Weathering Captain Storm by Jane Charles
Tracy’s rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Series: Spirited Storms, #2

Release Date: June 16, 2016

Nathaniel Storm first met Isabella Valentine after being injured on campaign. He was instantly smitten with her but kept his distance because he believed she was married, but by the time he learned she was the sister to Dr. Valentine and not his wife, he was sent away. In the meantime, Nate befriended another woman, Mary Soares, she was married to Major Soares, a man who treated her poorly, Nate would defend her and spend time with her, and ultimately was sent away after an altercation with the Major. He worried for Mary, but his biggest regret was not trying to court Isabella.

Isabella was just as smitten with Nate as he was with her, but she was sure he was in love with Mary. She kept her feeling to herself and was more than a little heartbroken when he was reassigned. She never expected to see him again, but a year later when Napoleon escapes Elba and the fighting begins again, they are reunited in Brussels.

This time Nate is not going to let the chance to woo Isabella pass him by and after they finally clear up the misunderstanding about Mary and their feelings, it seems like the HEA Nate imagined could come true. The night of the Duchess of Richmond’s ball, Nate confesses his feelings, kisses her and asks her to wait for him. She returns his kiss and sends him off believing she will be waiting when the fighting is done.

But Isabella has not intention of waiting for Nate, she does love him, but she has a secret that she is sure will cost her his love, so when the fighting is done, she tells him to leave her alone and refuses to talk to him. Nate is hurt and confused by her sudden change of heart and thinks it is the grief of losing her younger brother in battle. He plans to give her some time to mourn and then try to talk to her again – but she disappears.

It will be two long years before they meet again and this time Nate will not quietly accept her rejection, he had tried to stop loving her and move on, but he can’t, especially once he learned that Isabella is not who she says she is. For her part, Isabella has never stopped loving Nate, but is sure her secret will make him hate her, so she at first avoids him and then refuses to see him. It doesn’t seem like they will ever be together, but the timely intervention of her brother, may give them a second chance at happiness.

This was a well written novella, with wonderful characters and quite a bit of heartache. I loved Nate and my heart just broke for him when Isabella rejects him. But as far as Isabella is concerned, I didn’t feel like her reasoning for rejecting him made any sense and her continued refusal to see him in London dragged on way too long. Overall, I thought this was a sweet story, I was delighted for Mary, and I especially liked seeing characters from other novellas/series living their HEAs. This novella is part of a series, but it can easily be read as a standalone title with no problems.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eBook that was provide to me.*