Windsong Manor by Julie Wright

 

A young widow. A gentle stable master. A secret that could change everything. Will Nora dare risk her heart?

The London Countryside, 1820

Eleanora Coventry comes from a life of title and privilege, but even that isn’t enough to prevent her from being wed at sixteen to a controlling and dismissive husband. So when she finds herself a widow at only twenty-seven, the idea of choosing her own path forward both thrills and terrifies her. She knows how to be a daughter and a wife and mother, but she has no idea how to be Eleanora.

She moves her son and daughter to her late husband’s country estate, where she meets Ridley, the young stable master. He is ruggedly handsome, but also kind, and Eleanora finds herself drawn to him. There is only one problem: Eleanora has a title, and Ridley does not.

Ridley Ellis has a way with horses. Even the most spirited stallions trust his soft voice and gentle touch. He has the same effect on people, and when he first lays eyes on Eleanora, he is smitten by her beauty. But he quickly discovers it will take more than soft words to gain her trust—Lord Coventry had been cruel to people and animals alike. But the closer he gets to Eleanora, the more he is willing to share his heart, and more importantly, his secret.

In a world where title and privilege mean everything, will Eleanora and Ridley risk it all to find happiness? Or will the shadows of their pasts destroy everything they hope to build together?

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I was swept away to the London countryside in this book.  Mostly to the stables, where Ridley was the stable master.  Everything and everyone seemed revolve around him, to be drawn to him.  I loved every single scene and every interaction that starred Ridley.  His gentle ways, his patience and wisdom made this book because he changed the lives of everyone he met for the better.  He listened, he guided, he fixed, he cared.  

I loved watching Eleanora grow in confidence and strength as the story unfolded.  My heart ached for her as a mother.

This is a sweet, gentle story of a broken family who heals because of Ridley.

Can you tell I loved Ridley?  I also love the cover on this book!

Content:  kissing

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.

A Captain for Caroline Gray by Julie Wright

 

 

Caroline Gray would rather be daring and intelligent than demure and insipid, which is why she is still unmatched after her third season in London. Her family’s threadbare finances leave Caroline with only one choice to secure her future: sail with the Fishing Fleet to India, where the son of a family friend is willing to consider an engagement to her.

Captain Thomas Scott loves the open sea as much as he despises the three-month, twice-yearly trip his ship makes as he ferries young English girls across the ocean. He can’t imagine what family would allow an innocent young woman to be matched up with the Englishmen of questionable reputation who work and live in India.

But when Miss Gray boards the HMS Persistence, all of Captain Scott’s plans are upended. Miss Gray’s fiery spirit can’t be contained, and he is shocked and secretly delighted at her boldness—and her beauty. But the rest of his passengers aren’t so kind.

Caroline finds herself an outcast among her peers, but Captain Scott becomes an unlikely ally. They share the same passions and interests, creating an undeniable attraction. But they both know any relationship between them is impossible. After all, Caroline has obligations to fulfill in India.

Caroline has until the end of the voyage to decide if she is going to marry a man she has never met or be brave enough to love a sea captain who just might break her heart.

 * Amazon * Goodreads * Deseret Book *

I've read a few books in the last little while set on a ship during this time period.  It's amazing to me that authors can take a setting with so little diversity and make it into a full length novel.  This one does eventually end up in India but not until the end.

Caroline is an interesting character because she doesn't really in with "society".  She is beautiful and brainy too.  It's a great combo but not for her forced society.  Watching her constantly question herself and force herself to be someone she was not was hard.  It made me sad just like it made her sad.  It makes me really grateful for those kind of women who didn't conform but forged ahead to pave a new path for women in society.

This story progresses slowly and gently.  The bit of excitement at the end was a nice change from the more placid pace of the rest of the book.  I wish there would have been more to the ending or maybe an epilogue.  I felt like it cut off pretty quickly once the final resolution came.  Overall, I liked it.  3.5 stars

Content:  mild peril, kissing

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.

