2.5.stars
I did not really like the characters. It all felt awkward and forced, espesially when they had to interact with each other and how angry Colleen was. It did change, but it still felt forced and awkward.

Autumn’s Child is a well written second chance romance. I enjoyed the plot of this entertaining book as well as the characters. I highly recommend this book. I received an arc from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

Autumn’s Child by Kathleen Gilles-Seidel
Standing Tall #3

Slow beginning that almost had me give up on the book but knowing that I have enjoyed this author’s books in the past I plugged on. With more than one thread to the story it was a bit of a puzzle about who Autumn even was till much further into the book. There was the sort-of romance and second chance for Ben and Colleen to achieve a HEA. There was the issues of inheritance and some getting more than others. There was the issue of family and adoption and blood. There was a huge media circus with crazies running around. There were friends that came to visit. For some reason I just could not get into this book and really had trouble relating to the characters. I did not see what Colleen and Ben saw in one another or why she was still interested in him as to me he seemed rather selfish. Anyway, I did finish the book but do have to say that I much prefer other books that I have read by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Lyrical Shine for the ARC – This is my honest review.

2-3 Stars

I love that (in my opinion) this author’s writing has gotten stronger with each book in this series. While I enjoyed the first book, The Fourth Summer, quite a bit, I had issues with her writing style. By the time I read The Last Snowfall, her writing had evened out, though there still seemed to be some continuity issues. I’m so glad this story flows beautifully and has more of a depth in the writing than the previous books.

Colleen tugged at my mom-heart from the very beginning. The inner thoughts/responses she had to those around her just killed me. There were times I wish she would have spoken those responses out loud to the intended recipient, yet I could understand why she didn’t.

Ben is a harder cookie to crack. It’s obvious he’s a good person, but he makes some terrible choices. And it seems those choices are made out of fear of failure, although he grew up in a family that is beyond loving and supportive. By the same token, sometimes I felt the connection between him and Colleen and other times they seemed more acquaintances.

Putting the love connection and that part of the story aside, this is a very interesting book. There’s a lot that happens in Colleen’s life through the 300 pages, but it never feels bogged down. In fact, I love the roller coaster of events that is Colleen’s narrative. There are so many emotions to be explored and family aspects that will touch many readers in different ways.

I feel this author is picking up steam with her writing and I’m quite looking forward to reading more from her.

Autumn’s Child is a truly lovely second-chance romance featuring a warm cast of secondary characters and a lot of sharp-eyed longing.

Mrs. Norton W. Ridge II - Eleanor – is a set-in-her-ways old woman of the genteel south, whose relatives mostly abhor her, aside from a nice who considers caring for the woman part of her Christian duty.  Over the years, she drove everyone she loved away except for Colleen – so when she decides to catalog her possessions as a part of her estate planning, it falls to Colleen to itemize her belongings.

Ben Healy – a former professional snowboarder – is dealing with the end of his competition days and the death of his Olympic dreams by shifting careers, and is working on a master’s degree in cybersecurity. He comes home to Georgia during a break in his training and instead of being put to work cleaning out the family garage, he’s asked to inventory Mrs. Ridge’s family heirlooms, and meets Colleen.  Again. Because Ben and Colleen share a past, one that Ben’s been dodging forever – and is now being forced to confront.

Once upon a time, Ben and Colleen were involved in a wonderful love affair, but it lasted only a summer. Ben ran away from it, his low self-esteem telling him he wasn’t the right guy for nice, proper Colleen.

But now Ben’s back – and he’s flirting with not Colleen, but the mysterious, flamboyantly-dressed Leilah, who has been hired by Eleanor to run the house.  He and Leilah embark on a non-committal fling, and when Leilah up and leaves after Colleen’s aunt and uncle accuse her of spending too much money to run the house, Colleen has no idea what to tell Ben – or how it will affect her relationship with him.  And when Eleanor passes away,  Ben and Colleen find that they have a lot to learn - about each other, about themselves, and their families… and about love.

Autumn’s Child is a powerfully moving story about old patterns, nostalgia, growth and lack thereof and life in general.  About one’s roots, and who ultimately ought to be considered family when the chips are down.  Beyond well-written, it does a beautiful job exploring a second-chance romance that boils between Ben and Colleen very slowly – while also pulling apart the complicated hive of who they are at the core.

