Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Ashmead Heirs #3
Publication Date: 1/27/22
Period: Regency – Ashmead and London
Number of Pages: 270

I have been thoroughly enjoying this series. Eli has been my very favorite supporting character from the beginning, so I have been waiting – not very patiently – for his story, and it is finally here with the absolutely perfect match for him. You can totally read this as a standalone, but I have absolutely no idea why you’d want to. If you don’t know the ‘backstory’ to the series, it is definitely a unique one. The previous Earl of Clarion was a real piece of work – in the most unflattering ways. He was cruel, overbearing, abusive, uncaring, and he left a plethora of illegitimate children scattered across the countryside. Those children share something other than a father – they ALL have the red hair and green eyes for which the Caulfield ancestors have been famous. When his legitimate children both challenged him – in different ways – he changed his will to spite them. Since he couldn’t keep his son from inheriting the title or the entailed properties, he paupered the earldom by leaving all of the unentailed property, monies, and valuables to his illegitimate children – and he left absolutely nothing to his legitimate daughter. However, it seems there was one illegitimate child about which he didn’t know, and she is our female lead in this story. You will adore her – she is strong, smart, loyal, practical, loving, and nobody’s fool. She might be a tiny little thing, but she is a warrior at heart.

Frances Hancock has certainly been treated shoddily by the men in her life – but she is neither resentful nor bitter about it. She is, however, determined that her natural father provides her with help in some way. If he doesn’t, she and her two half-siblings will be out of food and a home without a farthing to help them recover. She cannot allow that to happen and she determines to travel from Manchester to Ashmead to confront the man who sired her and then ignored both her and her mother. When she arrives, tired and bedraggled from travel, she learns that the earl who fathered her has died and the estate doesn’t have any obligation to assist her in any way. Oh! No! All is not lost because the new earl is as good and the old one was bad. He’ll help if he can, but he has little with which to offer that help.

Eli Benson has been in each of the books and I’ve loved him in each. Eli is everybody’s go-to person. Whatever the problem or issue – the answer is – Mr. Benson will fix it. Yes, he is definitely a fixer. Eli isn’t the typical hero of which young girls dream. No, he’s ordinary looking, not overly tall, with regular brown hair and eyes, not gifted with athletic prowess. Eli is just the most amazing man. While he isn’t the typical hero-type – I’m betting he is the type of man we all end up choosing for ourselves in the end. He’s loyal, steadfast, highly intelligent, compassionate, loving – well – you name it and Eli is all of those good things. So, when a lovely young woman with Caulfield hair and eyes shows up on the earl’s doorstep, he is all empathy. He knows, however, that the estate absolutely cannot afford any financial gifts to the young lady. He also knows the earl will probably want to do something and it will be up to him to figure out what and how.

Eli elects to travel back to Manchester with Fanny in order to try to sort out her most immediate problems – namely having her property foreclosed leaving her and her siblings destitute. Goodness – all fury breaks out from that point forward – we have kidnappings, rescues, highwaymen, debauched potentates, slave trade, human trafficking and so much more. There is plenty of action – and plenty of romance – and – dare I say it – jealousy.

I definitely recommend this book and this series. It is excellently written, the plot is interesting, the timing is perfect, and – well – I already told you the characters are absolutely perfect for each other. Read it – you won’t regret it.

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

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Barbara’s rating: 5 of 5 Stars
Series: The Ashmead Heirs #2
Publication Date: 10/21/21
Period: Regency Ashmead and Wales
Number of Pages: 277

I met and loved Brynn and Maddy in the first book of the series, The Wayward Son, and I couldn’t wait for their book. I’m here to tell you, it was worth the wait! This writer’s work always warms my heart and makes it soar, and that was definitely true with this book. I adored the characters and was so happy to see their personal growth throughout the book. Then, there are the secondary characters, Rhys, Gideon, and Philip – OMGoodness – though they aren’t Ashmead heirs, they definitely need their own books.

Lady Madelyn (Maddy) Tavernash, widowed Duchess of Glenmoor, was in a seriously abusive marriage and when her husband died, she walked away and never looked back. For the last ten years, she has been living at her brother’s estate because she refused to take any settlement from the Glenmoor estate. She may be living in lesser circumstances, but her life is quiet and peaceful – just as she wants it – until it isn’t. When she begins to enjoy the company of one of her brother Rob’s wedding guests AND she learns that her stepson is being accosted and threatened, her peace and quiet come to a rapid end and she finds herself doing things she never thought to do again.

Colonel Brynn Morgan is retired from the military and trying to determine what he wants to do with the rest of his life. He’s accepted employment with the Home Office under the leadership of Viscount Rockford and spends his days analyzing reports on ports and troops, etc. While helping his good friend Robert (Rob) Benson unearth and thwart a villain at his newly inherited estate, he meets a most intriguing woman. He enjoys teasing her but knows she has serious issues of her own. Brynn has plenty of issues himself and he certainly cannot pursue a relationship with the lady – especially since she is a duchess and he isn’t an aristocrat of any sort. She sure does call to him though.

When the two of them are thrown together in an effort to help one of Maddy’s stepsons (Philip) and to determine what actually happened to the other (Gideon), they each have to begin to deal with their personal demons. Brynn’s demons rear their ugly heads more and more as they draw nearer their destination – Brynn’s childhood home and his younger brother Rhys.

With danger lurking and futures at stake, Maddy and Bryn must finally confront their feelings and decide how they’ll deal with them.

I definitely recommend this book because I absolutely loved it and can hardly wait for the next one, The Forgotten Daughter, which releases in January. I hope you’ll choose to read it and love it as much as I did.

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

View all my reviews