Sophie Reads YA: Nadine Millard

2023 New Release challenge

ARC Review: A Winter Wedding (A Lord for All Seasons #4) by Nadine Millard

13:00

A Winter Wedding
Series: A Lord for All Seasons #4
Author: Nadine Millard
Published February 7th 2023 by Dragonblade Publishing Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
Her passion had caught him by surprise and it had been his undoing.

As the youngest of the notorious Templeworth girls, Sophia is determined to be the last of her sisters to remain unwed and unburdened by the shackles of marriage. If she had her way, she’d only have contact with males of the four-legged variety. Namely her horses. And it looks as though that’s exactly how her life will go.

Until the duke.

Devon Blake, the illustrious Duke of Farnshire, is used to getting what he wants, when he wants it. But when Fate lands him with two orphaned charges and absolutely no idea what to do with them, he’s rattled for the first time in his life. He decides that the best thing he can do is find a wife to help navigate this new, terrifying situation. And of course, any woman would kill for the job.

Except Sophia.

With Sophia determined to remain single, and Devon determined to make her his duchess, one of them will have to cave.

Will it be the most stubborn woman in England, or the most determined duke in Scotland who wins?

Will they part as enemies, or will the dashing lord get his winter wedding?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Sophie Templeton may be the last unwed sister, but she is in no hurry to change that. Her sisters are sickeningly happy in love with their titled husbands, but other than them, she's never found a person she wants to spend time with. No, Sophia is more happy to spend time in the stables, but Devon Blake, the Duke of Farnshire, and his young niece and nephew may be the ones to make her reconsider. The first they met Devon was intrigued with Sophia, but he soon had his sister's orphaned children to care for. Now in company again for Christmas, he sees that Heather and Finn need a mother, and that Sophia will be perfect. But can he convince her of that?

I was expecting Sophia's book to be something, and this was definitely right. Sophia was happy for her sisters, and loved spending time at their homes - mainly to be away from her mother and her plans to marry Sophia off - but no one had ever caught her fancy like Devon had. She cares for him, but fights the attraction. Seeing Sophia turn all mama bear over the children when their nanny is abusive was perfect for her, and I loved that she took them into her heart immediately. Though their relationship wasn't the simplest, it was right for Sophia and Devon, and a great way to end the series!

Dates Read:
January 28, 2023

Rating
3 Stars

2022 New Release challenge

ARC Review: A Forgotten Fall (A Lord for All Seasons #3) by Nadine Millard

12:00

A Forgotten Fall
Series: A Lord for All Seasons #3
Author: Nadine Millard
Published September 16th 2022 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
All she's ever wanted is freedom, challenge, and adventure. But the longer she spends with the wounded soldier from her past the more she realizes she might just want him.

Francesca Templeworth has never met a man that didn’t somehow disappoint her. While other girls her age dreamed of love and romance and marriage, she wanted adventure and challenges and freedom.

No man has ever held her interest. No man but Adam Fairchild, who’d gone off to war and had never come back.

Adam Fairchild has spent years running from the demons he encountered on the battlefield of war, from a past that he no longer remembers, and a present reality that feels too heavy a burden to carry. Returning to Halton he hopes to find a safe haven. What he finds instead is Francesca Templeworth, a pretty girl with a sharp wit who’s turned into a beautiful woman with a smart mouth.

All Adam wants is to hide himself away, miserable in the darkness. But he didn’t count on the most stubborn woman in all of Christendom insisting on dragging him back into the light.

Francesca can’t fight her attraction to Adam any more than Adam can fight is own to her. But until he learns to let go of the past, what hope do they have of a future together?

Adam is the one man she’s never forgotten. But the question is, will he let himself fall?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Everyone who knows Francesca Templeton knows that she is adamant she won't marry. But, she's keeping a secret. Since she was young, she's harboured a crush on Adam Fairchild, the son of a neighbouring nobleman, who heads off to war and hasn't been seen from since. Presumed dead, when Adam arrives home, now the Marquess, he's forgotten just about everyone, but he remembers his 'Sunshine', particularly when Cheska refuses to let him wallow in this suffering. After an accident means that Cheska has to stay at his estate for a few weeks, both allow they high walls to crumble, and soon the attraction is too much to fight. But Adam is scarred by his past, and he feels that Francesca deserves someone less broken, less problematic as he. However, Cheska has other ideas, and Adam needs to realise that when she puts her mind to something, she's bound to succeed.

Again, every book in the series is better than the last. Cheska's story was one I was really looking forward to, and the fact that her romance was with someone from her past, was perfect for the Cheska we knew. She was headstrong, intelligent, and driven, but she hid her tendre for Adam from her nearest and dearest, but the Templeton sisters are nothing if not nosy, and they can see clearly what Adam and Cheska try to hide. Now that Gideon and Christian are fully fledged members of the family, they see themselves as brothers to Cheska, and what to protect her, but she knows best, and she won't let anyone, not least Adam, keep them apart. Adam was someone I really felt for. What he witnessed and experienced at war had changed him, and his trauma was something he couldn't see himself overcoming. When he hurts Cheska during a PTSD episode, he couldn't forgive himself, but Cheska prevailed, and slowly, Adam's demons were released, and he could see a way forward for the first time since he woke up from his injuries. Now, I just can't wait for Sophia's story, and I think that the friend Adam mentioned as also being horse mad may be her future husband!

