**PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SOME SPOILERS INCLUDED IN THIS POST**
So typically I would review a single book. However, as I have recently discovered a specific Author whom I love her books I decided I would do a review on the Author rather than an individual book even though I will maybe review a book or two of hers in a later post.
A little history on me and reading Sarah M Eden. I have recently returned to activity in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in doing so knew that if I were being honest and faithful with myself I really needed to get rid of the 'Bad' romance novels I read and owned and focus more on finding wholesome romance novels since I love a good love story. I began following a Facebook page: Proper Romance Series and someone posted requesting suggestions for Authors to read. Sarah M Eden was one of those mentioned in the comments and upon doing a little research into her novels I figured out where to start and began reading (For those of you wondering the order in which they should be read check the bottom of this post for a list of her books in order of story Chronologically).
I had actually previously read one or two of her novels and had loved them but I had not focused on the Author at the time so when I realized those books I had previously read were hers I was even more excited to read her books.
I started with reading her Hope Springs series which is about a young Irish woman who ends up being hired on as a housekeeper for a man living in Hope Springs, Wyoming Territory. However, upon entering the town she comes to realize that it is a town torn between the 'Red's' and the "Irish" and is on the edge of disaster. As she tries to fit into the town and find her place there she is faced with the problem of liking two different men. As tempers flare in the small town over 'Katie' and the Reds thinking she doesn't know her place there are problems that arise. Under all this trouble she is already facing she holds herself back due to a tragic accident which happened when she was a child that shaped her future. Can she overcome the past, choose which man to love, and find her place in the town of Hope Springs? Dare she attempt a return to Ireland in search of a family who may or may not welcome her back?
Here I go reviewing books within a post. But I think this will be a good thing as it will give insight into Sarah herself.
I soon found myself out of books in the Hope Springs series (She just completed her first draft of the next book in the series). So I moved on to her next books. I found myself starting new books and realizing there was another book between the last one I had read and the new one I had just started (this is the reason for my list at the bottom of this post showing the order which I would read her books in).
In reading her books I found adventures in not only Wyoming Territory but also the Regency period in England. I followed the Lancaster/Boyce family as well as the Jonquil family on adventures and stories of love. I found some characters were revealed as opposite of the mask they wore. I came to know the depth of a son's heartache due to abandonment as a child, the joy and overwhelming, at times, humor of another gentleman. I met and fell in love with characters that were well formed and had a depth to them that I had not found in previous books by other authors. I found that Love and Humor can go hand in hand, and really should. I found that accidents happen and that our past should not shape our future or hold us back from loving those who long to love us in return.
Sarah's books are full of so many different emotions, settings, stories, and then just when you think you figure out who you love most and who you love to hate you read another of her books and find that there is more depth to a character you previously loved to hate, or depth to a character that you already love that makes you love them even more, and then other times when you find yourself falling for a new character and story.
I have not been disappointed once with any of Sarah's books and I look forward to any and all books yet to be released.
Her most recent book, set for release tomorrow, is The Lady and the Highwayman. Upon reading this intriguing novel I found my favorite of all her books. Again, not that I don't love them all but this book spoke to my heart as no other book has before. I never figured I would find myself so involved in a book as I did with this book. Starting this book I figured nothing would surprise me with this due to having read so many books before. But then I found that this book is actually three books in one, not like your typical multi-novella book. The three books are spread out from start to finish and play upon one another. This book is about Elizabeth, the headmistress of a young women's school in 1865 who writes 'good - upstanding book's' for the upper-class but also writes under an assumed name for the 'penny dreadful's', a set of books that is frowned upon by most of the upper class. Then you have Fletcher who is a man who grew up as a street urchin but through his writing books for the 'penny dreadful's' has found a financial security of his own. But his reign as the top selling author of the penny dreadful books is being challenged by a mysterious author 'Mr. King'. Miss Elizabeth Black, is the one who Fletcher seeks out since it seems she may know information about this 'Mr. King'. But can she reveal her secret, that she is 'Mr. King', which she knows could impact her standing in society as well as her position as headmistress? Can she trust Fletcher? In between the chapters on Elizabeth and Fletcher, we get a glimpse of the books they are each currently writing for the penny dreadfuls. Each author inserts some of themselves into their own novels and we get to know them through their works.
Sarah captures my attention with her style of writing, her humor, and the depth of her characters. I will forever recommend my friends and family, even strangers really, to read her books.
I had the amazing chance to meet Sarah M Eden at a Meet and Greet last month in Salt Lake City and was overjoyed to be able to offer my services, and be accepted, as a proofreader/reviewer for her future novels. She also signed two books I purchased that night - "Heart of a Vicar" and "The Lady and the Highwayman". I cannot wait for her next books to come out. She also has another new release which I have purchased which is a collaboration of four authors novella's. Sarah M Eden continues with the Lancaster/Boyce family in this Christmas Novella and does not disappoint, in fact I was brought to tears at the new depth of two characters I have come to know and love. One of the characters was one I was inclined to Love to Hate in one of the first books they were introduced in. But not all characters are the people that their 'mask' make them out to be.
So if you are wanting to find adventure, love, joy, humor, and so much more take a chance on Sarah M. Eden and I promise you won't be disappointed.
Many of Sarah's books cross over each other not only according to the plot time frame but also in shared characters between the different series so I am placing them in order according to the story and not
necessarily according to the series lineup itself:
Book List (In the order I would read them as well as by setting date in novel : Title & Setting Date):
~ An Unlikely Match - 1805
* Seeking Persephone - 8/1805 - L
Courting Miss Lancaster - 8/1806 - L
~ Glimmer of Hope - 12/1807 - (Main Character is prominent in For Love and Honor)
Romancing Daphne - 4/1812 - L
~ The Kiss of a Stranger - 4/1812 - L/J (Characters are prominent in other L/J Books)
* Friends & Foes - 12/1814 - J
Drops of Gold - 12/1814 - J
As You Are - 4/1815 - J
A Fine Gentleman - 4/1815 - J
~ For Elise - 5/1815 -J (Characters included in J Series)
For Love and Honor - 10/1815 - J
Loving Lieutenant Lancaster - 8/1816 - L
The Heart of a Vicar - 10/1816 - J
Christmas at Falstone Castle - 12/1816 - J/L (All Hearts Come Home For Christmas)
My Dearest Love - 1860 - HS (Hope Springs prequel Novella)
* Longing for Home - 1870 - HS
Longing for Home - Hope Springs - 1870 - HS
Love Remains - 8/1871 - HS
Long Journey Home - 3/1873 - HS
* The Sheriffs of Savage Wells - 1875 - SW
Healing Hearts - 1876 - SW
* The Lady and The Highwayman - 1865 - PDS
~ Ashes on the Moor - 8/1871
*First book in the individual series
~ Stand Alone
Denotes Series -
J - Jonquil's
L - Lancaster's
HS - Hope Springs
SW - Savage Wells
PDS - Penny Dreadful Society (I
just found out through a Facebook Live Video from Sarah Eden that The Lady and The Highwayman will in fact be the first in the Penny Dreadful Society Series)
There are many other collaborations which Sarah M Eden has been included with novella's but I have not read them all and I believe they can be read in any order but if in my reading I come upon novella's in these that relate to any of the above books or even books within another collaboration I will be sure to let you know!
~*~
Adventure Like There Is No Tomorrow! Family Is The Key To Happiness So
Tell Them You Love Them, Hug and Kiss Them, and Hold Your Kids A Little
Closer!~*~ As Always, The Bartlett Family
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