::sigh:: Another one where the heir to the family estates went off to war. That aside, his reluctance to go home to his unpleasant wife is a nice twist, as is the guilt he experiences over being relieved at her death. He and Olivia have real issues to sort out. I think they sort them out too easily, but it’s nice to see a little conflict and growth there.

There is some involvement with smuggling, but that problem is resolved pretty easily in the end. The people just…stopped smuggling.

And that’s really all there is to this story. I can’t remember much else happening. It just didn’t make an impact on me.

Possible Objectionable Material:
Infidelity, an unwed pregnancy, smuggling.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2023/08/author-focus-anita-stansfield.html
Thank you to Covenant Communications and NetGalley for providing advanced reader copies in exchange for my honest opinion.

The cover of this novel captivated my attention....this novel is full of drama, love and loss.

So much drama! This book had a lot going for it, but it just didn't seem to draw me in. It's a shame because there was so much potential. While touching on war, I felt certain parts were rushed and others dragged on which kept me from getting completely immersed. Coupled with the repetitive dialogue and thoughts, I found myself getting easily distracted

This book was an epic story of loss, betrayal, trust, loyalty and ultimately love. Tristan Whitmore had been a soldier in the British Army and had fought in the American Colonies for three years before being injured and returning home. He was excited to finally be going home to his wife, Muriel and his father. Upon his return he learned of his wife's death and ultimate betrayal. He was also faced with the one person he did not want to see, Muriel's cousin, Olivia. He had been convinced by his wife that Olivia could never be trusted but in light of his wife's betrayal, he began to see that Olivia was not the person that Muriel had painted her to be. He had known and loved Olivia before Muriel and he knew her to be a kind a good woman. But, would he ever be able to trust anyone again?

I enjoyed this story along with the many characters of this story. There were deep friendships and loyalties among those who lived at Whitmore Manor. The story was clean, with no foul language or gratuitous sex. The story was genuine and real and wonderful.

I was given an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was pretty good but nothing outstanding. The main characters were interesting and yet neither one were outstanding. I felt there could have been more going on in the book and that the romance was a bit rushed. Not a bad read, it was quick to get through but there could have been more.

Drama! Drama! Drama! The first chapter really brings you in. It was hard to put down after it. Lies and misunderstandings shaped the beginning of this story and our characters eventually find their way to one another.

This book did not deliver what I was hoping for, although the description sounded promising. In my opinion, too much time was spent with characters thinking about their feelings and talking about them with each other. The same topic of conversation was repeated over and over to the point where I’d skim pages. I cannot recommend this book as I eventually quit reading it.

After three years of fighting for king and country, Tristan returns home after being wounded. What he finds are secrets revealed and loss he never expected. Olivia has been running the house and the return of Tristan threatens everything she holds dear.

The plot and description were what drew me to this book. I've never read anything by this author before and after reading this book, I am not inclined to pick up another by her. The intrigue of the plot was not enough to cover for uninteresting characters. There were times I was so bored I would skim the pages, trying to find something to catch my interest again.

Tristan was forgettable and though he goes through what should very emotional circumstances, I didn't feel any emotion coming off the page. Olivia was not a consistent character. She would think one thing and then say another.

The narrative style was repetitive and I became annoyed with how often I was told something I'd already been told on a previous page. The dialogue was stilted and I didn't have any feel for the time period.

Overall, I did not enjoy this one, though there are readers, I am sure, who might.

I received an ARC copy from netgalley for my honest review,  so thank you netgalley and publishers for offering me this book! ♡
This story is a about Tristan Whitmore who is a British soldier who fought for three years but was wounded on the battlefield. As he heals, he meets a doctor who he becomes friends with. Tristan also begins to assist the doctor as he sees the overwhelming amount of injured that come into the makeshift hospital. Tristan gains medical knowledge but receives his papers to go home. He returns home to a home that is very different from the one he left. But Tristan is also not the same man he was when he left home. Upon returning home he learns his wife has died but was unfaithful to him while he was gone. He also sees his father's health has declined. Tristan begins to have a deeply fulfilling relationship with his father.
Olivia Halstead is the cousin of Tristan's late wife. Tristan's late wife was not a nice woman at all but she took Olivia in when Olivia's father died. While Tristan has been gone, Olivia and Tristan's father have become close. Olivia has strong feelings for Tristan and he also has feelings for her. They courted before Tristan's late wife manipulated him into marriage. Olivia and Tristan begin a relationship once they realize the feelings they had for one another had not gone away. But Olivia has a secret. Most of the staff are also aware and participants in the secret. When Tristan discovers the secret one night, will his trust and love for Olivia be enough? And when Olivia's life is threatened, will the medical skills he gained be enough to save the woman he loves?
This was my first book by this author, I did enjoy it, It was fast paced for the most part but at times it felt slow and just alltogether an easy read. ♡ I give this book a 4.5 star rating!

A book about the British war in the colonies. A story of love, friendship and treason, with a little bit of suspense. There is quite a bit of detail about life in a hospital in the midst of war. Anita Stansfield has written quite a few books, this is her fourth Regency romance novel.

It is unfortunate that as much as I looked forward to reading this book, I didn't. The story line dragged a bit. I put the book down several times and even considered not picking it back up. In the end, I finished it, but it was a different experience than what I expected., I just didn't find it satisfying.

#LoveandLossatWhitmoreManor#NetGalley

I really loved Anita's work from a decade ago. Now I feel like all her books are the same-you just need to change the characters and setting. The story was good & had some amazing potential. However, I feel like she is preaching about forgiveness and redemption and using a story as her method of delivery. I literally found myself skipping pages because it was SO repetitive.