Monday, February 2, 2015

Finding Hope by Stacy Finz

Title: How to Beguile a Duke
Author: Ally Broadfield
Publisher:Entangled
Publication date: Dec 8th 2014
Genre: Historical Romance
Rating: 4 Stars
Source: NetGalley

The spirited Catherine Malboeuf has just arrived in England to reclaim her ancestral home, Walsley Manor, and a valuable missing heirloom. Nicholas Adair, the attractive and frustratingly inflexible Duke of Boulstridge, however, is quite unwilling to sell the estate back to Catherine. Unless, of course, she accepts a small wager...
Nick will sell Walsley Manor if—and only if—Catherine secures an offer of marriage from an eligible member of the ton before the end of the London season.
Of course, Nick is certain he'll win. After all, no proper gentleman would ever marry a woman who conceals a cutlass in her skirts. Yet something about Catherine's unconventional disposition seems to ignite a need deep inside him. A need that won't just cost him the wager, but the very heart he swore to never give away...



My Review:


This is the first I’ve read of Stacy Finz, it sure won’t be the last. This is a story of loss, the struggle to survive, to heal, to learn to live and to love again. 

Emily moves to the small town of Nugget, California, to escape her former life. 4 years before her daughter had been kidnapped right under her nose and while her ex never blamed her and they divorced amicably, the press villainised her. She rents a  refurbished barn from Clay, a recent widower with 2 sons. 

Clay is former military. He doesn’t really know his kids well and his wife died under a storm of gossip. Clay struggles to relate to his kids. He gives them discipline as well as love. He’s a good father. He’s also a guy who looks for superficial women. There were many times when I wanted to smack him!

Emily and Clay form are slow to form even a friendship. When they do turn to each other and admit their romantic feelings, news of Emily’s daughter Hope shakes it up. I absolutely ADORE the boys! The way they stood by Emily during that time warmed my heart! 

I will definitely be reading more of Stacy Finz’s novels! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a complimentary copy.

Ally has worked as a horse trainer, director of marketing and development, freelance proofreader, and a children's librarian, among other things. None of them were as awesome as writing romance novels (though the librarian gig came closest). She lives in Texas and is convinced her house is shrinking, possibly because she shares it with three kids, five dogs, a cat, a rabbit, and assorted reptiles. Oh, and her husband.
Ally likes to curse in Russian because very few people know what she's saying, and spends most of what would be her spare time letting dogs in and out of the house and shuttling kids around. She has many stories in her head looking for an opportunity to escape onto paper. She writes historical romance set in Regency England and Imperial Russia.

Find Ally@

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