Anita Ojeda I receive free electronic advanced reader copies of these books through an arrangement between the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion on NetGalley’s website. I only review books on my blog that I really love.
Brush up on your tropes and read all about this inspirational second chance romance novel from one of my favorite authors!
What is a Second Chance Romance Novel?
Romance novels and movies have basic tropes (a common theme found and expected in the story). Elizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice provide the perfect example of three tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Opposites Attract, and Fish Out of Water (Elizabeth is at the bottom of the social class Darcy belongs to).
One of my favorite tropes involves the second chance romance novel. Pair it with history (I adore historical novels), intrigue, and suspense; you have the perfect book to curl up with over a lazy summer weekend.
In the Shelter of Hollythorne House (A House of Yorkshire Novel)
By Sarah E. Ladd, Thomas Nelson, July 11, 2023, 352 pages.
The Heroine
When Anthony Welbourne leaves for war, he takes Charlotte Grey’s heart along with him. As every good daughter in Regency England knows, one cannot marry outside of one’s social class. And one can certainly never marry the nephew of a man one’s father despises. So Charlotte sets aside her feelings and does what every obedient daughter does—marry a man her father thinks will suit her.
Little does her father know Charlotte’s husband, Roland Prior, harbors sinister designs beneath his pleasant façade. When Charlotte finds Roland dead of apoplexy in his study after only four years of marriage, she wastes no time in mourning. She knows she must flee to the shelter of her childhood home with her infant son, Henry, if she wishes to extract her son from the clutches of the Prior men.
Her brother-in-law, Silas, arranges for guards from the famous Walstead’s watchmen to escort Charlotte to Blight Moor. Begrudgingly, Charlotte agrees. But when one of the watchmen turns out to be her beloved Anthony, Charlotte doesn’t know how to react.
The Hero
Anthony Welbourne loved Charlotte from the moment he saw her. But as a mill owner’s nephew, he knew they had no future together. Instead, he fulfilled his father’s dying wish and bought a British army commission to fight in the newly formed United States.
He returns to England scarred and broken and forced to sell his commission. A faithful friend helps him find a job as a thief-taker and guard, and Anthony settles into the lonely life of a man determined to help others find justice.
When he comes face to face with the only woman he’s ever loved on his latest assignment, Anthony is shocked by her changed appearance. Thin and wan, she doesn’t resemble the carefree woman he left four years ago. He’ll do anything to help her regain her spark, even if it means keeping secrets from his friend and partner.
As Charlotte settles into Hollythorne House, hope slowly builds that she can regain her life and set her estate in order. Until someone threatens her son. Together Charlotte and Anthony must uncover a sinister plot that threatens to everything Charlotte holds dear.
What I Loved About This Book
Ladd has penned another sweet Regency romance laced with suspense and mystery. Readers will relate to Charlotte and Anthony as they struggle to work through regrets, abuse, and the horrors of war. Despite the odds, the hero and heroine find a way to overcome their pasts and take hold of their second chance at love.
Fans of Julie Klassen and Abigail Wilson will love this book.
What about you? What is your favorite inspirational trope? Do you love second chance romance novels? Enemies to lovers (‘lover’ in the chaste, wait-until-married sense, of course)? Some people call these romance tropes cliches, but readers also find them comfortable like a favorite pair of jeans or an old sweatshirt. If you prefer to read modern-day romances, you can check out Emma St. Clair’s Love Cliches series. They’re laugh-out-loud funny, and you’ll learn about the different tropes.
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Hey Anita, thank you bunches and bunches for hosting this awesome community.
I’m not really into Romance novels, I do enjoy a good fictional ‘who done it’ though. 😊
Blessings, Jennifer
I enjoy a well-done Romance novel, but I abhor the ones who turn the hero into a buffoon and the heroine into the one who saves the day. I enjoy characters spar as equals. I’m a huge fan of 30s and 40s era novel like D.E. Stevensons.
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