 

About the author:

JULIE WRIGHT was born in Salt Lake City, Utah. She’s lived in LA, Boston, and the literal middle of nowhere (don’t ask). She wrote her first book when she was fifteen. Since then, she’s written twenty-five novels and coauthored three. Julie is a two-time winner of the Whitney Award for best romance with her books Cross My Heart and Lies Jane Austen Told Me and is a Crown Heart recipient. Her book Death Thieves was a Whitney finalist.

She has one husband, three kids, one grandbaby, one dog, and a varying amount of houseplants (depending on attrition).

She loves writing, reading, traveling, hiking, snorkeling, playing with her family on the beach, and watching her husband make dinner.

Glass Slippers, Ever After, and Me by Julie Wright

When aspiring author Charlotte Kingsley finally gets published, she thinks all her dreams have come true. But the trouble begins when her publicity firm reinvents her quirky online presence into a perfectly curated dream life. Gone are the days of sweatpant posts and ice cream binges with her best friend, Anders, replaced instead with beautiful clothes, orchestrated selfies, and no boyfriend. Only, that carefully curated fairy tale life is ruining her self-esteem and making her feel like a fraud.

When a bestselling author takes Charlotte under her wing—almost like a fairy godmother—she helps Charlotte see the beautiful person she already is and the worth of being authentic. But is it too late to save her relationship with Anders? The clock is quickly ticking towards midnight, and Charlotte must decide between her fairy tale life and the man she loves, before he's gone forever.

 * Amazon * Goodreads * Deseret Book * 

I've been waiting and waiting to read this book.  It's been taunting me from the TBR pile for a bit, waiting for it's turn.  That's a real thing- the taunting.  Seriously.  I've moved my TBR pile to an end table that has a door so I can close it and not see those taunting books.  It helps me stick to the reading schedule.  True story.  But not the one you came here for.

This book was fun.  Julie Wright incorporates humor and wit in her books that always has me smiling.  Told in first person, Lottie's inner thoughts and desires come through loud and clear.  She is a bit quirky and someone I think I would love to be friends with.  I love the relationship between Lottie and her sister.  Lottie is the best kind of big sister.  I liked that Lettie was an author and that bit of insight into a writers mind and world. 

As for Anders and Lottie, well, that is a different type of story.  It's a bit of a journey with them and while they are great together, it takes work to make a relationship work- especially when lots of life changing things are going on.  Things get a bit bumpy with Anders and Lettie but they sure do learn a lot about themselves and each other.  It was sweet.  I especially enjoyed Lottie's realization that we can add to who we think we are.  We don't have to stay in the confines of one definition.  As we live life and learn new things, we evolve and become more.  I like that.

As always, I am happy to have another book by Julie Wright.  She doesn't disappoint.  Until the next one. . .

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.

 

Midsummer Night (A Timeless Romance Anthology Book 23) by Charlie N. Holmberg, Julie Wright, Annette Lyon, Jane Redd, Amber Argyle

ILLUSIONS OF LOVE by Charlie N. Holmberg:
Aster has worked as the great magician Celtin's assistant for two years and has been in love with him nearly as long. After hearing he'll be looking for a wife at the house ball, Aster disguises herself as a high-class woman so she can woo him away from other bachelorettes. But not everything goes according to plan...

DANCING WITH THE MOON by Julie Wright:
A girl may love a ghost, but where would they live? When a ghost who insists he isn't dead shows up in Grace's shed, he begs for her help. If they cannot reunite his spirit and body before the full moon rises, Arell will die in actuality and so will the royal family. The race against the moon becomes more frantic when Grace realizes she loves him and will die alongside him if she loses him. But can a ghost with no heart return her love?

THE TRUEST TREASURE by Annette Lyon:
When Saara’s sister Fia is stricken with a fatal illness, she goes on a quest to find a magical treasure with which to pay a shaman who can save Fia. Midsummer Night is the best time to locate such a valuable item, as piru fire, which marks the location, appears then. Along the way, she meets Timo, who, unbeknownst to her, is on a similar quest: if he can’t find treasure to pay for an apprenticeship with a wizard, his magical abilities will never grow, and he’ll never reach his dream of becoming a wizard. They meet in the woods and become a team. but only one of them can come away with the treasure. As their feelings for each other intensify, deciding what to do when—and if—they seize the treasure becomes a much trickier proposition.