Dates Read:
October 1-2, 2022

Rating
3 Stars

2022 New Release challenge

ARC Review: Midsummer Madness (A Lord for All Seasons #2) by Nadine Millard

11:00

Midsummer Madness
Series: A Lord for All Seasons #2
Author: Nadine Millard
Published June 9th 2022 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
He wasn’t ruined by past mistakes. He’d just been waiting for Hope. For his salvation.

Hope Templeworth has established herself as the flirt of the notorious Templeworth girls. Having spent her life being told that her beauty is her only true asset, it’s no surprise that she uses it to her advantage on occasion.

Hope wants adventure, and epic romance. Anything but the humdrum life of a small village.

A chance encounter with a tall, dark, and handsome stranger has Hope believing that she might be on the way to getting what she wants. That is until she finds out he’s the new village vicar.

Gideon Bell, Earl of Claremont doesn’t think he’ll find anything to distract him from the mess he’s made of his life. That is of course until he comes across a half-naked woman walking out of a lake. A woman who just so happens to be the most beautiful creature he’s ever seen.

But if the past has taught him anything it’s that the more beautiful a woman is, the more likely she is to cause you trouble.

Yet he can’t seem to keep away from the beautiful Hope. Especially when he realizes that contrary to being after his title, she has mistaken him for his brother, the reverend. Because if there’s one thing Gideon is sure of it’s that he’s about as far from a man of God as one can get.

Hope and Gideon clash again and again in a series of misunderstandings, mishaps and mayhem. But the more time they spend trying to avoid each other, the more they realize that even though it’s madness, there’s something between them that neither is willing to let go of.

And when Gideon’s past catches up to him, both Gideon and Hope will need to decide if the feelings growing between them are worth the madness they can’t seem to escape.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

All the residents of Halton know the Templeton sisters, and Hope is the beautiful and flirtatious one. But, she wants people to see her as more than her face, so when she comes upon a stranger as she leaves the lake following a swim - half naked to top it all off - she decides to brazen it out. Coming across the handsome stranger again, and realising he lied about being the new vicar - that was his brother Kit - and he is in fact Gideon Bell, Earl of Claremont, Hope is determined to hate him. But the longer the pair are in company, it's clear the attraction between them is more than either can fight, but their past won't allow them to trust their instincts, and they may be doomed to lose their love.

As soon as Gideon and Hope met, it was clear they were bound for an epic romance. I think I liked this book even more than the first one, as the characters seemed more right for each over. Gideon had had a traumatic experience with the woman who later became his step mother, and was determined to not fall in love, and not marry any time soon. But meeting Hope, here was the only woman who made him feel more than a touch of lust, and he found himself imagining a future, with children and happiness, for the first time. I liked that Hope didn't back down from her ideals, and she wanted to be more than just a pretty face. This was such a fun read, and I'm really looking forward to reading the next book now!

Dates Read:
October 1, 2022

Rating
3 Stars

2022 New Release challenge

ARC Review: A Springtime Scandal (A Lord for All Seasons #1) by Nadine Millard

10:00

A Springtime Scandal
Series: A Lord for All Seasons #1
Author: Nadine Millard
Published March 15th 2022 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc.

Goodreads Synopsis
Elodie Templeworth has always been the good sister. The well-behaved sister. The sister on whose shoulders the fate of their family rested.

With three incorrigible younger siblings, Elodie has always made sure she was perfect, above reproach with not a hint of scandal attached to her name. And she was doing a wonderful job of it, too. Until him.

Christian Harrison, Viscount of Brentford could think of little worse than being stuck in some small, country hamlet with nobody and nothing to entertain him. The beautiful Elodie Templeworth had caught his eye. But after a short time in her company he realized that even beauty couldn’t make up for boring, pious purity.

An unfortunate misunderstanding leads to a potential scandal for Elodie and Christian leading Christian to discover that all is not so innocent and demure with the fiery Miss Templeworth. And he’s more than a little intrigued by the passion lurking beneath her rigid composure. Not enough to help her out of a sticky situation though.

He’s ready to wash his hands of Elodie, her family, and the madcap town they all live in. But Elodie has different ideas.

With little options left available to her, she decides the viscount is going to help her escape her village, and the consequences of their actions, with or without his knowledge.

Their forced proximity isn’t what either of them wanted, but as time goes on, and attraction grows, perhaps it’s not so bad after all.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

As the eldest Templeworth sister, Elodie has the fate of the whole family on her shoulders. She must be perfect, and above reproach, so being discovered lying atop Christian Harrison, Viscount of Brentford, is nearly enough to ruin them all. The last thing Christian wanted was to be in the small village, with little to no entertainment, but he's drawn to the eldest Miss Templeworth. When the scandal breaks, Elodie needs nothing more than to escape Halton, and her mother, and so she stows away in Christian's carriage as he's heading to London. Giving him little say in the matter, the couple are stuck together until London, at the very least, and the proximity is setting the sparks alight.

I really felt for Elodie in this book. She had a selfish mother, and three unruly sisters, to control, so all the pressure was on her, and she was bound to crack at some point. After a complete misunderstanding which set her mother off, claiming she would need to be married off, Elodie had to flee, and hiding in Christian's carriage was the perfect choice. I loved how funny this book was at times. The couple had such a witty banter, and the situation they found themselves in was both humorous and heartfelt at times. A really great start to a new series, and one I'm looking forward to continuing.

Dates Read:
March 12-13, 2022

Rating
3 Stars