Mischief and Manors Book Reviewed

I have recently started reading through the Change of Heart book series by Ashtyn Newbold and I have not been disappointed.  

This entire series is a  very romantic, very entertaining series built around characters with charm and wit.

Book 1 of the series is Mischief and Manors.  The title describes well what a reader should expect.  The mischief element is introduced by the two young brothers in the story.  Manors is also clear in reference to the homes.  Changing the spelling to "manners" would also have been appropriate since having the proper manners in society definitely matters.

Romantics at heart always love books with gentlemen and heroes.  This series is based on women who need a real gentleman and hero in their lives.  All Regency Romance novels are written based on a time period in the past when woman have little or no control over their own lives.  Happiness and romance are secondary to financial security and marriage arrangements may not include the woman's personal considerations.  

 

Synopsis of Mischief and Manors

Annette Downing and her two young brothers are orphans who were taken in my their uncle's widow when their parents died 5 years before the book's beginning.  Ruth Filbee is a cruel, selfish, and viscous woman who didn't want the children, but also didn't want to be criticized publicly for not taking them in.

 Mischief and Manors:
A Regency Romance (Change of Heart Book 1)Check PriceWhen Annette and her brothers were invited to spend the summer at Kellaway Manor, Annette couldn't get away from her aunt and the town of Silton fast enough.  Even though she thought she had found a way out of Aunt Ruth's house by accepting the vicar's marriage proposal, it would not be a love match.  Simply an escape from her aunt's abuse and guardianship.  She hoped to have time away from all of the stress by visiting her parent's friends, the Kellaways.  

Annette had visited the Kellaways in the past with her parents, but her brothers had never been there.  She knew their mischievous antics could cause problems, but she hoped she would be able to instruct them.  She had done the best she could to raise her young brothers, but she knew she needed help.  The need for help was another reason why she was considering the vicar's proposal.

Dr. Owen Kellaway remembered Annette, and she certainly remembered him and his own mischievous ways when he was young.  After all, when she was previously there, he had led her into an "adventure" that ended up with her being hurt.  

Owen was immediately drawn to Annette and her dedication to her little brothers.  The more he learned about their lives, the more he wanted to help them, but Annette wasn't interested in a relationship with Owen.  However, she did realize he could help her instruct and properly teach her brothers to be gentlemen.  She finally agreed to a proper friendship.  She had no desire to be taken in by his charm or flirtation, but she thought she was safe to have him as a much needed friend.

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It is pretty evident early on that Annette and Owen's friendship will develop into a love relationship.  However, Annette's aunt had accepted the vicar's proposal for Annette and she has threatened to send her brothers to an orphanage.  No matter who Annette marries, her aunt is still her brother's guardian and has total control over them.

As with any "Cinderella" story, you really want to see the wicked guardian's plans thwarted.  

 

        

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Books by Ashtyn Newbold Previously Reviewed on ReviewThisReviews.com

• The Last Eligible Bachelor 
• The Ace of Hearts 
• The Captain's Confidant  
• With Love, Louisa
• Lord Blackwell's Promise
  

   

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A Fall from Grace (Clavering Chronicles Book 1) Book Review

Before we ever read the first word in the book, the title tells us what to expect.  What the title doesn't reveal is how and why Selena loses her position in society.

This historical fiction is set in Hertfordshire, England in 1817 and paints a vivid picture of how easy it was for a young woman, or even a whole family, to have the ton (high society) shun them.  

Imagine having everything you have ever known or expected your life to be, stripped from you because someone else made a mistake. By no fault of your own, you have to learn how to make a living for yourself while watching the world you once knew carry on without you. Becoming an employee in a house where you would previously have been received as a desired guest and ushered into the drawing room for tea with the countess.  Instead, you will now be expected to use the servants entrance and consider yourself fortunate that the countess has favored you enough to even allow you to be her companion.

That is what happened to Selena Lockhart in "A Fall from Grace" by Jennie Goutet.

"A Fall from Grace" Plot Synopsis

 A Fall from Grace
(Clavering Chronicles Book 1)Check Price

The first few chapters of the book are somewhat humorous.  We are immediately introduced to Sir Lucius Clavering, sixth Baronet of Mardley.  As a wealthy landowner, he is accustomed to having "young maidens" devise reasons to be in his company alone in order to force a marriage.  A snowy night is the perfect opportunity for "accidents" to strand fair maidens who would require refuge in a nearby home.  On this particular night, two such woman separately appeared at his door.  One was intentionally planned, the other truly was in dire straits.  Both are greeted with suspicion.

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As the lone female occupant of a broken down stagecoach, Selena needs shelter from the snow storm and other danger.  She believes her salvation must lie within the walls of a nearby home which is lit well enough for her to see in the distance. Dispute her lack of warm clothing, she sets out for the house and has plenty of time to recount the events that put her in this frightening situation.  Her father's extreme gambling problems followed by his subsequent death; her fiance's recindment of his offer of marriage;  insufficient funds to sustain her mother & sisters;  all combined to create this life she was so ill-prepared to live.  She was equally unprepared to be greeted by the cynical landowner who did not readily welcome her in out of the cold.

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Following Selena's story of becoming a companion to a bitter and unhappy widowed countess, caused me to consider what a truly difficult situation this would have been for a young lady who was raised in a wealthy home with the expectations of a prosperous marriage and continued position in high society.  It would require a strong and determined individual to make this unwanted transition in life status.

Since this is a Regency Romance novel, the reader can rest assured there will be a developing romantic relationship throughout the book. However, I was equally interested in watching the other relationships develop in this book.

I highly recommend this book, and series, to anyone who enjoys clean & wholesome romance novels.

 

 

At publishing time of this review, "A Fall from Grace" is available for free with a Kindle Unlimited Subscription. Or, you can purchase it with the link below.

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