Review: Loving Helen (A Hearthfire Romance--Book 2) by Michele Paige Holmes

Loving Helen (A Hearthfire Romance Book 2) by Michele Paige Holmes

ebook, 227 pages

Published February 14th 2015 by Mirror Press 

Genre: Regency romance (clean)

Source: I received a copy from eBooks for review in exchange for an honest review

Description: From Amazon Top 100 Regency Romance author, Michele Paige Holmes, comes LOVING HELEN, a regency romance from the Hearthfire Romance series. Revisit the characters from SAVING GRACE in this story of Grace’s shy, younger sister.

Eighteen-year-old Helen Thatcher grew up under the protection of her older siblings, Grace and Christopher. Living in their shadows and keeping to herself suited Helen just fine—until she met widower Samuel Preston. Watching Mr. Preston care for his young daughter and seeing his concern extend to her own family, Helen felt her reserve slipping away, as she learned first to trust him and then realized she had fallen in love with him. But instead of returning—or even noticing her affection—Mr. Preston developed his own tender, and unrequited feelings, for Grace.

In the midst of each silently nursing their broken hearts, Helen and Samuel are faced with a daunting task—reuniting Grace with her fiancé, Nicholas Sutherland. Now it is Helen who must look out for her sister and sacrifice her own fragile heart, as she and Samuel pretend to be engaged. Helen finds the role surprisingly easy to play, allowing herself to imagine that Samuel’s loving remarks are sincere. As the time for their charade to end draws near Helen must summon her courage and tell Samuel the truth of her feelings, or risk losing him forever. 

My Review:  Loving Helen is a companion book to Saving Grace and I highly recommend reading Saving Grace first. The events that take place parallel each other, but are a completely different perspective and therefore, a completely different story, but a reader will be lost without reading the first book.

I adore Helen! She's the younger sister of Grace and Christopher and is shy. She enjoys keeping to herself, but when she meets young Beth, she can't help but fall in love with her...and with her father, Samuel. Helen is reserved, yet she's so much fun; she's quiet, but she has such great ideas; she knows what she wants, yet she is willing to sacrifice everything for her sister's happiness. Helen spans both ends of the spectrum, depending on her setting and there's so much to her personality. 

Samuel is a great father and as a widower, he's hesitant to jump into love again. When a charade is called for, he's completely on board and enjoys every minute of it. He's very kind and has a way of drawing a person out. He's very easy to fall for.

I love a story where there is a pretend relationship, especially one with sparks. This story was very romantic and I could feel the anticipation, but it was completely clean. I can't wait to read Christopher's story!

Content: Clean!

  

 

  Other Books in the Series:

Saving Grace (Book 1)

Marrying Christopher (Book 3 -- Coming Summer 2015)

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.