Holding Onto Love by Carol Coventry is a lovely, but unlikely, romance between an earl and a young war widow who becomes his mistress. He should have married her. He knew that in the end. But in the middle of it, as his father was dying, he tried to court another woman. As earl it would be his primary responsibility to beget an heir, to assure the line remained in tact. He failed to mention to her that he would be doing that, so when she heard about it she was stunned and hurt. She packed up immediately and left. She disappeared.

This was a complicated story between Vanessa Wardrip and Jasper Taverston. Jasper’s brother, Crispin had been her husband’s commanding officer in France. When Henry was killed, Crispin tried to take care of her, that was the kind of man he was. He sent her back to England, to his brother, thinking he would help her. Instead he set her up as his mistress, and didn’t look back for four years, until his father was dying. That wasn’t the kind of help Crispin had intended. The characters in this book are so well-rounded and interesting, it defies what I know about Regency romance. Vanessa had a complicated backstory, one which made her the woman she became: strong, independent, and stubborn. Jasper always had a positive attitude. There was nothing he couldn’t fix, or so he thought. Excellent story, wonderful setting. Complicated plot and resolution. Well worth your time. Love the sister and the brothers, all.

I was invited to read Holding OntoLove by Dragonblade. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #Dragonblade #CarolCoventry #HoldingOntoLove

Holding onto Love is the new novel by Carol Coventry. Here, we meet Mrs. Vanessa Wardrip who is a soldier’s widow and Lord Jasper Taverston, the Earl of Iversley. Vanessa grew up in the wealth of luxury, her father being in trade – Culpepper – but not part of the ton. His determination to see her wed into aristocracy has him agreeing that she marry a vile Marquess.

In her desperation, she runs away with the local doctor’s son and the two get married. Unfortunately, as neither has money between them, her husband must join the army, and Vanessa is one of the wives allowed to follow the drum. When her husband dies on the battlefield, Jasper’s brother Crispin takes it upon himself to send her back to England and put her in the care of his brother, Jasper to see that she is settled and sorted out.

Unfortunately or fortunately, Jasper and Vanessa are attracted to each other and hence she becomes his mistress on the agreement that when it is time for him to find a suitable Countess from the daughters of the aristocracy, he will give her ample warning so she can bow out gracefully and not face the ton unaware. Of course, this is exactly what happens, and she is so angry with Jasper that she packs her things and goes away without telling him where she is going.

Meanwhile, the woman Jasper was thinking of settling down with, is invited to his home to get to know him better. This ends up with his youngest brother marrying her instead! So, Jasper tries to reconnect with Vanessa only to find he is blocked from all sides.

It was a nice story but a tad too long in my opinion. I received an ARC from the publishers and NetGalley and submit my honest review voluntarily.

For four years ago, Lord Jasper Taverston, heir to the Earl of Iversley & Mrs. Vanessa Wardrip, a soldier’s widow, were lovers, she has always known that her arrangement with Jasper would be temporary. She asked him to promise her one thing: that when the time came for him to marry, he would tell her first, allowing her a dignified retreat. It should be a simple vow to keep, but when his father falls ill, Jasper impulsively begins pursuing a duke’s daughter. Betrayed and humiliated, Vanessa flees to the countryside, telling no one where to find her.
The second book in the series & it’s easily read on its own, a well written & researched book which I enjoyed. I liked both Jasper & Vanessa but whilst I was routing for them & enjoyed their journey to a HEA I felt the chemistry between them was missing. It was an emotional book with strong characters & a well paced story
I voluntarily read and reviewed a special copy of this book; all thoughts and opinions are my own

Family, Political, Secrets, Admitting Love'
My first time reading this author and I felt the story was very intriguing.
I got an inside view of the challenges a mistress must face and conquer which is quite revealing and heartfelt.
Jasper is the heir, and Vanessa has been his mistress for 4 years and now that his father has pasted their situation needs to be changed.
We follow each of them as they try to move on and struggle to live without each other which makes this story very compelling and emotional.
Their many open and honest discussions and thoughts were quite revealing and thought provoking.
An enjoyable story that does reach a happy ending.

Good gravy... I am worn out!! What a journey! If there were EVER two people who should be together.... it's Vanessa and Jasper. My god, the longing, the unfortunate life circumstances keeping them apart, the DESTINY. Oh man, I am so happy they had a HEA. I stayed up waayyyy too late. But this book delivered!!
Thank you to netgalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

The would-be hero of the first book, Lord Jasper Taverston, gets his real story in this book (and I would strongly recommend reading the first book before reading this one). Mrs. Vanessa Wardrip finds out that her protector, Lord Taverston, has whisked away Lady Georgiana to his country estate to court her while he’s tending to his dying father. Not one to sit around and be humiliated, she leaves him and buys herself a little cottage in the lake district, and Jasper has no way to find her. Their relationship develops over flashbacks, but much of their time in the present is spent apart as Jasper realizes exactly what he threw away.

I was so excited when I saw book 2 of the Taverstons of Iversley series because I really loved the first one, and somehow, I loved this second one just as much. Carol Coventry is a great storyteller who creates characters you just want to cheer on. Vanessa is a delight; I love how when she finds out what Jasper has done, she doesn’t put up with his bs and up and leaves. She’s mad and she’s upset, but there’s no real “woe is me”, she just moves on with her life. But I also really loved the flashbacks to the beginning of their relationship. It was so sweet when they’d go back and forth with what they knew about each other, trading little intimacies. There have been a lot of really good historical romances with mistresses lately, and I would highly recommend “Holding Onto Love” if it’s a storyline you enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes: Class difference, fish out of water; MFC has secrets
Steam level: 1-2
2nd book in the series; fine as a standalone.