THE ISLE OF ROSE by Jane Redd:
Cornelia's greatest secret is that she can read minds. When her sister elopes with another man, Cornelia must stand in her sister's stead to marry Lord Moss, a man with the same gift, who has the power to expose her.

FIRE AND FOUNTAIN by Luisa Perkins:
Historian Lucie Tremblay loves studying Québec’s past, but when she accidentally travels back in time through a magical St. John’s Eve bonfire, she finds that life in 17th-century New France is far more complicated than it seems in books. As colonist Nicolas Beaubien tries to help her find a way back to 2019, Lucie finds herself falling for him—and must choose between her old life and new love.

LADY OF SHADOWS by Amber Argyle:
Every year, girls go missing in the night—taken by the beast of the Forbidden Forest. A beast that has haunted the town of Hamel for centuries. A beast that is now coming for Caelia.

 * Amazon * Goodreads *

The Timeless Romance collection is taking a jump into the magical with this new collection.  These novella length stories are written by different authors but have one common element- Midsummer Night and a touch of the mystical and magical.

Honestly, fantasy/magic isn't my go-to genre so this book overall wasn't my favorite but I still enjoyed the stories here.  I think my overall feeling with most of these novellas was that I wanted more.  More time to develop feelings for the characters, more meat to the stories themselves.  I think I felt that the most with The Isle of Rose.  I really wanted more of that story!  All the elements of attraction, mystery, light suspense were there and because I know this author, I know an extended version of this book would be incredible.

Amber Argyle's story is set as a backstory for a character in her Forbidden Forest series which I have read (and really enjoyed!) so it was a treat for me to delve back into that world for a bit.  I know others have said that this novella was harder to understand having not read the other books in the series and I can see that but for me it was awesome.

The great thing about these Timeless Anthologies is that you get a taste of many authors.  Sometimes new authors pop up- in this collection for me it was Luisa Perkins- which is fun!  I love variety.

Content:  mild violence, kissing

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Lies, Love, and Breakfast at Tiffany's by Julie Wright

The Lie
Women in Hollywood are just pretty faces. But Silvia Bradshaw knows that’s a lie, and she’s ready to be treated as an equal and prove her worth as one of Hollywood’s newest film editors.
 
The Love
She and Ben Mason had worked together as editors before Silvia got her big break, so he’s the perfect person to ask for feedback on her first major film. But even as their friendship begins to blossom into something more, a lawsuit surfaces, jeopardizing both Ben and Silvia’s jobs—as well as their fledgling romance. Audrey Hepburn once said: “The most important thing is to enjoy your life—to be happy—it’s all that matters.” Silvia agrees. Or she used to. It’s one thing to risk her job and her heart, but can she really risk Ben’s, too? Does she have the right to make decisions for her own happiness when they affect so many other people?
 
The Breakfast
With everything to lose, Silvia meets Ben for breakfast at his favorite diner, Tiffany’s, for one last conversation before the credits roll on true love.

 * Goodreads * Deseret Book * Amazon *

What a fun book!  I love books with smart, witty and strong female characters and this book had a couple with Silvia and her grandma.  They both brought a smile to my face.

Silvia and Ben have history.  It's like a careful dance around each other without ever coming together for one reason or another.  It's comical and also a little maddening.  I loved the easy banter and movie quoting which reminded me of my kids.  They are always quoting lines from movies to see who will get it.  (I hardly ever do.)  Both Silvia and Ben are easy to like and easy to root for.

Silvia has a bit of a ocular handicap due to a childhood cancer that is a large part of her story but doesn't take over the story.  It definitely humanized her, gave her a hint of vulnerability, and maybe a dash of quirkiness.  Silvia's connection to Audrey Hepburn gave the story a unique feel, unlike any other story I've read.  I loved the quotes at the beginning of the chapters!

