Sandra Sookoo has a way of weaving a story that you can’t put it down and Pursuing Mr Mattingly second in the series is no different. I absolutely loved Lady Sophia and Oliver Mattingly as their story weaves from the very beginning to end with threads of trials and tribulations, sizzling passion, misunderstandings and one young girl who will have you waiting to see what next she will say. I enjoyed revisiting characters from the previous novels and I'm
Looking forward to reading the next in the series.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Heartbreak, Secrets, and a Second Chance

He went off to India and broke her heart. They both lost a son, so why did he abandon her to deal with the loss on her own? It turned out that both Gilbert and Madelene had secrets from their past they needed to share if they were to have a future. However, Gilbert had other fears and jealousies he had to conquer. He thought Madelene cheated on him. The two had quite a few demons they must destroy if they were to revive their marriage and rekindle their love. That love might not have died, but it desperately needed nourishment. Jealousy would only kill it. Would gilbert ever learn his lesson? Gilbert and Madelene’s path would not be an easy one. I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to those who like historical romance with the possibility of a second chance. Be ware of stubborn fools. They are quite maddening.

Another winner for Ms. Sookoo. The Yeardly's have been separated for years due to a misunderstanding on the part of Lord Yeardly. However, they have to come together and pretend to be happy to appease family that is unaware of the strife in their marriage. Thus begins a dance of deceit leading to revelations of the heart.
Thank you Sandra Sookoo, Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley for allowing me an advance copy for my honest feedback.

I enjoyed reading the story about these two amazing people, who apparently have been through a number of things. The new awakening relationship between Gilbert and Madeline was a true and romantic joyride. I like that the writer focuses the book on the real hardships that couples often time face during their relationship. The best part was the much needed making up moments in the story.

Courting Lady Yeardly was a fanciful book. It's the story of the Yeardlys, Gilbert and Madeline. When Madeline lost their second child, a son, Gilbert fled to India. He stayed for years. When he returned, his wife was in residence at the family manor. It's all about his attempt to win her back. His best friend, High, was in the way. Although he led Madeline to Gilbert's family home for the purpose of her and Gilbert getting back together, he wanted her for himself.

Eventually, Gilbert challenged him to a dual. On accident, Gilbert shot Madeline and the bullet went from.her to Hugh.

Madeline had lost two babies. One to miscarriage, the other was still born. While she had grieved and was at the end of her ropes, Gilbert hadn't grieved. After the shooting, Gilbert worked through all of that. And they lived happily ever after.

I enjoyed this book, but I would have liked some intrigue. It was good for what it was. I gave it four stars.

This is the third installment of the Willful Winterbournes and an exciting addition to the series. We know Gilbert from the previous book, and in this installment we learn more about his history and estrangement from his wife, Madelene. They had a lovely beginning but they suffered loss and pain early on, and because of poor communication, they drifted apart and Gilbert decided to run away from his problems instead of face them and headed off to India, rather than confront his marriage. Madelene felt abandoned and turned to her close friend for comfort, who just so happens to be Gilbert's best friend. Gossip about their closeness reached Gilbert in India and he became suspicious. This leads to more misunderstanding and misconceptions. They both go through a lot of heartbreak and pain before finally getting their second chance.
This was a emotional and well-written story that pulled at my heartstrings. The characters were well-developed and I immediately got pulled into their story. Glad to have had the opportunity to read it!
I received a complimentary copy from Dragonblade Publishing via Netgalley and am voluntarily leaving my review.

I do not use the phrase "apocalyptically bad" lightly but ... this book would fit the bill. Holy moly where to start.

Characters... baffling, irrational. Dialogue... wrenchingly awful. Both in style, which is lumbering and then also in the type of dialogue (I.e. the cheerful, mentions of how pleasant "intercourse" is between Georgian siblings in a public location is...??!?!!).
Story...patchy, stilted, fairly nonsensical plus totally gloomy given all the mentions of child loss which also ends up seeming cynical given that it is purely a mechanism to shove this lumbering narrative along.

Lastly... the "hero" might be one of the single worst characters I have come across in a historical romance. SPOILER ALERT: someone who randomly at the end of the book *shoots his own wife* and all there is from the family is vague amusement that he might now finally come to his senses... whaaaaaaat the!!! But HEA?! My gosh.

I do not know how I managed to get far enough in this book to get to that particular low point, but for my sins I did finish this. Brrrr.

Can't in good conscience recommend this dangerous nonsense.

