing can possibly go wrong.
Then Raffael Messier arrives. Cabinet minister, master manipulator, and, rather inconveniently, the groom’s father. He has not come to Carlton Lodge in a spirit of celebration. He has come because he wants something, and he is not the kind of man who leaves without it.
The wedding, needless to say, does not go to plan.
Warm, witty, and delightfully chaotic. Perfect for fans of Richard Osman or P.G. Wodehouse.”
My review:
I am giving this book a rating of 4 out of 5.
Please note: I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review…
First, before I dive into my review, I just wanted to note how much I like the map at the beginning of the book, along with the little illustration of a house that’s been used for scene breaks!
So, I enjoyed the juxtaposition between the setting of a country estate and one of the main characters taking steps to save money in the opening scene. This set-up works well to provide a relatable scenario against the, largely unrelatable, setting of a country estate. Beyond the opening scene, I thought the settings were well-drawn throughout. While exposition can sometimes be overdone, I found the descriptive language in this novel actually enhanced the sense of place in each scene.
Additionally, I enjoyed the thread of humour woven through the narrative, especially during scenes that would have otherwise been too tense or awkward – I felt it made the story all the more readable, and I genuinely ‘laughed out loud’ a couple of times! However, I did find that the political elements of the story went over my head a little, since it’s not my area of expertise. While I don’t think it necessarily impacted my experience of the story, I felt it ever so slightly pulled focus away from the main aspects of the story I enjoyed (like the comedic scheming and subterfuge).
In terms of narrative style, I’d say this novel reminded me more of older novels (e.g. offering a physical description of each character as they appear), as opposed to contemporary trends that tend towards leaving the reader to ‘fill in the blanks’ by using minimal descriptive language and relying on sensory details or character observations to draw the reader in instead. Though I imagine this choice of writing style has to do with the large cast of characters included in the novel, which would make it difficult for the author to portray the story in any other way. Carlton Lodge is still an easy read, though, and given its relatively short length (at around 56k words), it’s definitely the sort of novel you could read on holiday or while commuting, since it doesn’t demand much of the reader other than to enjoy the story.
As far as characters are concerned, I would’ve liked to have seen more of Higgins, the Labrador! Despite Higgins being my favourite, I think Teddy was a well-rounded character (though his sense of humour takes things a little too far at times!) and I found Maria to be a well-written character, too. I especially liked how the relationships between Maria and Teddy, and Jenny and Teddy, were portrayed. (As an aside, largely thanks to the portrayal of certain characters, I could definitely tell this book was written by a male author using a female pseudonym…)
The plot was engaging, with twists and turns that raised the stakes throughout as the characters’ individual storylines intertwined in fun and unexpected ways. In fact, wanting answers to the storyline questions meant I finished reading this book within two sittings, in one day!
I’d recommend this book to anyone wanting to return to reading more often, or those who’ve hit a ‘reading slump’ and need a nice, easy read to get back into the groove. Carlton Lodge is also an ideal read if you’re after something light to cheer you up, since its humorous tone offered a lovely sense of escapism without diving into hard-hitting subject matter in too much detail.
Read in: April 2026
Format: ARC eBook
I’m including the date and format in which I experienced this story for transparency, since whatever is going on in the world (and a reader’s private life) at the time of reading, along with a book’s reading format, can impact an individual’s enjoyment of a story.
Disclaimer: I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are mine and have not been influenced by the author or publisher in any way. This book review does not contain affiliate links.