The story continues, with the second book as good as the first, perhaps even better. "The Haymarket" continues the "Gower Street" story of Abel Lackland and Lilith Lucas, who have gone their separate ways, but their lives are still entwined, thanks to Abel's son Jonah and Lilith's daughter Celia. Once again, Dorothea (now Abel's wife) plays a part in the story, as does their daughter Abby.

With the first book, I was entertained by the story and characters, with this one, I got more involved and could feel empathy for the characters: Abel, who couldn't let go of his feelings for Lilith, Dorothea, who gave all her affection to her son to make up for her husband's rejection, Jonah, who got too little love from his father and too much from his mother, Celia, who suffered so much emotional abuse from her callous mother.... and then there was Abby, a teenage girl in love with a man more than twice her age.

Two scenes that stuck in my mind (and I won't go into detail and be a spoiler) were the confrontation between Lilith and Dorothea over Jonah, where the differences in their personalities was so profound and, towards the end of the novel, where Lilith wants to make her aware of the hold she still has over Abel, and now Jonah as well, leading to a dramatic conclusion.

The same goes for another scene, this time between Lilith and her daughter, where Celia finds the courage to stand up to her heartless mother and assert her independence.

This book, along with the first, needs to become a movie. Why that hasn't all ready happened, I can't figure out, especially with the British love for historical series and romances.

I just want to end by saying that, while I read a few of the later books in the series, they didn't capture my interest like the first two,. which explains why I can't remember much about them. What I do remember is that they lost something special that the first two had. ( )