Let's start with the positive aspects of this novel. Firstly the book is well written, free from typos and grammatical errors. It also does come to a successful conclusion. Furthermore, the twelve-year-old nieces do bring some humor and light relief to what could otherwise have been an incredibly angsty and maudling plot. The cover of this novel is also very pretty. I could identify with Lady Madelene in her loss of her baby and the betrayal she experienced. I also admired her courage and strength in confronting her husband. Lord Gilbert unfortunately did not win me over. His continuous self-pity and blaming others for his errors made him somewhat spineless and immature. A gathering of family and friends was not conducive to resolving the pain and lies that had been told, although it was just as well they were all present at the moment of Gilbert's most foolish act. I have enjoyed other books in this series but found this one very tedious. I received a copy of this novel as a gift through Dragonblade Publishing and NetGalley and this is my honest and voluntary review.

Courting Lady Yeardly by Sandra Sookoo is a second chance romance. These people in need of a second chance are already married, but had managed to keep secrets and failed to communicate during the several years that they had lived together. With the stillbirth of their son, Madeline fell into a deep depression and Gilbert simply left, off to India to explore tea. Now he has returned to his brother’s wedding and has no idea how to proceed. His wife lives in London and he hasn’t seen her for years. What does he want to do? Be married or seek a divorce? After the wedding, his sister informs him his wife has arrived. He takes off to the village to get drunk. When he wakes up the next morning he looks at the woman next to him in bed. He is fully clothed so he knows nothing happened. When he rounds the bed and moves her hair aside, he sees his wife. She is beautiful. It’s on-again/off-again as they try to figure out their futures.

This is a good story although there is too much thinking. First, they think, it, then, they say it. Very repetitive. They both have much to regret. They are both good characters who have matured into what may end up a successful marriage. Gilbert, especially, is prone to jumping to conclusions, which is not helpful. Madeline seems to have boundless depths of forgiveness for him, no matter what stupid thing he does. Sophia, his sister, is especially helpful in trying to make him see sense. It is a good story, one which merits thought on the part of the reader. I enjoyed it.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of Courting Lady Yeardly by Dragonblade, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #SandraSookoo #CourtingLadyYeardly

Oh, wow. Courting your wife after a major traumatic event. I love a second chance romance between a husband and wife. Then put it in a historical setting and you got me. I have never read a historical romance like this and now must read more of Sandra Sookoo's backlist. Her writing was so involved and just when it looked like our couple found their way back to each other, something else happened. Please note, because of the sensitive subject of multiple loss of pregnancies, death of a mother/babies, and accidental gun violence. Please cover yourself accordingly.
Our main characters, Gilbert and Madelene were estranged after a death of their baby. Both were blaming themselves because of their own traumatic history. I can imagine how families dealt with a death of a child without therapy. Both Gilbert and Madelene are carrying some heavy emotional baggage that was never shared with each before their wedding day. So when the death of their child occurs, Gilbert suddenly leaves his wife and runs to India; somewhere he always wanted to go because of tea trade and he hears a rumor about his wife that breaks his heart. While Madelene deals with the guilt of the death with the help of Gilbert's best friend, who also is in love with her. The pain that Madelene has been carrying is heartbreaking and to experience it without her husband is horrendous. It's an isolating pain for everyone involved.
The frustration from keeping secrets and running away from pain was a thread throughout the romance. This estrangement between our married couple lasted for three years and allowed Gilbert to develop a hate towards himself, his wife and best friend. I believe Gilbert was dealing with other stuff that was alluded to but he definitely needed a professional to help him process his feelings. His unspoken pain poured from his soul and made him make so many unwise decisions.
I can't believe they got a happily ever after but at the end, they did.

This is the last of the siblings, but they have a cousin! Once again a most wonderful novel.. will he find redemption for his marriage and himself? It will be tough but we have faith in him....
Ohh how I wish to know if they actually get the baby they are looking for or perhaps they will adopt!!!