3.5 stars I ultimately bumped up based on the strength of the prose and research. The writing flows well, and the topic of what life was like at that time for a woman married to a soldier and “following the drum” presents plenty of food for thought. The struggles working-class people faced during wartime were horrifying and heartbreaking, highlighting the wide divide between the haves and have-nots. The scenes involving MFC Vanessa’s and MMC’s brother Crispin’s experiences are emotionally moving. I thought Crispin was an especially interesting character with quite a lot of depth.

As a historical romance, however, this book falls rather flat, and not because there is little steam save a dollop near the end. Other than in flashbacks, the MC’s spend barely any time together; in fact, in the first half I wondered if their relationship was what the author wanted to write about. The non-linear timeline interferes with the enjoyment a reader normally derives from a couple’s first meeting and how the early stages of their romance unfold. We don’t really know the depth of their immediate attraction, which is important when you consider that Crispin was the one who rescued Vanessa from dire straits and he expected MMC Jasper to protect her. Instead, Jasper crossed a rather large line, regardless of the fact that Vanessa was a widow. The reader is left wondering how much of his feelings for her come from lust and youthful infatuation, as Jasper seems consistently less mature than Vanessa.

Another thing that bothered me is that Vanessa had experienced a terrible tragedy right before her rescue and was so emotionally and physically depleted it’s hard to imagine she would have wanted to take up with Jasper so soon. There needed to be more scenes of sexual tension between the MC’s to create chemistry and more scenes showing their lives melding after the rescue. As it is, Vanessa has more chemistry with Crispin.

Bottom line: as historical fiction, I give this 4 stars. As a HR, I give it 3.

I wasn't super excited about this story. Usually I can get through a book in a day or two, this one took me some extra time. It just didn't hold my interest and I didn't feel the love and connection between the couple. I honestly felt like she had a closer connection to the brother Crispin.

This was a strong sequel in the Taverstons of Iversley series, it had that historical romance element that I wanted and enjoyed getting back into this. The characters had that overall feel that I was looking for and worked well with the time-period. I enjoyed the way Carol Coventry wrote this and am excited for more.

This is not only a beautiful romance; it is the sweet story of the Iversley family and second in the Taverstons of Iversley series. Although Holding Onto Love is second in the series, it can be read as a stand-alone book. Yes, I enjoyed reading Counting On Love first, but just enjoy the series. You will love it!

Vanessa has had to make difficult life choices that have made her a strong female who is independent, brave and beautiful in heart and spirit even before she became Jasper’s mistress. Jasper, now the Earl of Iversley, made the idiotic mistake of not following through with the most important request she had made in agreeing to be his mistress. Vanessa wanted to know when he would begin his search for a countess so she could back out gracefully from their relationship. Finding out through the rudeness and gossip of the ton hurt her tremendously. It is not something of which she will forgive Jasper easily. She decides to disappear and makes sure he will not be able to find her. Her personal journey has been hard but now is even harder due to loving Jasper as she does.

I loved how Ms. Coventry takes us back in time throughout the book to allow us to understand more about why and how Vanessa and Jasper each came to the place that brought them together. We get to see and understand more about their lives, their past, and their difficulties. Their love is solid but still there is so much to overcome. Vanessa builds a comfortable life hidden away in a little village with people who work hard. She does everything she can to help her little village. Rather than beautiful balls in beautiful gowns, this romance tells of the hardship brought on by war and hard lives. Do not misunderstand – you will thoroughly enjoy this story of people who do what they need to do to help and support each other as you root for them to do well.

Back to the earl, Jasper finally hits rock bottom before his brother, Crispin, pulls him through the muck to realize no one is more important to him than Vanessa. There is a beautiful HEA following Jasper’s groveling, which he does well.

The Taverstons of Iversley is a fantastic series! You will love each and every member of the family, along with the sweet secondary characters that will charm you. I am, definitely, looking forward to Crispin’s story and how Ms. Coventry will reveal his secrets. And, what type of lady will capture his interest.

(I will post this review on Amazon on release day).

The was an interesting take on regency romances, because it focused on the middle and lower classes, which usually is not done. Usually they are all balls and such. But this story is about a war widow who becomes the willing mistress of a Lord. Even though she knows this will make her a piranha of “good” society, she figures she loves Jasper enough to be willing to go through with it.

But, when he becomes an earl, on the death of his father, she knows she can’t continue, and so moves to the Lake District, and tries to be the war widow that she is, living in a small village, trying to help her neighbors where she can, with whatever money she has.

One cleve thing she does is order boots made for herself, form the local “factory” that employs war veterans, that can’t do regular work any more.
Yes, this is still a love story, and yes, she still wishes things could be different and she could marry the earl, but it is the other bits of the story that are far more interesting, that will likely continue into the next two books in the series. There is a war profiteer, and the work of some of the other brothers of the earl, that might be a spy for the crown.

Great fun. And I look forward to reading the rest of the romances in the series. The author has done their homework, and thrown in bits of history that I had to look up, to make sure I understood the campaigns in the Napoleonic wars that she was writing about.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published on the 17th of December 2024.