Still one of my favorite series. Another wonderful read by Bronwen Evans. Entertaining, captivating, as well as exciting. Definitely not your typical story which makes it even better.cant wait to read more

No witty banter here, but a rather somber look at orphanages and trafficking. Clary is a former child prostitute in love with Lady Helen, who feels passionate about him. How can they be together and find the missing children? Romance and steamy passion juxtapose with abuse of children to make a satisfying read. I especially liked the fact that a woman was the business head behind the orphanage reform.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

When I see the author, Bronwen Evans on the cover, I know it will be a story for the ages. A Dream of Redemption is just that. You will cheer for these two sweet, wonderful characters. They are amazing together. Clarence is a young man whose childhood has been pure hell. He suffered to protect his brother, but even failed in that. Helen is the sister of the amazing, Marissa. She has been in her shadow. Helen faces so many challenges because of her love of Clary (Clarence)...her entire lifestyle will change.

Read this book, you won't be able to put it down, and when you are finished crying with joy, you will be happy. I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have read several books by Ms. Evans and I was very excited to get an ARC of this book. I was not disappointed! I loved the romance between Clary and Helen. They have such chemistry and theirs is a steamy romance, so if you want a clean read, this is not for you. I think the author did a great job with Clary and his back story. His upbringing pulls at your heartstrings and I liked how he worked through his past so it would not define him. I liked Helen and how passionate she was about trying to help those in need and how she took on chance on Clary and didn't let his social status get in the way of their future. All in all, I loved this read and would definitely recommend it!

[Review to follow on publication date.]

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. 2.5* rounded up.

I requested this book in part because I loved the Welshness of the author’s name, although I see from her Goodreads bio that in fact she lives in New Zealand. This is the eighth novel in a series, which is apparent from the number of happily married siblings milling around. Apart from mysterious references to a past family “enemy” called Victoria, I thought the novel stood pretty well on its own.

The writing is very modern; all the characters use slang and language we use today and don’t sound at all as if they are living in 1820. Much of the behavior is also rather unlikely for the period, but if you can put all that to one side it’s a fairly enjoyable story.

Naïve Helen is attracted to her sister’s secretary (yes, her sister has a secretary) Clarence and jumps at the chance to go with him to inspect an orphanage her sister has just added to her orphanage portfolio. Clarence is reluctant to take her because he thinks she is “perfection” and also very naïve about how the world really works and how the poor in London get by (she is). Much drama follows; Helen reveals herself to be open-minded and willing to learn, but her foolishness (“let me come with you, messenger boy, through a dangerous part of London at night to help pass a warning on to Clarence”) leads to Clarence being wounded.

There is a certain amount of repetition and much harping on the fact that Clarence’s past means he isn’t good enough for Helen. Clarence does indeed have a very dark and painful past (he is surprisingly well-adjusted, all things considered), but he spends most of the book intending to tell Helen about it and not quite bringing himself to do so. Then after he finally does tell her, it emerges that she didn’t really understand, a moment I found amusing, although I don’t think I was supposed to – SPOILER – what work did she imagine he did at the brothel that wasn’t as a houseboy or servant? - END SPOILER

The good ended happily and the bad unhappily and Clarence even got a title, which seemed slightly to undermine Helen’s assertion that he was good enough for her just as he was, but whatever…