Mabel Crowley: Book One

Mabel Crowley, the only child of a wealthy English banker, wants nothing more than to be rid of her last name and wed her first love, stable-boy Charlie Archer, whose own hopes reside in becoming a partner in his father’s livery yard. Her parents forbid the union and whisk the impulsive child away to Bath so that she might forget her troubles. Distraught and vowing that she will never love again, Mabel impulsively accepts a teaching position while on vacation in Bath, certain that this will ensure her spinsterhood and prove her undying love for Charlie.

Irene Hartley, a five-year-old student desperately in love with her new teacher, persuades her parents to offer Mabel a position as governess to their growing brood. Her father is Theodore Hartley, the obscenely wealthy and renowned railroad tycoon. Theodore sees how his daughter has grown attached to Mabel, and after his wife dies in childbirth, he makes Mabel an offer of a permanent nature to make his eldest daughter happy. Still madly in love with Charlie, Mabel returns home to find out whether he has carried the same love in his heart in the years they’ve been apart. She finds him boarding a train, in uniform, ready to serve his country in World War I. Will she act once again on impulse, or will she make her decision based on hope for her future?

 

*May Contain Spoilers*

 

E.H. Nolan begins an epic tale of love and sacrifice with Mabel Crowley: Book One. Finding one's first love is always a life changing experience, but when it's true, that love never ends. Mabel and Charlie grew close as children and fell in love shortly thereafter. The differences in their social stations stopped them from joining their lives and each of them regret that decision every day.

 

Mabel Crowley is an emotional young girl at the beginning of the book. She has fanciful whims that often lead to passionate focus. She falls in love with Charlie and fears it is unreciprocated while her parents push her to understand that he's beneath her in social status. Readers will witness Mabel's growth into an intelligent young woman in this first book. Through heartbreak, Mabel finds that teaching is a respectable and fulfilling position. Readers will enjoy her love for children and understand her decision to remain unmarried, though we all hope she'll end up with Charlie in the end. As Mabel turns from teacher to governess, readers see her blossom into a loving and deeply caring woman. This lays a strong foundation that book two will surely build upon.

 

Since Charlie fell in love with Mabel, he's had eyes for no one else. Charlie is the heir of Archer and Sons, a business that boards horses and offers riding lessons. Charlie is a down to earth gentleman, focused and level-headed. Mabel is the only woman he has ever wanted but he's convinced himself that she's married and happy and has forgotten all about him. Readers will understand this line of thinking as it offers Charlie a chance to move on, but we know the truth. It seems that Mabel and Charlie are meant to be but will Nolan write them together or are the next installments filled with more heartache?

 

The love story of Mabel and Charlie seems doomed at the end of book one, but readers will be hoping for a miracle. After tragedy strikes, Mabel is offered a position to inherit a fortune and three children. It seems perfect but it comes with heavy stipulations. Meanwhile, Charlie is off to war to defend his country. Surely if there are four more books then Charlie doesn't meet death like everyone believes he will. The cliffhanger ending certainly adds an air of mystery and nervousness to the novel. The only thing I didn't like about the story is that I felt like it was being told to me instead of making me feel like I was part of it. The writing style is clear and concise, without a lot of flair or dramatics. Readers who enjoy easy reads with simple semantics will like Mabel Crowley as it has just enough action to keep readers engaged and a love story that resonates with many.

 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Painting the Moon

When Noelle Cooke inherits a quaint English cottage and an art gallery from her famous Aunt Joy, she welcomes a departure from her San Diego routine. But the lure of the Cotswolds, combined with a locked cottage room and a revealing journal, entice her to stay and discover more, including a way to save the gallery from financial ruin. And that means remaining in England.

When her childhood sweetheart, Adam Spencer, begins work on a restoration project in Noelle’s village, their friendship blossoms. But as her feelings for Adam deepen, she struggles with memories of what might have been and yearns for a future once thought lost. Faced with a life-altering revelation Aunt Joy took to her grave and a wrenching choice regarding the man she loves, Noelle could lose far more than her heart.

*May Contain Spoilers*

Traci Borum shares a romantic and touching story about a woman who gives up the life she knows for a chance at living meaningfully and having true love in her novel, Painting the Moon. Noelle flies across the pond to her inheritance in England and readers tag-a-long, witness of a chance to begin anew. 