I guess I'll just end where I started.  What a fun book! 

Content:  kissing

- I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Delilah's Desserts (A Tangerine Street Romance #4) by Melanie Jacobson, Heather B. Moore, Julie Wright

Tangerine Street is a must-see tourist stop with a colorful mix of one-of-a-kind boutiques, unique restaurants, eclectic museums, quaint bookstores, and exclusive bed-and-breakfasts. Delilah's Desserts, situated in the middle of this charming collection of shops and cafés on Tangerine Street, is a bakery that offers a different variety of desserts each day. The emotions that Delilah bakes into these desserts have a strange effect on customers, sometimes altering the course of their lives . . .

 * Amazon * Goodreads *

I love everything about this book and this series.  The ocean side setting is one I could happily live in forever, I think.  Each book has three stories written by three different authors but they intertwine and connect perfectly while never losing their individuality.  It's so much fun.

I loved all three of the stories in this book.  The characters were charming and I felt like I could be friends with all of them.  I think I pretty much smiled my way through this book.  Delilah's baking is a touch magical and I really wish her bakery were real and in my little town!  Yumma yumma.  Her baking touches all the characters in this book.  I was happy to see characters from previous books make an appearance- especially the Fortune Cafe.  The cross over moments made me happy.  Well, the whole book made me happy. 😊

Content:  kissing, a couple instances of mild swearing, mentions of a previous intimate relationship with no details.

- I received a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Lies Jane Austen Told Me by Julie Wright

Ever since Emma read Pride and Prejudice, she's been in love with Mr. Darcy and has regarded Jane Austen as the expert on all things romantic. So naturally when Emma falls for Blake Hampton and he invites her home to meet his parents, she is positive an engagement is in her future. After all, Blake is a single man in possession of a good fortune, and thus must be in want of a wife.

But when it turns out that what Blake actually wants is more of a hook-up than a honeymoon, Emma is hurt, betrayed, and furious. She throws herself deeper into her work as CMO of Kinetics, the fastest growing gym franchise in the nation. She loves her work, and she's good at it, which is why she bristles when her boss brings in a consultant to help her spearhead the new facilities on the East Coast. Her frustration turns to shock when that consultant turns out to be Blake's younger brother, Lucas.

Emma is determined not to fall for Lucas, but as she gets to know him, she realizes that Lucas is nothing like his brother. He is kind and attentive and spends his time and money caring for the less fortunate.

What she can't understand is why Lucas continues to try to push her back into Blake's arms when he so clearly has fallen as hard for her as she has fallen for him. It isn't until Lucas reveals to Emma that he was adopted into the Hampton family that she begins to understand his loyalty to Blake as well as his devotion to the child April-she is Lucas's biological niece.

Emma opens up to Lucas about the feelings of abandonment she has harbored ever since she was a child and her mother left the family. As she helps Lucas deal with his past demons, she is able to exorcise some of her own.

Realizing that her love life is as complicated as anything Jane Austen could have dreamed up, Emma must find a way to let Blake know that it's time for him to let her go and to let Lucas know it's time for him to love her back.

 * Amazon * Goodreads * Deseret Book *

This book!  Where do I even start?  

I'm a Jane Austen fan but perhaps not so big a fan as Emma is.  That may be a gross understatement but I am enough of a fan to greatly appreciate the Austen references and all the quotes at the beginning of the chapters.  I found great humor in Emma and her love/hate relationship with her Austen ideals.  Especially when she throws her book in the garbage only to dig it out a bit later, feeling ever so guilty.  Ha.

Yes, I had plenty of smiling, giggling moments with this book.  It was amusing and entertaining.  There were also plenty of moments of depth and challenge.  The characters deal with real life issues and struggles.  They are both weak and strong.  It's a fantastic balance and felt very true to life.  I loved the whole cast of characters and how everything changed, circled and evolved from beginning to end.  Speaking of the ending, I LOVED it.  It was like my heart let out such a big, happy and contented sigh.  "Finally", it said.

