Tag: Caroline Warfield

Under the Harvest Moon Anthology by Collected Authors

On By TracyIn Anthology, Author Collaboration Series, Georgian Era (1714-1837), Novella, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820), Tracy's ReviewsLeave a comment

Under the Harvest MoonUnder the Harvest Moon by Collette Cameron, Caroline Warfield, Rue Allyn, Mary Lancaster, Alina K. Field, Elizabeth Ellen Carter, Sherry Ewing, Cerise DeLand, and Jude Knight

Tracy’s rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Series: Anthology – Several novellas are connected to other series

Release Date: October 10, 2023

Nine award-winning and bestselling authors have combined their talents to create this engaging and enchanting collection of interrelated tales. Under the Harvest Moon promises an unforgettable read for fans of Regency romance.

As the village of Reabridge in Cheshire prepares for the first Harvest Festival following Waterloo, families are overjoyed to welcome back their loved ones from the war.

But excitement quickly turns to mystery when mere weeks before the festival, an orphaned child turns up in the town—a toddler born near Toulouse to an English mother who left clues that tie her to Reabridge.

With two prominent families feuding for generations and the central event of the Harvest Moon festival looming, tensions rise, and secrets begin to surface.

I thought every novella in this anthology was great and I have reviewed some of my favorites below:

Coming Home by Mary Lancaster, 4.5 stars – Captain David Buckley has returned home to Reabridge after years of war, but before he can think about his future, he will have to settle his past. While visiting his late wife’s family, he meets Lady Lorna Gaveston when she literally falls into his arms. They form an instant friendship, and when a rejected suitor causes her grief, they work together to sort it out, growing closer as they do. Will David be able to forgive his past mistakes or will his guilt prevent him from pursuing new love?

A Love Beyond Time by Sherry Ewing, 4 stars – Eight years ago, Hannah Pownall had her heart broken when Lord Brandon Worthington’s father made him leave, but when they part, he declares his undying love and asks her to wait for him. When Brandon returns to the town of Reabridge to recover from his war injuries, he is stunned (and relieved) to find that Hannah is still unwed. But is it possible to turn back time and recapture the love of a lifetime, or have they missed their chance?

The Widow’s Harvest Hope by Cerise DeLand, 4.5 stars – Once upon a time, Stafford “Ford” Barlow, was the third son of an earl with no prospects beyond working as his family’s estate manager when he fell madly in love with Victorine “Vicky” Fortin, a French émigré, during the Harvest Festival. They spent one night together and Ford asked her to marry him, only to learn that she was betrothed. Heartbroken, Ford joins the army hoping to forget Vicky. Now six years later, Ford is the Earl and Vicky is the widowed Baroness Wright, and they are once again together for the Harvest Festival and it is clear that their feelings haven’t changed. Will this time end in happily ever after or is history doomed to repeat itself?

Love In Its Season by Jude Knight, 5 stars – Jack Wrath is at loose ends, the injuries he sustained at Waterloo caused him to lose the use of one arm and ended his career in the cavalry. With no home to speak of, he escorts Dr. Adam Wagner home to Reabridge. Gwen Hughes has her hands full trying to run a farrier business and care for her father who is suffering from dementia. They meet when she is being harassed by a “handsy” customer and Jack intervenes, he sends the lordling on his way and offers to stay with her father when Gwen’s usual caregiver is unable to stay with him. Love blossoms, but can these two flawed people let go of their insecurities and claim their happily ever after?

I found all the novellas to be well-written and entertaining, they were all seamlessly connected and moved the underlying story of the toddler along nicely. The installments were filled with wonderful characters, lots of emotion, true love, acceptance, forgiveness, low/no steam love scenes, friendship, heartache, and lots of HEAs. I enjoyed this entire anthology and will definitely be adding some of these authors’ connected backlist books to my TBR pile!

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own.*

The Upright Son by Caroline Warfield

On By BarbaraIn Barb's Reviews, Part of a Series, Regency Era (1811-1820)Leave a comment

Barbara’s rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Ashmead Heirs #4
Publication Date: 6/30/22
Period: Regency – 1819
Number of Pages: 283

This was a delightfully delivered, well-paced ending to the Ashmead Heirs series. We got lovely visits with the Caulfield and Benson families who are twined together like pretzels. They are a wonderful lot and I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know each of them through their books. Now, finally, I have come to know and love David Caulfield, and not only is he a handsome fellow, but he is also a handsome person inside as well. He is everything his reprobate of a father was not and I loved getting to see his HEA. I wouldn’t say you would have to read all the books in the series to enjoy this one, but I think you’d need to read at least the first one to truly understand the family dynamic.

If you want to read this book without reading the others, I’ll tell you just a small bit of the series background. The previous Earl, David’s father, was a worthless excuse for a human being. He mistreated his children, didn’t care for his tenants or his estates, he didn’t care at all for his wife (I don’t blame him for that) and sired illegitimate children all over the place. When David defied him and married the woman he wanted to marry and he also challenged his father about the illegitimate children, the old Earl changed his will. He was a vengeful old reprobate. He left ALL of the unentailed properties and monies to those illegitimate children – and nothing to David or his sister. The previous books dealt with three of those illegitimate children, their inheritances, and their HEAs.

David and his land steward, Eli Benson, are finally seeing light at the end of the tunnel. All of the demands of his fathers will have been met and they are working to make the estates profitable again. David’s true love is England, his lands, and his tenants and he spends all of his time in London working in the House of Lords to make things better – to right wrongs. Some are wanting him to become Home Secretary – and – he wants that too. At least he does until he learns he’s going to have to do more socializing and host a house party for all those political wags. David is somewhat socially stiff and uncertain and he certainly doesn’t want to be pursued by marriage-minded mamas hoping to corral him into marriage with their insipid daughters.

Lady Delia Fitzwallace is a widow with three children. Her family is the owner of Graham Shipping and she was married off to the fourth son of a Duke. Now her husband is dead, her father-in-law is a nightmare, and she is finally free to live in the country. She’s never lived in the country, but she just knows it is the right place for her and her children. She always wanted a beautiful garden and now she has that in the dower house she’s leased from the estate of the Earl of Clarion. Bliss – sheer bliss!

Neither David nor Delia plan to remarry, but each is attracted to the other. Their first meeting was so entertaining. Delia and her children were at the stream collecting frog eggs – she fell in – and just as she was coming up out of the stream, David rode up on his horse. He thought she was a local farm wife and took exception to her and her children being on his land – only – he found out she was his tenant at the dowager house. Oops! This hoyden was a lady? No way!

This was a very nicely done feel-good story that perfectly wrapped up the series. I am so very glad I got to read it – and could happily read it again. Another good thing I learned is that this author has contracted for another series that will feature characters we met in this series. I’ll definitely be looking forward to reading the Entitled Gentlemen series featuring Madelyn’s (The Defiant Daughter) two step-sons and Jeffrey Graham (Delia’s brother) whom we met in this book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

View all my reviews