SERIES OVERVIEW
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BREE WOLF is a USA Today bestselling author and award-winning word wizard, who is rarely seen without a book in hand or fingers glued to the keyboard.
She lost yesterday, but they could still find tomorrow.
The sad truth is: Martha cannot remember her life. Or her family. Or even her own name.
After being fished out of the sea three years ago, Martha has been living at an abbey, unable to unearth more than little bits and pieces about herself. Her joy of gardening. Her love for the outdoors. Her unruly tongue…that utters too much instead of keeping it safely sealed inside.
But Martha is content…or tries to be…
…at least until a dashing young gentleman comes to the abbey one day and upends her life yet again.
Because, apparently, her name is not Martha. Of course!
Her name is Agnes Bottombrock. Yugh!
Or it used to be because, now, she is AGNES BARRETT, COUNTESS OF WENTFORD. Truly?
And…she is his wife! Sigh!
The moment GRANT BARRETT, EARL OF WENTFORD, met his Nessa for the very first time, he believed himself lost in a dream. He loved the unflinching way her eyes met his. He loved how she snapped at him to stay away from her. He loved the way her breath shuddered past her lips as he drew closer.
He loved her.
And then he lost her.
Forced to bury his heart, Grant spent three endless years mourning his wife, missing his wife, yearning for his wife…until a rumor sends him up north to a remote abbey. As though nothing happened, Nessa suddenly stands before him once again, not a figment of his imagination, not a distant memory, but a woman of flesh and blood.
A woman who does not remember him.
Or their love.
Yet Grant is far from discouraged. After the insurmountable chasm of death that stood between them before, conquering his wife’s heart all over again should be an easy feat, should it not?
Brimming with emotional angst, family bonds, and redemptive romance, How to Wake a Sleeping Lady is a stirring story that speaks to the enduring power of love, forgiveness, and finding one’s way back home.
BREE WOLF is a USA Today bestselling author and award-winning word wizard, who is rarely seen without a book in hand or fingers glued to the keyboard.
This book follows on from How to Live Happily Ever After but can be read as a standalone as all the necessary back story is covered in the prologue. This is a romantic story of a fated pair who are ripped apart, with neither knowing that the other is alive. The torment is much worse for Grant as he mourns the loss of his wife everyday despite having remarried to give his daughter a mother. Nessie on the other hand has lost her memory, with the entirety of her past gone and it is only through the efforts of her father who never gives up hope that she is found. With his second marriage declared void, Grant takes steps to protect her by persuading a reclusive friend to marry her but is reluctant to tell Nessie of her existence and perhaps lose her again. And so begins a quest to get Nessie to fall in love with him again, whilst keeping secrets that have him walking on thin ice! The discovery of each secret furthers Nessie’s doubts, as does a letter that throws doubt on their previous relationship. Can Nessie learn to trust and fall in love for a second time?
An enjoyable story and a second chance at a forgotten love. Grant and Nessa are wonderful characters, an entertaining journey back to their happily ever after.
This book is the delightful conclusion to Grant and Nessa's story. Seven years have passed since Grant and Nessa married. Three years ago, Nessa was in a horrific carriage accident and was swept out to sea and presumed dead. A year ago, Grant's mother convinced him to marry Eugenie, a young debutante, to be a mother for Millie, Grant and Nessa's young daughter. This book is the perfect blend of romance and a mystery of what happened to Nessa! WONDERFUL!
I really enjoyed this book. Each of these is a stand-alone based on a different fairy tale, this one being Sleeping Beauty.
The main characters, Nessa and Grant are devine, each with their own strengths and weaknesses and I loved them both. And then there is the daughter who absolutely grabbed my heart and didn't let go.
There is the horrid mother-in-law and a lovely, caring father/grandfather too as well as some other interesting characters.
The mystery of Nessa's loss of memory is solved and, oh yes, a second wife enters the picture too.
The story just flows out of Bree Wolf's pen and it conjures up pictures as one read it. So this is a definite recommend because I loved every second of it!
It was quite different in parts to the usual run of the mill ones which have been published of late, so that was quite refreshing.
Dalton and Evelyn made such a splendid couple and I loved their method of wagering which was so unique.
They definitely had their ups and downs while navigating the path to their happy ever after but that made this story very much more interesting and I found lots of enjoyment in this.
It was an entertaining story with Evelyn showing us just how full of life she was. Oh my, the things she got up to!
I have just finished reading an advance copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving my review.
Another great book from Charlie Lane. Thanks to Wolf Publishing for the ARC. Third in the series “A Gentleman’s Guide to Courtship,” we now get a closer look at the third sister, Prudence, and her brother’s (Duke of Clearford) efforts to get her married. He still hasn’t realized how unhelpful his gentleman’s guide is. Early in the book, he does something that irritates Prudence. Because she knows he always carries knives with him so he can target practice, she asks him, “Where is your knife? Come. I know you have it on your person.” He suspiciously asks her why she wants it, and she responds, “I would like to stab you with it.”