Noelle is a Californian woman who dislikes her human resources job, often feeling lonely and bored. Then she receives unfortunate news of her Aunt's passing paired with happy news that she's the sole inheritor. England becomes her second chance at life, love, discovery, and happiness. Noelle rekindles old friendships and opens up. Readers see her personality blossoming with every day that passes. She begins studying art again and taking chances. The shift of perspective will reach out to readers, pulling them into Noelle's life. Though the story starts off slowly, the connection with and hope for Noelle only deepens as the plot progresses. 

The plot follows Noelle's inheritance of an English cottage and an art gallery that is going bankrupt. When she is given a strange letter from her deceased Aunt letting her know that there are secrets to be discovered and surprises in store, Noelle begins the search. She uncovers a locked room full of paintings that her Aunt never shared with the world. She also reconnects with her two best friends from childhood, Jill and Adam, which gives Noelle a chance at examining the feelings she had for Adam during her teenage years. Painting the Moon is a slow second chance for life and love. Definitely an end of summer, relax while you can, smile at the sentences, kind of novel. 

Rating: 3/5 Cups

Photo Friday

Found on Pinterest. https://www.flickr.com/photos/caleyseoras/4931014827/

Can we make these more popular? 

Duke For Hire

It begins with a woman looking for a husband.

Not love.

It also begins with the same woman mistaking a duke for a common business solicitor.

When he's hired by her to find her a husband, preferably, a duke, and preferably, on her list of acceptable dukes. He agrees. Because really, with those eyes, how could he say no to her?

Except he, being a duke, isn't on the list. And he just also happens to be the one who has fallen in love with her.

Poor Elinor, being set up to fall in love with James Tremont when all she wanted was an acceptable marriage.

**

It's obvious to see that what Elinor really wants is just that, love. Only she believes (after her first husband was overly cruel) that it won't ever exist for her. After being hurt, we're all cautious to jump back in the world of relationships, and that is exactly where the reader connects with Elinor. Making this love story, Mad About the Duke by Elizabeth Boyle, laugh out loud funny and hopelessly endearing.

Mad About the Duke on Amazon

rating: 4/5 cups

As Many Twists as a Maze

Erica James does more than surprise the hell out of her readers with The Queen of New Beginnings. When Clayton Miller is accused of a more than horrendous act - he goes into hiding and he meets the voice-over actress Alice Shoemaker whilst in the middle of his current illness, writer's block.

When she opens the door to his creative mind, both Clayton and Alice receive more than they've bargained for. With as many twists as a maze and gruesome confessions, The Queen of New Beginnings evokes a diverse array of feelings from the reader that will leave them looking to their own past to find their future.

* *

The plot of this novel was wonderfully laid out and kept me guessing as to what I thought would happen next. Alice was an amazing true to life friend that I had the pleasure of relating to. Hiding behind a faux self-image to protect herself from a world that had shown her just how harsh it could be, Alice fought back against the world, hoping that someday she would find the perfect person that would allow her true-self to shine. 

The other characters in this novel were unique, quirky, tornado representation of people. Erica James didn't hesitate to give each person good and bad qualities. I found myself searching for a mirror to hold up to each character just to ask them: "What the hell are you doing?"

The only problem I had with this novel was the pace. And I know this because it took me more than a week to read it. When I read a novel, I sit down and in (usually) two days time, I'm finished. However, with novels that have a pacing problem, I find the novel drawn out to nearly a week. I can't be too upset with this small detail because I feel that the plot was drawn out to give the readers a chance to connect with the characters. Which worked out rather perfectly. 

The Queen of New Beginnings on Amazon

rating: 3/5 cups

Clash of Pretenders

Why is it that certain people force us to hide our true selves, to pretend to be someone more accepting, someone not like ourselves at all? Does it have to do with first impressions, making a good impression, or the innate want to be liked and to please? The main characters in Erica James' novel The Queen of New Beginnings pretend to be people they aren't and struggle with who they are beneath the skin.

Alice is a voice-over actress who lives in the real world as little as possible. She keeps everyone at arms length and if that boundary is threatened the relationship is neatly severed.

Mr. Shannon, whose name isn't Mr. Shannon, did something so horrible that he must hide from everyone, especially the media. He's hated by nearly the entire British population and thus, he never leaves his rented country house.

Do we as people focus on pleasing those around us so much that we'll deny ourselves any definite identity?

When Alice and Mr. Shannon come together as two people pretending to be someone they're not, a clash of identities consequently occurs leaving the reader laughing yet nervous at what lays just beneath the surface.

Currently looking forward to the clash.