There’s an interesting mystery at the center of the book, which I won’t spoil but will just say that it’s amusing, though it adds a layer of unnecessary complexity than the book – which is a much simpler tale at root – really needed.

The romance between these two fallible people had me captivated from the start. Colleen must learn to stand up for herself, Ben must learn the importance of self-worth, and together they must learn the importance of finding real love. Their romance is richly rewarding.

I did have a few problems with the book however. I needed much, much more of Leilah, who disappears midstream and leaves more questions than answers.  And the ending felt a hair too pat to be realistic.

But those are small quibbles.  Autumn’s Child is told so stunningly that you won’t mind the smaller details – and you’ll be enraptured by the big picture.

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Don't you love a second chance romance? Ben is a former pro-snowboarder and now that he's retired, he's rethinking and revising his choices in life and love. Colleen, the woman he left behind, is also rethinking her life. The death of her grandmother opened a box of family secrets- secrets which affect so much about her sense of self and identity. She's got to deal with all of it (no spoilers). Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is as much about Colleen's issues as it is about the romance but fans of the genre will no doubt appreciate the depth this brings to the novel.

A quote (from ARC):
“Being a “people person” – that was high praise in his family. People who love people [italic] and all that. But sometimes he had to wonder – how could you call yourself a “people person” when you talked all the time? Wouldn’t an individual who was genuinely interested in other people sometimes shut up and listen?”

Autumn’s Child”, by Kathleen Gilles Seidel (Kensington Books/Lyrical Shine), is more about a woman and an almost reluctant quest thrown at her, than about a romantic relationship, but is still an enjoyable story.
Gregarious, nice girl Colleen finds herself questioning her life in ways I was not expecting at all, but that had a highly satisfying outcome.
I felt I missed something important about the character of Ben, the handsome snowboarder, from previous stories (I’ve only read “The Last Snowfall”, and loved its charismatic hero, but I really don’t remember Ben specifically). On one hand, he was handsome and in a way, very true and loyal to Colleen, but, on the other hand, the relationship with elusive Leilah didn’t sit well with me. I felt his character needed more development and I didn’t connect with him.
Being a story about second chances on love, all the magic of their romance is more in the past or what critical truths Ben learned then because he gave up on Colleen, than actually happening in this story: “What was between them was sitting at the edge of the room, not even trying to be heard.”
Seidel’s breezy writing style and her outlook on celebrity, private life and public life and other issues make this an entertaining read, even if some parts about the families were a bit dull.

This is the third in a trilogy featuring some shared characters. These three books are the first that Ms. Seidel has written in many years and I was thrilled to see her publishing again.
For my taste this is the best of the three and that by a large margin. It really showcases her ability to make interesting characters and place them in great settings and situations.
The second book was second best and the first, while welcome, was the weakest of the three. I don't know what order she wrote them in but assuming they were in pub order then I think she was getting her writing "muscles" back in the first two and is fully back now.
I sure hope she continues writing.

What a wonderful book. I'm a long time fan of Kathleen Giles Seidel and this book is reminiscent of her previous work, like "Don't Forget to Smile", "Again" and "Summer's End".

It's filled with wonderful complex relationships, plenty of twists and turns, and of course the prerequisite Happy-Ever-After.

What I love about Seidel's books is her characterization and her ability to craft flawed characters without having them turn into caricatures. Even her heroes and heroines are not immune to being shown in less than flattering light, which only fleshes them out, making them seem more real.

As for the twists and turns, they definitely keep you turning the pages.

Seidel's strength is writing about two nice people, with unresolve issues working through them. Her weakness tends to be rushed endings. While her books are never highly romantic - the romance is just a small part of the story, at the end when everything is tidied up and resolved I wish she would spend a little more time illustrating the joy of the couple.

Still, it is wonderful to have Seidel writing again. After finishing this galley (and thank you so much Kensington Publishing for allowing me to read this advance copy!) I feel a re-read coming on, and plan to read all of the books in the series again.

(Will edit to post links to review, closer to release date)