this was STUNNING. such a deeply rich and immersive story about escaping an abusive relationship and finding the freedom and happiness that comes along with it set in the 19th century

definitely a slower paced, descriptive and as fully encompassing novel as can be. i highly recommend people check out this cozy and tender story! can’t wait to read more from this author as well

I ATE this book up. I loved the authors writing style. Definitely my favorite part. Story was captivating and very relatable. My first womens fiction book and now because of this story , and being so relatable i will be looking into more of this genre . I will most definitely be purchasing a physical copy of this . LOVE THE COVER ! Perfect for the story!

If you are looking for a sweet romance with a unique twist this is the book for you! This book reminds me of Outlander in the best possible way. A woman named Vale stuck in a bad marriage, is suddenly whisked away to the 19th century for mysterious reasons. This book was slower paced which i’m not used to reading so it was an adjustment on my part but I actually really enjoyed the story. The romance was tender and very sweet. I enjoyed the mystery part of the story as well and really liked that it was low stakes. There were parts that were a bit drawn out that maybe didn’t need to be but other than that this book was very fun! I would definitely call this a cozy read! it was a nice reprieve from the normally high stakes, super intense fantasy books that I normally read. I wish there were more books like this being written!

this was okay, but read a little juvenile and i didn't feel connected to the characters or what happens to them at all. i can see other reader enjoying this a lot tho!

— thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the free digital ARC.

When I first read the summary of this book, I thought it would be a crossover between Outlander and Bridgerton. However, upon completion, I found that it's not fair to compare it to either of the two because this is its own beautiful and unique story.

Vale is titled after the MC who is a 36-year-old woman from modern-day California. After meeting a strange man in a graveyard, she is suddenly transported far away from her children to Victorian-era England. There, she finds out that she is the solution to a multi-generational family curse and the hope for multiple people involved.

This book highlighted a lot of important issues such as grief, friendship, family, and abusive relationships. My one complaint is that I felt like Vale lost so much, but a lot of the issues were quickly glossed over so that characters could "move on."

Overall, this was a beautiful, slow-burn love story with multi-dimensional characters and I rated it 3.5 ⭐.

Lots of things in this book were extremely relatable for my situation right now. It was 2am and I was crying over this book. This book has done more for me than it ever could. I feel less alone. I highly recommend this book. If you want to feel some emotions, go read it.

This was a delightful time travel Romance.
Victorian Era,

I absolutely loved Vale and her emotions just felt so raw and real throughout the whole book. It was easy to feel connected to her.

The story line was beautifully written going through her grief, learning this old world and watching her heart open up again.

The author really did a beautiful job bringing the Victorian world to life and she created some really great characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Leifman books for allowing me to read this ARC

Tess is transported back in time, escaping her abusive marriage and finding herself in 1800s England with a new set of issues.

Usually, time travel period stories are my thing. I am a huge Outlander fan and went into this book excited, but knowing it would be its own unique story and wouldn't be fair to compare. However, this book sadly wasn't for me. I didn't enjoy the story very much and the writing style isn't my favourite.

Some issues I had:
The beginning of the story is very rushed; within a couple of pages we have gone from meeting a stranger to being back in time, with no real explanation as to how it happened.

The story felt like it was being told to me verbally by a friend. It didn't feel like I was being immersed into the story and I didn't feel the story.

If you like slow-burn, first person romance then you may enjoy this book.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and the author for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This time traveling romance sees a modern woman, Vale, suddenly transported back to the mid 1800s in the hopes of reversing a family curse. This was cleverly written, narrated in the first person style of Victorian novels but with a 21st century protagonist. I wasn’t sure it would work but the slow meandering style of prose is great for a slow burn romance.

There were a few things I didn’t like about this book, the first being that this feels like a self-insert romance. A 21st century woman goes back in time and falls in love with a Victorian gentleman. The very little set up for the time traveling makes this a bit harder to swallow, it happens almost immediately. The second is that very little actually happens. Once the shock of the time travel is over there are no further questions on how it worked and why.

This book is largely a rumination on loss and moving forward with life. That aspect is done really well, and Vale’s pain comes through so forcefully that you can practically feel it. The growing romance is also very sweet and I found myself desperately wanting a happy ending for them. There is also some very interesting reflection on women’s place in the world and the things which have, and have not, changed over the last couple of hundred years.

Overall I would give this 3 out of 5 stars.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC

I loved this book. When I read the synopsis I thought "sounds similar to Outlander, I'll give it a shot since I'ma fan of that book and it sounded interesting." I began reading the first few chapters and almost got a little bummed thinking it was going to be a rip off of that story. I was pleasantly surprised that it was completely different. I enjoyed the characters and how descriptive the author was with the details of everything. It really let me visualize the world and made it even more enjoyable. It made me feel like I was in the room with characters with how descriptive everything was. I was going to give 4.5 stars because I felt the ending was a bit lacking and felt unfinished (if you read it you'll know what i mean by the last 2 pages) and I figured out who the "real badguy" was pretty quickly, but I kept wanting to reach for the book to find out more and what was going to happen next with the romance of the 2 main characters. I loved the friendship that blossomed between Anne and Vale, and how I felt I was in the story with them with how the author described everything. I felt it deserved 5 stars for those reason. I was highly impressed since it looks to be a debut novel from the author. I am looking forward to when it is released so I can purchase it to have on my shelf for a reread in the future.

I would defintely recommend this book
to others! I loved the historical references and the main character was so relatable at some points, I felt so much empathy for her, and I loved the ending of this book!! Thank you netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this gem!

Book Review 📚
Vale by Tess Bentley - 4/5 ⭐

Firstly, what a great layout of being a modern aged woman compared to being a Victorian age woman! There was so many differences yet resemblances and I really enjoyed the outlook from it all.

Our MC, Vale, was such a wholesome character that has been through some absolute crap in her life. She hasn't had it easy and nothing ever seemed to work in her favour. Until a mysterious man pulls her back in the past to the Victorian era. Now that, that was a nice little twist. Not something I expected to happen but I really love the way it took the story.

Bentley has this absolutely beautiful piece of work that includes some fantastic writing. There's character development and her descriptions throughout the book really bring it to life. She really brought the Victorian era to life with some great scene settings along with description.

Thank you to NetGalley and Leifman books for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

⭐️⭐️⭐️& 1/2 Stars

Vale, a depressed 36 year old woman with two young children and an emotionally abusive husband meets a stranger, John Emberley, who magically pulls her back in time to Victorian England where she meets Edward Emberley and his sister Anne. She also finds herself now to be the age of 18.

As she settles into life in the 19th century, a strong friendship develops between Vale and Anne and romance slowly begins to bloom between Vale and Edward, but trouble may be on the horizon.

This book highlights some of the differences between the life of modern day women and how women were expected to be in the 19th century. It also deals with the grief the protagonist feels at being torn away from her children.

Thank you to Netgalley and Leifman Books.

Vale travels back to Victorian England, she is from modern California so it is quite an adjustment. The author describes her feelings well and also everything else is well described and well written. A very good novel. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for giving me a copy of the book.