Castles and Courtship (Mindy Burbidge Strunk) Books in Order

Castles and Courtship is a Regency romance series built around grand old homes, complicated families, and couples who find that a striking setting can come with its own secrets. Mindy Burbidge Strunk's Charming the Recluse takes that idea into especially gothic territory, with a Welsh castle, a grieving marquess, and a mystery surrounding a death that may not have been accidental.

Arawn Beavin has withdrawn from society after the death of his sister. As the period of mourning ends, he intends to remain shut away in the family castle, where brooding feels safer than dealing with visitors or the expectations attached to his title. His mother has other ideas and invites her favorite modiste to the castle.

The modiste's daughter is not what Arawn expects.

Marjorie Fitzroy comes from noble family lines, but her mother's work is what has given them access to England's great houses. It is her first visit to a castle, and she arrives eager to explore its halls, stories, and possible dungeons. The castle is not quite the gothic adventure she imagined, except for its gloomy marquess.

Marjorie and Arawn start off badly. She finds him rude and excessively severe, while he finds her too candid and too difficult to dismiss. When Arawn learns that his sister's death may have involved foul play, he turns to Marjorie for help. Their investigation forces him out of isolation and gives her a role in a world that has never fully belonged to her.

The book mixes a grumpy-and-sunshine-style pairing with a house-bound mystery. The castle's atmosphere matters, from its shadowy rooms to the sense that grief has settled over everyone who lives there. There are hints of the uncanny in the setting, but the emotional focus stays on loss, truth, and the chance to build a future after tragedy.

Charming the Recluse can be read as a standalone within the shared series. It is a good choice for readers who like clean Regency romance with a darker old-house mood, a playful heroine, and a guarded hero who needs more than one kind of mystery solved.