This will probably go on the list for one of my favorite books this year.  I really loved it.

Content:  some references to drug abuse, clean

- I received a copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Happily Ever After Collection (A Timeless Romance Anthology) by Jessica Day George, Julie Wright, Annette Lyon, Heather B. Moore, Sarah M. Eden, Julie Daines

MAIL-ORDER PRINCESS by Jessica Day George: Elise flees her small kingdom and arrives in the New World with only her two trunks and seven swans—her seven brothers to be exact. But Elise will do anything to get her brothers away from their cruel stepmother’s curse, even if it means accepting the long-distance marriage proposal to a former count turned farmer.

THE MILLER’S DAUGHTER by Julie Wright: When Isa meets Thomas Rumple, she is quickly infatuated with his good looks and natural charm, until she learns his true identity. Due to a wild claim by her insufferable father, Isa’s life is threatened by the king if she can’t spin a room full of straw into gold, and Thomas may be the only one who can save her.

THE PEBBLED PATH by Sarah M. Eden: Deep in the heart of a mysterious forest, Gretel trades her freedom to save her beloved father from the spell of an evil enchantress. Even attempting to escape would cost her father his life. Gretel’s determination to fulfill her promise wavers when she meets Hansel, a young man who captures her heart. For, she loves him too dearly to put his life in danger, and he loves her too much to simply leave her to her fate.

BLACK FERN by Julie Daines: Rós is desperate to find work in order to care for her ailing father and younger sisters. She applies to the mysterious owner of a crumbling castle and is soon swept up in dark secrets. Unsure if the owner of the castle is man or beast, Rós determines to help him at all cost. She soon discovers that the cost may be too great, even for her.

SCARLET by Heather B. Moore: When Scarlet needs to fetch a healing tonic on the night when the wolves are at their most dangerous, she has no choice but to apply to her nemesis, August, for help. He agrees to help her, but they encounter a pack of wolves that put up a fierce fight, marking Scarlet as their newly targeted prey.

SO RARE A POWER by Annette Lyon: Stella knows she’s taking a risk each time she meets Patrick in the rose garden that they’ve cultivated together. And no matter how much her mother will disapprove of their relationship, Stella can’t deny her feelings for him. When the Snow Queen steals away Patrick to drain him of his powers of creating beauty and life, Stella must decide what she’s willing to risk to rescue him.

 * Amazon * Goodreads *

What a fun collection of fairy tales retold and tweeked a bit.  This is a great line up of authors!  Oh, and I love this cover!  So pretty.

These are all short, novella size stories which lend themselves so well to reading here and there when you have a minute or two.  They are all clean and sweet.  I love these Timeless Romance Anthology Collections.

Of course, I loved some more than others but they were all good.  My top three were Scarlet, Black Fern and The Miller's Daughter.

Content:  clean

- I received a copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Death Thieves by Julie Wright

You're dead, Summer Dawn Rae.

When Summer Rae is stolen from the moment of her own death and taken to a future where mankind is dying, it is with the hope that she, and other teenagers like her, can save it. But after only a short time in the future, Summer discovers a darker side to the altruistic reasons behind her abduction. She is determined to fulfill her purpose in a world gone literally mad, but can an ordinary girl save a whole world when she only cares about saving one person?

 * Goodreads * Amazon *

The concept for this book is so interesting.  It's sort of a mashup of time travel and dystopian with a light smattering of romance thrown in.  Actually, the romance is more of an underlying current for most of the book.  I voted for this book in the kindle scout program because I have read other books by Julie Wright and was really looking forward to reading a book in this genre by her.  I do believe this is her first step into this genre.  I got an advance copy of this book when it won and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get around to reading it!  It always feels refreshing to step outside my usual go-to genre to read books like this that I also enjoy.