I recieved a free copy so that I might tell you what I honestly think. Hope you enjoyed my review. Now go enjoy the book

2.5 stars

The author writes well but why bother with the man child that is Gilbert. His sister sums it up as a child he was a huge moper and obviously nothing has changed. He goes off to india to learn about tea just as his wife, Madeline has had a still born son. He's jealous of his friend Hugh, who helps Madeline with her Post natal depression. The woman has lost 5 pregnancies, though I wasn't convinced Gilbert knew about the first 3. Gilbert himself had lost a previous wife and child so perhaps that helps us understand why he's so traumatised. Madeline is obviously besotted with Gilbert and thoough I'm all for unconditional positive regard I think she let him off the hook too many times. They have a lot of intercourse as the book calls it. Just as we think all is well, the green monster rears its head again and we go round the roundabout yet again. I notice I liked the first in the series but this one is a definite no.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Gilbert Winterbourne, Lord Yeardly, is one messed up "dude" with his secrets, insecurities, jealousy and a tendency to drink too much. He and Madelene were married and happy, until life became very painful. After two years he runs away from his grieving wife and leaves for India thinking only of himself. Three years later, he returns to his family in England but not to Madelene. Why Madelene wants to stay with Gilbert could only be because she really loves him. His irrational behavior is very off-putting as he continues to hurt her. I would have dumped him years ago.
This book contains possible triggers.
Miscarriage, infant death, infidelity and violence.
Heat level 4
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

Gilbert and Madelene have been separated for three years. Gilbert was convinced that she had an affair with his best friend which was not the case at all. During that time they had suffered losses of two pregnancies. Instead of being there for her he left. They are reunited at his parents' house, where his family believes that their marriage is strong and happy when it was far from it. They finally sit down and have a true heart to heart about their marriage and what happened during their marriage, that they start to start over. But Gilbert becomes consumed with jealously which made me feel that is her really worth it. I have to admit I was really not a fan of Gilbert, because instead of talking to his wife when he believed that she was having an affair which wasn't the case, he could have been there for her. I felt so bad for Madelene and all that she had been through alone that I felt she deserved better than him. This is my honest opinion for I received an advanced copy from NetGalley.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley and this is my freely given opinion.

This is book 3 of the Willful Winterbournes series, and there was quite a bit of indication in the previous book that Gilbert Winterbourne was angry, is estranged from his wife, and having trouble in his marriage.

Gilbert had spent the past several years traveling in the East, working and studying about the tea trade. Apparently he had separated from his wife, after only a short duration of marriage. In this story, we find out much more about their history, together as a couple and as individuals. They were both mature adults when they met and married and apparently had a lot attraction and love for each other initially. But they suffered a lot of disappointment in their short duration of marriage, including a miscarriage and a still birth. There was poor communication about their pasts in the beginning, and compounding on that was their inability to communicate about their losses together. Both Gilbert and his wife Madelene had been married prior, and were both widowed. What they did not realize they shared as well, was that they had both suffered stillbirths/miscarriages in those prior relationships also. So after suffering their shared losses, they both carried an even greater burden of grief, guilt, and loss, because they each felt they were to blame themselves for their losses.

But rather than open up and communicate with each other, Gilbert decided he would continue with previous plans they had made before Madelene's last pregnancy and travel to India wanting to run away from his grief and perceived inadequacies. Madelene, because the loss of her stillborn son was so recent was in no state of mind to leave England, and was devastated by the perceived abandonment by her husband, and fell into a deep well of depression, and the only person she appeared to have to lean on at this time, as she had no other family, was a close family friend.

Unfortunately, this family friend was a male friend, and also the best friend of Gilbert, who had originally introduced them. Gilbert was suspicious about their closeness to begin with, and thought his wife had replaced him with this friend prior to sailing, and gossip about their closeness follows Gilbert to India, reinforcing his belief that his wife is cuckolding him with his best friend, and he makes bad decisions based on this belief.

When he returns to England, and his family estate, years had passed, and he is still avoiding his wife. She follows him to Ettesmere, and forces Gilbert to confront and communicate with her. Unfortunately his best friend also arrives, at the invitation of his mother and family. Madelene and his friend convince him they are not having an affair, but he is still muddled by his own grief, guilt over his past, and his own jealousy and sense of inadequacy, and has a great deal of difficulty reconciling all his feelings about and with Madelene.

This was a very difficult story to read because there was so much angst and baggage brought to the story by both Gilbert and Madelene; even though they initially had a great deal of attraction, love, and friendship for each other, they both had histories full of trauma and grief in their prior relationships, and it sounds like those were never reconciled by either party, then they both suffered a lot together and were not able to rely on each other as partners in dealing with their grief, and the relationship completely broke down.

