Saving Grace (A Hearthfire Romance Book 1)
by Michele Paige Holmes
ebook, 380 pages
Published
October 15th 2014
by Mirror Press
Source: I received a copy in exchange for an honest review
Description: From
Whitney Award Winning Author, Michele Paige Holmes, comes SAVING GRACE,
a regency romance from the Hearthfire Romance series:
After the death of her grandfather, the Duke of Salisbury, Grace Thatcher wants nothing more than to live quietly in the country with her younger siblings. Her father’s debts thwart those plans, and to protect her sister, Helen, Grace must marry a man of her father’s choosing.
As each suitor proves less than desirable, Grace comes up with clever schemes, causing each to reject her. While staying at the mysterious Sutherland Hall, a middle-of-the-night mishap sends Grace into the arms of a stranger, Nicholas Sutherland—and provides inspiration for her grandest plan yet—one that will leave her reputation in tatters yet free both her and Helen from all possibility of marriage.
Too late Grace regrets her rash actions when her father’s last choice, Mr. Samuel Preston, proves to be a gentleman and a friend. But Samuel is the sworn enemy of Nicholas Sutherland, the man responsible for her “ruin.” Now instead of being free, Grace is caught between two men—each with his own agenda.
After the death of her grandfather, the Duke of Salisbury, Grace Thatcher wants nothing more than to live quietly in the country with her younger siblings. Her father’s debts thwart those plans, and to protect her sister, Helen, Grace must marry a man of her father’s choosing.
As each suitor proves less than desirable, Grace comes up with clever schemes, causing each to reject her. While staying at the mysterious Sutherland Hall, a middle-of-the-night mishap sends Grace into the arms of a stranger, Nicholas Sutherland—and provides inspiration for her grandest plan yet—one that will leave her reputation in tatters yet free both her and Helen from all possibility of marriage.
Too late Grace regrets her rash actions when her father’s last choice, Mr. Samuel Preston, proves to be a gentleman and a friend. But Samuel is the sworn enemy of Nicholas Sutherland, the man responsible for her “ruin.” Now instead of being free, Grace is caught between two men—each with his own agenda.
My Review: I love a good Regency romance and this one was great! When Grace attempts to escape a man who has less than desirable intentions, she finds herself without a carriage and with poor health in the middle of the night. Her servants take her to a home to rest up and she ends up in the funniest situation. It had me laughing out loud! That's where the story really got interesting.
I wasn't really excepting a love triangle, but that what happened. Grace is very clever, resourceful, and kind-hearted. She will go to any length to finally be free of her father--including "ruining" herself. I adored her character. Grace is a good mixture of strong and meek, if that makes any sense.
There's something about Grace that both endears her to Nicholas and riles him up. He is a suspicious man by nature, one who holds grudges for far too long, but he's a big softie with so many walls built around his heart, that it's hard to break in. He can be gruff and prickly, yet underneath that exterior, I really liked him.
Samuel, the closest neighbor, doesn't need anyone else to blame him for things that have happened in his life--he heaps enough guilt on himself. Grace regrets trying to ruin herself when she realizes that Samuel is a very kind man and a dear friend. From what I read, I was expecting to hate Samuel, but there's more to him than I realized.
I enjoyed watching the story and relationships play out. There were some secrets that needed to be uncovered and a few things that needed to be resolved. I thought everything was wrapped up nicely when a few twists happened that I wasn't expecting. I love to be surprised! This is going to be a fun, new series.
Content: no language or violence; mild romance--very brief and vague talk of mistresses, mild kissing. Clean!
About the Author:
Michele
Paige Holmes spent her childhood and youth in Arizona and northern
California, often curled up with a good book instead of out enjoying
the sunshine. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree
in Elementary Education, and found it an excellent major in which to
indulge her love of children’s literature. Her first novel, Counting Stars (Covenant Communications 2007), won the 2007 Whitney Award for best romance. Her companion novel, a romantic suspense titled, All the Stars in Heaven (Covenant 2009), was a Whitney finalist, as was her first historical romance, Captive Heart (Covenant 2011). My Lucky Stars (Covenant 2012) completed the Stars series.
After having a novella published in A Timeless Romance Anthology European Collection (Mirror Press, 2013), Michele decided to focus on historical romance and began Hearthfire Historicals, with the debut novel Saving Grace. A companion novella, Loving Helen will be released February 2015.
Michele has been a member of the same critique group for over fourteen years and feels privileged to meet with fellow authors Annette Lyon, Heather B. Moore, LuAnn Staheli, Sarah M. Eden, J. Scott Savage, and Robison Wells. She has been a member of RWA and URWA, LDStorymakers, and The League of Utah Writers. Michele enjoys both attending and teaching at conferences.
When not reading or writing romance, Michele is busy with her full time job as a wife and mother. She and her husband live in Utah with their five high maintenance children and a Shitzu that resembles a teddy bear, in a house with a wonderful view of the mountains. You can find Michele on the web at michelepaigeholmes.com and on Facebook and twitter.
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