Hang on tight because the twists and turns just keep coming. A wonderful tale filled with rich characters. True friendship and love find themselves in the toughest, roughest spots on earth. A definite page turner that will keep you up into the wee hours. Enjoy!

NetGalley provided a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 Stars
1851. After her merchant husband Anthony saved her from a life of prostitution, Louisa Hill was briefly happy as a housewife in Bristol along with her friend Nancy acting as maid come companion. But then a constable arrives at her door. Her husband has been found hanged in a Bath hotel room, a note and a key to a property in Bath the only things she has left of him. And now the debt collectors will come calling. Forced to leave everything she knows behind, Louisa finds more painful betrayals waiting for her in the house in Bath. Left with no means of income, Louisa knows she has nothing to turn to but her old way of life. But this time, she'll do it on her own terms – by turning her home into a brothel for upper class gentleman. Enlisting the help of Jacob Jackson, a quiet but feared boxer, to watch over the house, Louisa is about to embark on a life she never envisaged she’d have to live again.
A very well written book that drew me in from the start, very well paced with strong characters of depth. I loved Louisa who’d managed to survive being abandoned & then she thought she'd married an honourable man only to have the rug pulled from under her feet again but she's a survivor. I also loved Jacob who whilst a fearful boxer was honourable & desperate to protect women in order to assuage his guilt over his mother's murder. This wasn't a run of the mill romance but it was heart warming & I loved how they fell in love. The road to their HEA wasn’t easy & was almost derailed a few times but it made for an engrossing read. I hope this is the start of a series as I’d love both Nancy & Octavia to find love & also to find out more about Octavia as I was left wanting more & wanting some questions to be answered hence I had to only give it 4 stars because the ending left lots of loose ends.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

A gripping story of a housewife, Louisa Hill from Bristol, who losses her husband, Anthony. Anthony saved Louisa from her previous life of prostitution. She receives shocking news that her husband has been found dead in a hotel room in Bath.

Forced to leave her life of comfort and her familiar surroundings in Bristol and move to a house in Bath, the only asset left behind by Anthony.

With no means of income and many of Anthony's debtors calling on Louisa, she is forced to return to her previous trade.

The characters in the book are easy to relate to and interesting. The novel captured my attention and is a page-turner that I was not able to put down.

Summary: The first in the series of exciting and intriguing novels by Rachel Brimble, will keep one coming back for more.

If you can get past the idea that these women support themselves with prostitutionl, then this might be the novel for you. It's 1851 and Louisa's husband has hanged himself, leaving her with his debts and nothing but trouble ahead. She, along with her friend Nancy, open a brothel and hire Jacob as what is effectively a bouncer. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A rare pass from me for.historical fiction.

A historical with absolutely no sense of time or place, extremely shallow characterizations, and just about the worst case of insta-love I’ve ever read. Not recommended.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC copy for my review.

First novel I have read by this author and enjoyed the style in which it is written, not too descriptive but sets the scene of Louisa Hill and her life and struggles in 1851. After becoming a widow unexpectedly she is forced to become a madam of her own brothel but on her own terms. She meets the love of her life the boxer Jacob and From there life’s hardships and ups and downs.

Really enjoyed this book and the characters portrayed therein and the story held my interest throughout.

An exciting, emotional book to read. This was a story of three strong women who had to fend for themselves. I enjoyed reading it and recommend it to be read.

A tale of strong women in 1851 Bristol and Bath
Louisa Hill and best friend Nancy Bloom. Louisa husband Anthony is found in a hotel room in Bath hanged and leaves a note the house is yours I'm sorry two weeks on finds her homeless and finding his debts the house he means is in Bath. Soon the train journey Louisa and Nancy set out and find Carson Street with a few surprises in store. They both now need to earn money and Jacob Jackson a boxer is perfect to be employed as Louisa protector and she sets out in her business.
I loved this book
An excellent read
With well worthy stars

A really beautiful love story about two people, scarred in different ways, and their attempts to escape the love for each other that is burning in their heart. Whether they succeed in doing so, I will not tell, as I do not want to spoil it for the reader. Let me just say that I recommend this book, for looking beneath the surface of humanity and assessing what their motivations are.

I enjoyed the story about people being able to turn the bad things that happened to them in the pas and trying to rebuild their lives again. But I did find the story slow and repetetive at times and that slowed the novel a bit for me. Overall I enjoyed the characters and how they changed their lives for the better in the end.

This book is described as “gritty” and I couldn’t agree more. But the storytelling and characterization is everything I’ve come to expect from Rachel Brimble. With a story centering around prostitution and brothels, I expected to be uncomfortable reading this book (I’m a self-proclaimed prude), but that was thankfully not the case. While I wouldn’t consider it a clean read at all, there certainly aren’t overly graphic descriptions of servicing clients. In fact, I’d say it was all tastefully and classily written, while still maintaining the aforementioned grit. I look forward to reading the next in the series.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This is not my first encounter with Rachel Brimble's work as I have had the pleasure to have read many of her past historical novels and also a few of her contemporary ones too. I have always found her storytelling to be completely captivating, exciting to read and over brimming with drama. I have found that each and every story is really well researched, so that it gives you a real insight into the time period each story is set., A Widow's Vow lives up to that very same standard that I now have come to expect from this author. As a first book in this new series it gives you a real taste of what life was like for a woman trying to survive in harsher times.
The women of this story, Louisa, Nancy and Octavia are all such amazing strong characters, each one of them written to have a different personality and yet they still form a true bond by always looking out for each other. Jacob is a man of honour that will have you swooning all over him. He's a loyal true friend that finds something he never thought he wanted until he meets the beautiful Louisa.
The story was such a a wonderfully gripping read that I read it all in one sunny afternoon. I was so taken in by the lives of these characters, from reading about the darker seedier side of Jacob's life as a boxer to following which path that Louisa and her friends chose to go down. This was such a compelling read. One of Rachel Brimble's finest yet!