Then I had a lot of difficulty with connecting with Gilbert because he had so many issues in terms of his inability to trust and communicate with his wife and his friend, and so much anger and lack of confidence in himself. He was so full of anger that he turned outwardly, and on such a destructive path. I could understand how depressed Madelene was and could have easily understood her depression at his abandonment, and would not have been surprised if she chose an easier path than to deal with his issues. Several times in the story, I kept thinking that if I were her, I would have been tempted to just walked away. But Madelene persevered, and Gilbert would make a few steps to meet her... but then something small would happen, and Gilbert would fall back and turn on her and their marriage again. It was incredibly dark and frustrating.

But on saying that, sometimes battling through the darkness and coming through the other side makes a relationship stronger, and the HEA more satisfying in a story. If only Gilbert had not run away to begin with and gave the both of them the time and opportunity to work it through after the death of their second child. This story was full of distrust, grief, and pain, and it was a hard haul to the HEA, but Gilbert had a lot of demons to throw off and unable to do so without a lot of patient and determined love.

4 stars out of 5

Gilbert and Madelene have been apart for three years. Rough previous marriages, multiple miscarriages, misunderstanding, and rumors of betrayal have driven them apart. Gilbert, not being able to face the emotional turmoil, traveled to India for three years. Madelene’s emotional state became serious. This is at times a sad story and certainly a highly emotional one. Both made mistakes that could end their marriage. The people around them encourage them to do the one thing that would help the most, talk to each other about it. A little counseling wouldn’t hurt either. Setting ego and pain aside, understanding, and forgiveness on both sides could give them the second chance they need. Good story.
I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Lord Gilbert Yeardly is back from India. Now it's time to face the mess that is his marriage.
Lady Madelene Yeardly needs to sort out her marriage once and for all.
This is a highly emotional and steamy historical romance. I wanted to slap some sense into our "hero" . The heroine also does some very silly things. Probably why the marriage got to such a condition in the first place. Facing emotional upheaval can be extremely hard for some people.
This book is part of a series so you will find characters that are in the other stories, but you can read each book on it's own.
An enjoyable read.

Betrayal’s ache is as painful as falling out of love Gilbert Edmund Winterbourne, Lord Yeardly has been separated from his wife for three years. Convinced she had an affair with his best friend Hugh shortly before he left for India to make his fortune, he hasn’t spent time with her since. When he and his siblings are summoned to the countryside for Midsummer festivities… she’s there. Healing from grief shouldn’t be left to the lonely, Madelene Winterbourne, Lady Yeardly has agreed to see her in-laws against her better judgment. After suffering the loss of two pregnancies, she also mourned the break in her fledging marriage, for her estranged husband was adamant she’d strayed.
A well written emotional read, that I found very hard to put down. I loved Madelene & my heart went out to her, then there was Gilbert who I had a hard time liking, I found him to be blinkered & once he believed something wouldn’t change his opinion even though he was wrong. I must admit I wanted to slap & shake him at times. The author isn’t afraid to write about sensitive subjects & she does so sensitively. An often heartbreaking story which led a second chances
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

THE REVIEW
Good heavens, I’m going to keep this review short and sweet because this book drained all the emotion from me. Madelene and Gilbert have an estranged marriage. They have both been married before and both had trouble having children. So, after their whirlwind courtship, when Madelene lost a stillborn child, their relationship couldn’t recover. Gilbert took his grief and ran away to India for three years, while Madelene was left in London to pick up the pieces of her broken marriage and mourn the loss of her baby. The books picks up where they are reunited and are forced to work through their problems. This was a HEAVY book. It dealt with the death of a spouse, multiple pregnancy losses, betrayal and cheating, anger and jealousy, etc. It was an intense read. Obviously, Madelene and Gilbert got their happy ending, but man was it a struggle to get through this book.


TROPES
Historical Romance, Regency Era, Country Life, Damaged/Tortured Hero, Disabled/Wounded/Scared Hero, Groveling Hero, Grumpy Hero, Unworthy Hero, Widowed Hero, Bookworm Heroine, Damaged/Tortured Heroine, Widowed Heroine, Angst Romance, Miscommunication Issues, Second Chance Romance, Betrayal Trope, Miscarriage/Death of a Child, Redemption Trope, Secrets & Lies, Three Steam, Four Star

The heartbreaking tragedy of miscarriages and losing a baby can either pull a couple closer together or push them apart. This is one such story about how suppressing one’s emotions can lead to an explosion causing more tragedies and how the couple’s love for each other is strong enough to forge their lives back together. No villains here, just unfortunate circumstances that make the HEA very satisfying.

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley and leaving my review voluntarily.