The book started off a bit slow for me but it picks up and the pacing becomes a bit faster.  Maybe it was just that the story really needed Tag.  Once he came into the story, everything seemed a bit better.  Summer is smart and has spunk but she is also pretty selfish in the beginning.  It was hard to really like her.  When she starts thinking past just herself, Summer becomes more likable to me as a character.  I kind of wish I could have seen more of this story from Tag's point of view.  I felt like I was missing out on knowing him better.

It would appear that this book is a stand alone, which is really unusual for this genre.  I was actually glad to have resolution at the end.  Sometimes it's just a relief to have a book come to a conclusion and not have to wait what seems like forever to have the next book.  :)

Content:  Some mild violence

- I received a copy of this book through the Kindle Scout program.  All opinions expressed are my own.

Four Chambers (Power of the Matchmaker) by Julie Wright

Every time Andra Stone crosses paths with Everett Covington, trouble follows. First she loses her scholarship. Then she loses the apartment she’d wanted more than anything. But tragedy hits hardest when she loses her grandmother—the best friend Andra has ever known. She determines that Everett is a talisman of ill fortune. When Everett comes to work in her hospital and is applying for the same position she’d been working toward since residency, Andra believes him to be her personal poltergeist.

The human heart has four chambers—four chances to get it right. Andra has only one chance left.

* Amazon * Goodreads *

There were so many little things I loved about this book.  First, I love the cover.  Second, I love that each page inside the printed book has squiggles and then a heart around the page number.  I loved the proverbs at the beginning of each new section of which there were four after the four chambers of the heart.  For me, it was these little things that made me smile and fall in love with the whole of this book.

This book is part of the Power of the Matchmaker series, but can stand alone easily.  Each book in this series is written by a different author with one minor character, Pearl, included in all the books.  Pearl's story is the prelude to this series and I would recommend reading it prior to any books in this series.  I have loved all the books in this series so far.  I have two more sitting on my kindle waiting for me which is something to look forward to!

This book was such a journey.  The span of time from beginning to end is years- over a decade.  Andra and Everett are an on again, off again kind of couple.  They are drawn to each other and fall in love but usually Andra puts an end to it for one reason or another.  Actually, she usually just runs away.  Sometimes Andra was just frustrating and I wanted to shake her but then those endearing moments popped up and I knew I couldn't stay annoyed for too long.  

I was drawn into this book immediately and putting it down was difficult.  Because of the on again, off again nature of this book, I was almost desperate to get to the end to see if and how they finally came together.  There was a definite pull to the story and the characters and I really loved it!

Content:  Clean!

* I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.  I also bought a physical copy of this book which is actually the one I read.

The Mariposa Hotel (A Tangerine Street Romance) by Julie Wright, Melanie Jacobson, Heather B. Moore

The Mariposa Hotel
A Tangerine Street Romance
(a novel in three parts)

Welcome to Tangerine Street

Tangerine Street is a must-see tourist stop with a colorful mix of one-of-a-kind boutiques, unique restaurants, eclectic museums, quaint bookstores, and exclusive bed-and-breakfasts. The Mariposa Hotel, a new resort, has revitalized Seashell Beach, bringing new life to the sleepy beach town. In the charming gardens of the hotel sits a three-hundred-year-old wishing well transported from Mexico. One toss of the coin, a sincere wish, and lives are changed forever…

 * Goodreads * Amazon *

I really love this idea and this series.  This is the third installment in this Tangerine Street Romance series.  All three books revolve around different businesses on Tangerine street and each book has three different stories about three different people.  (The magic number today is three!)  One of the things I love is seeing places and people from previous books pop up in the stories.  It gives the books a feeling of community and familiarity to me as a reader.

I loved each one of these stories.  These authors are good at what they do and they make reading so enjoyable.  I immediately knew when I started Melanie Jacobson's story. Snappy dialogue is her trademark, I think.

The Mariposa Hotel came alive for me.  I could picture the people, the places, and the whole hotel vibe.  I enjoyed every minute I spent reading this book.  It was the perfect diversion for this cold winter day.