A Lady at Willowgrove Hall- Sarah E. Ladd's newest romantic masterpiece!

My Thoughts:

A Lady at Willowgrove Hall is purely delightful.  I loved it for so many reasons!  It begins with a doomed romance on a stormy night followed by a drunken, angry father who banishes his daughter to Roseme's School for Young Ladies.  You'll have to put the book down to slow your pulse!  Hope springs anew as the opportunity for our main character, Cecily Faire, to become a companion to a wealthy, elderly lady arises.  Upon arriving at Willowgrove Hall during a horrid deluge Cecily must depend on Nathanial Stanton and his kindly sisters to shelter her during the storm.  They soon become friends but Cecily quickly discovers that secrets are hidden within the walls of Willowgrove Hall that threaten the happiness of those that reside there...

I adored the characters in Willowgrove Hall.  Whether villain or hero, Sarah E. Ladd allows them to shine in their own fashion.  What's a book without a villain to despise?  Just plain dull and this story is anything but that.  (To be honest, I wouldn't pass judgement until the story is over, friends.  Not everyone is as they seem.  I do love a delightful surprise, don't you?)  My favorite characters were Mrs. Stanton, Cecily's employer, and Clarkson, her lady's maid.  They speak their mind, like it or not, and they don't miss a thing.  When they talk, people listen.  No mindless babble with their ladies!  

Sarah E. Ladd's never disappoints.  A Lady at Willowgrove Hall is a romantic masterpiece you won't want to miss!

About the book: 

Her secret cloaks her in isolation and loneliness.

His secret traps him in a life that is not his own.

Cecily Faire carries the shame of her past wherever she treads, knowing one slip of the tongue could strip away everything she holds dear. But soon after accepting the position of lady's companion at Willowgrove Hall, Cecily finds herself face-to-face with a man well-acquainted with the past she's desperately hidden for years.

Nathaniel Stanton has a secret of his own --- one that has haunted him from birth and tied him to his father's position as steward of Willowgrove. To protect his family, Nathaniel dares not breath a word of the truth. But as long as the shadow looms over him, he'll never be free to find his own way in the world. He'll never be free to fall in love.

When the secrets swirling within Willowgrove Hall come to light, Cecily and Nathaniel must confront a painful choice: Will they continue running from the past . . . or will they stand together and build a future without the suffocating weight of secrets long suffered?

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/CsnBw

About the author: 

Sarah E. Ladd has more than ten years of marketing experience. She is a graduate of Ball State University and holds degrees in public relations and marketing. The Heiress of Winterwood was the recipient of the 2011 Genesis Award for historical romance. Sarah lives in Indiana with her amazing husband, sweet daughter, and spunky Golden Retriever.

Find Sarah online: website, Facebook, Twitter

Award-winning author Sarah E. Ladd examines how to escape the clutches of a tainted past in the final installment of her Whispers on the Moor series. A Regency-era novel, A Lady at Willowgrove Hall cleverly shows that even though our pasts may be shameful or painful, God can take the darkest personal histories and turn them into the brightest futures.








Celebrate with Sarah by entering her Kindle HDX giveaway!



One grand prize winner will receive:



• A Kindle Fire HDX


• A Lady at Willowgrove Hall by Sarah E. Ladd


Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on November 2nd. Winner will be announced November 3rd here.






*I was given a copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion.  No other compensation was received.

The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt

My Thoughts:

Letters exchanged between grandson and grandfather, a romance poured into a book entwined with a lost love and unanswered questions.  I was intrigued and thus compelled to read The Mason Jar, by James Russell Lingerfelt.  Savannah and Clayton are the main characters.  They meet at Pepperdine college (overlooking the ocean- swoon!) and a romance quickly transpires.  They have similar ideals and dreams and the future seems happily certain for this couple but then, Savannah disappears leaving only a note behind and Clayton is shattered.  

In the beginning, I was charmed by Clayton's early years and relationship with his grandfather.  I would've loved a story based solely on their experiences. Grandpa's letters were heartfelt life lessons.  For example, "Sometimes the greatest love we can show someone is to just let them be."  Beautiful and so true.  

Clayton and Savannah are good people (devote their summers to missionary work) but in my opinion, a bit self-centered and self-righteous.  I wanted so much to love them and their story but it never happened.  I didn't grow to care for them and thus their story fell "flat" for me.  When I uncovered the mystery of Savannah's disappearance I liked her even less.  Of course, you'll have to judge for yourself...

The supporting characters including fighter Oz ("Alabama Irish") and beautiful (prone to jealousy) Katie Wilson were much more interesting to me.  I'd love to read a love story about this passionate "wild child" pair.  In fact, I just noticed that the author's next book is about Oz and I'm truly looking forward to hearing his story in 2015.

About the book: 

What if your old college roommate called, raving about a book someone sent her, calling it the most beautiful book she's ever read? "But," she said, "it's about you." The author is your college ex.

In The Mason Jar, Clayton Fincannon is a Tennessee farm boy raised at the feet of his grandfather. He and his grandfather leave letters for each other in a Mason jar on his grandfather's desk---letters of counsel and affirmation. When Clayton attends college in Southern California, he meets and falls in love with a dark debutante from Colorado. However, when an unmentioned past resurrects in her life and she leaves, Clayton is left with unanswered questions.

Clayton goes on to serve as a missionary in Africa, while he and his grandfather continue their tradition of writing letters. When Clayton returns home five years later to bury his grandfather, he searches for answers pertaining to the loss of the young woman he once loved. Little does Clayton know, the answers await him in the broken Mason jar.

A story about a girl who vanished, a former love who wrote a book about her, and a reunion they never imagined.

Written for the bruised and broken, The Mason Jar is an inspirational romance that brings hope to people who have experienced disappointment in life due to separation from loved ones. With a redemptive ending that encourages us to love again and written in the fresh, romantic tones of Nicholas Sparks, The Mason Jar interweaves the imagery of Thoreau with the adventures and climatic family struggles common toDances with Wolves, A River Runs Through It, and Legends of the Fall. 

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/C52aq

About the author: 

James Russell Lingerfelt is the author ofThe Mason Jar and writes articles forThe Huffington Post. James connects with readers at his blog, Love Story from the Male Perspective, and divides his time between Southern California and his family's ranch in Alabama.

Find James online: website, Facebook, Twitter

James Russell Lingerfelt's debut novel, The Mason Jar, is hot-off-the-press and causing quite the buzz. It's even been optioned for a feature film and is in pre-production.



Catch the spark by entering James' Kindle Fire giveaway!





 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire


• The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt


Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 19th. Winner will be announced October 20th at James Russell's blog, Love Story from the Male Perspective.









*I was given this book by Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion.  No other compensation was received.*