Just like her older sisters, Prudence is determined not to marry, so she spends a good portion of her time trying to evade suitors. And she’s pretty good at it. Unfortunately, Mr. Benjamin Bailey, the American, has an uncanny skill of finding her wherever she is.
Prudence has become best friends with Cora, the “naughty” poet who shares her risque works with women in the secret group from previous insttallments in this series. When her older sisters married, they decided to discontinue their involvement in the lending library, but Prudence has decided to continue the work alongside her friend Cora. Prudence is very organized and punctual. She is also, surprisingly, rather prim and proper and doesn’t wish to step outside of the lines that have been drawn for her (with the exception of marriage, which she is adamantly against). The truth is, she feels as if all of her other sisters outshine her so she tends to “embrace her habitual invisibility.” It’s true; most men don’t seem to notice her, and we find out more about her motivations later, but to her dismay, Mr. Bailey always does.
Ben came to America after his parents died and is single-minded in his commitment to opening a print shop called Bailey’s Prints to honor his dead parents and the business they had in Boston. He believes her drove the business into the ground after they died; it isn’t until much later that we find out he was only 15 and unequipped to handle a business. That doesn’t stop him from feeling guilt. Meanwhile, he hides behind a disheveled and untamed look that keeps proper society from acknowledging him. And his habits of disorganization and lack of discipline are the antithesis to everything that’s important to Prudence.
The Duke of Clearford is puzzled by his sisters and wants to find out what secrets they’ve been keeping from him. He promises to give his shares of the print shop to Ben if Ben will pretend to court Prudence and find out what they’ve been hiding. Due to the duke’s insistence and the goading of Viscount Norton, Ben changes his entire appearance—cuts his hair, shaves his beard, wears clothes that fit properly, and so on. I love what Norton said to Ben regarding courting Prudence (he thought it was genuine): “Can’t be trusted because you don’t take the clear steps to obtain that which you desire. You just sulk about wishing someone would pick you up when you’re a burnt, mangled tart, last batch of the day, and you do nothing to make yourself appealing… Because it’s about pleasing others so they wish to have you.”
Prudence is clever enough to realize he is not actually interested in her, and she’s not interested in him, but somewhere along the way that changes. For both of them. By the time Ben realizes he’s in love with Prudence, he’s afraid to tell her that her brother made him court her because he doesn’t want to hurt her. And Prudence is disappointed in herself because “She’d not allocated time for falling in love, but Mr. Bailey had never seemed to care for schedules, and he’d scrambled the ledger of her heart into utter chaos.”
The character development for both Ben and Prudence is deep and poignant. Both experienced the loss of their parents at a young age, and both were irrevocably changed by that. They are ideally well-matched to help one another heal from that loss. Over the course of the story, Ben comes to understand what’s most important to him, and the best way he can honor his parents’ memory is by putting love first. Meanwhile, with Ben’s help, Prudence comes to understand her worth and see herself differently. Predictably, Prudence finds out about Ben’s initial reluctance to court her and decides she can no longer trust him or believe that he loves her. Most of her anger, though, is reserved for her brother and she calls him the “arse-end of a…a…hedgehog!” Luckily, Ben had already helped Prudence to see herself through his eyes so the revelation does not destroy her as Ben had feared it would. And she still loves him; while he is disconsolate without her. She forgives him, eventually, and we get our HEA.
This series is full of surprises, Sister no 3, Prudence, the organiser, the sister who keeps to the shadows, who doesnt want a husband. Her Brother who is determined to find out why she does not wish to marry, and persuades his friend to find out. Enter Ben, prepared to go to any lengths to get what he wants, even a complete makeover, and a houseparty. Spending time with Pru changes his perspective, and he realises what he really wants and needs. The story was fun, and i like the banter between the characters, and the growth of the family. Each story is so different, I really am looking forward to the future instalments.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I would like to thank Wolf Publishing for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
A lovely e ending to the trilogy.
Evelyn Markham is determined not to marry the man her father has decided she should marry. Dalton Rochester is determined not to act on his feelings for Evelyn since she is the younger sister of his best friend.
Evelyn decides to approach Rochester for help to make sure she does not have to marry the man. All she wants from him is a little help in breaking a few rules but nothing too serious. Rochester does not want anything to do with this scheme especially the breaking of rules part.
Let the fun adventure begin!! I really loved Evelyn and Rochester’s story it was a lot of fun to read!! The book was very entertaining with all the witty banter between them and the twist and turns it took to get to their happy ending. I highly recommend this book and can’t wait for the next book in the series!!