Captain Robert Wilkins has never aspired to grandeur. So when the returned war hero unexpectedly inherits the vast estate of Cattersley from his great-aunt, he feels woefully inadequate in his new role. Out of place in his lavish surroundings, his first glimmer of hope comes when he happens upon a lovely trespasser in his gardens.Words have never come easily for Abigail Rutherford, and she … she prefers the solitude of exploring the gardens at the neighboring country estate to engaging in uncomfortable conversation. But when she unexpectedly encounters Captain Robert Wilkins in her place of solace, she is surprised at the immediate ease she feels in his presence. Soon her brightest moments are those spent with the captain. But even as their friendship grows into something more, outside forces have other plans for the two. Mr. Mead, the handsome vicar, has also taken a liking to the quiet and timid Abigail—and he will stop at nothing to ensure she becomes his wife.
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Adoring Abigail is a sweet and clean historical Regency romance. This is the first book I have read from this author and I will be reading more from her. I loved this story. It is original. I also loved heroine, and hero and most of all the amazing ending. It is swoon worthy with a happily ever after.
*I was given a copy by the publisher and this is my honest opinion.
Adoring Abigail is a clean, wholesome Regency era romance which was enjoyable and sweet. It was easy to feel Abigail’s distress when her family and others mocked her speech problems and felt she was unintelligent because of it. I cheered for her when Robert Wilkins and his family accepted her and actually showed they enjoyed her company and opinions. Chalon Linton kept up the tension and suspense to the end. This is the first book that I’ve read by Linton, but I’m looking forward to reading others.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy from Covenant Communications through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
War hero, Captain Robert Wilkins is overwhelmed when he inherits an estate from a great-aunt he never met. Abigail has always struggled with speaking and life with her grandmother has only made it more difficult to speak. Will friendship between these two who do not fit in grow into something more?
This was a sweet and clean read. Both of the main characters, Robert and Abigail, were enjoyable to read about. Robert’s feelings of inadequacy are understandable since he hadn’t been raised to be in charge of an estate. He has a lot to learn about managing servants and tenants, and take a respectable place among his neighbors.
Drink took both of Abigail’s parents, leaving her with only her strict, disapproving grandmother. No matter how hard she tries, she cannot master her tongue and she struggles to pronounce the ‘r’ in some words. She is grateful when the vicar goes out of his way to be kind to her, but soon realizes he has ulterior motives
I would give this a 4.5 star rating. The plot moved at a good pace. The supporting cast was fun. There was only one point that didn’t sit well with me: at one point, Robert’s sister organizes a dinner and makes some decisions that go over well with the neighbors due to the divergence from tradition. I was surprised Mrs. Wilkins did not warn her this would not go well, and it ends up being a disaster of an evening. Other than that, this was a lovely afternoon read.
For readers looking for a sweet and clean Regency, I recommend this!
I love a romantic, happily ever after story and this one fits the bill. Just in many Jane Austen books, Abigail is left alone. Both parents dead, her sister sent to be a governess, and her brother sent to America. Because of Abigail’s speech impediment, she is treated as stupid and an embarrassment. She cares for her mother until her death and then is sent to live with her grandmother. There she meets Robert Wilkins, the new master of Cattersley.
Abigail is kind, smart, and compassionate and Robert is solid, brave and loving. Other characters are less so. I loved the characters and the story kept me turning the pages. This is a feel-good story and I loved it. I would definitely read another book by this author.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and offer my honest opinion of this book.
4.5 Stars
ADORING ABIGAIL is a Regency romance that will tug on readers’ hearts. Memorable characters and a sweet romance with an endearing plot make for a delightful story. Definitely recommended to sweet historical romance fans!
I loved these characters! Both Abigail and Robert have their challenges, and both are trying to face what life has given them and manage the best they can. Robert is surrounded by a wonderful mother and a charming sister, as well as faithful servants to help him as he comes into his new inheritance. However, Abigail has been criticized and bullied most of her life and continues to be so. My heart went out to her. Her grandmother does not see her value and is ashamed of her, as are the townspeople. There are also some villains, one unknowingly and one that is quite deceiving. I thought both were well done. I adored Hazel with her enthusiasm and general kindness, and loved her friendship with Abigail. My favorite characters were Abigail and Robert, of course. I loved seeing their relationship bloom.
I would have liked a bit more development here and there and a few more pages to the story. I also was a bit frustrated with the characters at certain points—Abigail with her acquiescence to Mr. Mead and her grandmother, and Robert with his blindness and inaction—but I also understood their predicaments and how their personalities would lend to the situations they found themselves in. Thank goodness they do eventually figure things out and we get our happily-ever-after.
I can’t resist mentioning my favorite scene (a part during a ball in the library – you’ll have to read it to find out what I’m referring to) that was brilliantly played, both by the characters and the author in plotting the story in such a way. I had to admire the excellent timing, laugh at the humor, and sigh at the romantic moment. There were several other memorable moments, some of which were also quite emotional and heartbreaking, which made the ending that much sweeter.
In the end, was it what I wished for? I thoroughly enjoyed reading this! It was sweet, but also had a depth to the story with these complex characters that I couldn’t help loving. I’m so looking forward to more from this author!
Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
From the very first pages, this book had me wrapped up in its story. I loved the main characters, Abigail and Captain Wilkins. They felt like real people that I would love to know. This Regency Romance was quite unique in that Abigail had a speech impediment that had ruled her life. Abigail’s family treated her cruelly because of it assuming she was stupid. In 1818 they weren’t as enlightened as we are now about knowing how to help someone like Abigail. My heart ached for this character to see how her mother, grandmother, and others were so cruel to her.
In comes Captain Robert Wilkins and his wonderful family that included his mother and sister, Hazel. They loved and protected Abigail from the start. I did feel frustrated at times that Abigail didn’t let them know what was truly going on so they could have helped her sooner. The villain in this book is none other than a handsome vicar. He is written so well that I wished I could crawl into the pages of the book and smack him; strong feelings for sure but that’s great writing on Chalon Linton’s part.
This novel is sweet, amazing, and heartbreaking at times. The story is beautifully told by Abigail and Robert’s viewpoints. I loved being able to see this story from each character’s eyes. I enjoyed my experience viewing this world of a kind and gentle man who helped a shy, sweet lady finally find her worth. This novel receives 5 stars from me! Adoring Abigail is a novel that I will read again.
I enjoyed how the author gave us an “underdog” as the main character. Abigail had such a rough life, but still found joy and happiness wherever she could. It broke my heart every time her grandma treated her so unkindly. Robert was like a fish out of water at first, but it didn’t take him too long to start to find his place at Cattersley.
The story started off a little bit slow-moving for me, and I was able to put it down and move on to something else for a little while. Once the issues with the bad guy started showing up though, the story picked up and I found myself not wanting to put it down.
I did feel like Robert was a bit clueless at times, because he seemed to be unable to figure out what the problems were. (It is so hard to not give out spoilers!)
Definitely a book I would recommend, and I hope that Hazel will get her own story in the future.
Adoring Abigail is the tale of a former army captain turned landowner and gentleman meeting up with a young lady who struggles to speak correctly. As a character, Abigail immediately won me over. I could immediately relate to her speech troubles because I had similar troubles when I was younger, although not as severe as Abigail’s. But I had a speech therapist to help me overcome them, Abigail has no such luxury. Instead, she has a family that abuses and condemns her for her disability. Living with her grandmother who constantly berates her every time she makes a mistake, she seeks freedom in her daily walks, walks that take her to Cattersly, the new home of Mr. Robert Wilkins. Robert is struggling with his new role as master of Cattersly and is delighted to meet Abigail. As the two begin to care for each other they must confront additional difficulties. Abigail must contend with the attentions of a controlling, manipulative vicar who won’t take no for an answer while Robert tries to get a handle on helping his sister learn to be the mistress of Cattersly after several misteps.
The story is told in Abigail and Robert’s alternating points of view. I wasn’t sure about this at first. Sometimes this technique can interrupt the flow of the story. In this case it works quite well. The story doesn’t tell the same experiences just in alternating voices, instead one chapter picks up after the previous one ends giving the reader different perspectives on different events. After the first few chapters, I started to really enjoy seeing the way Abigail and Robert see and react to each other. I really appreciated how kind Robert is to Abigail, especially in contrast to her grandmother and the manipulative Mr. Mead. The book is a fairly quick read, but all the elements for an enjoyable story are there, interesting characters, problems to be overcome, and a satisfying ending.
This book can be summed up in one word for me, “sweet.” When I think about the word candy comes to mind, relationships, happiness, purity, and the way you treat another. I’m sure you could add more definitions to this list. This book is all of those attributes and more.
Abigail is a wonderful young woman. She is kind and caring. She has an amazing capacity to love and accept her family even when they do not do the same for her. She suffers from a speech impediment and is thought of as “less intelligent.” It seems as if no one around her understands her feelings until the new heir of Cattersley comes to claim his inheritance. His mother and sister soon follow and become the support system that Abigail needs. They treat her better than her own family does.
The book is told in the first person from altering points of view. I really liked this format for this story. It gave a glimpse into the characters that added to the book. You could see the goodness that they both embody. I also liked seeing how other people treated them through their eyes. The true character of others in the story is revealed through body language and what they say when they don’t feel anyone of importance is around and listening.
This book was more than I had hoped it would be. I knew that I anticipated it’s release and looked forward to reading it. The characters were amazing and I loved the subplot of tolerance and seeing a person as more than their way of speech.
This is a “sweet” book in so many ways.
Source: I received a complimentary copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.
** spoiler alert ** Truth be told, I adored Abigail and maybe I adored Robert even more. It was telling to me from the beginning what kind of person Abigail was by how the servants treated her. They seemed to be one of the few people that were kind to her at all. Her family certainly wasn’t. Nor was society. Robert, however, was sweet and gentle with her. As was his family. I loved all the relationships between Abigail and Robert and his family. Hazel and her mother were just as amazing. I loved their kind hearts. I was a little surprised by the moments Hazel seemed insecure because in so many ways she was very strong. I smiled every time she was able to manipulate situations to help Abigail.
There were great secondary characters in the book making me hope that some of them might get their own books too. Hazel and her mother of course, were well written. Mr. Mead was well written but I don’t want a book about him. I don’t always love when the clergyman is written to be the bad guy but in this case it was kind of the obvious choice. It was a clear way to show Abigail what he was and how he was able to win over everyone else the whole time. No one suspected him. But while all his sermons taught the congregation biblical truths it showed Abigail his hypocrisy. At first I wondered why he had seemed so kind in the beginning and then escalated quickly into him being offensive. But then I realized he was being threatened by someone else showing an interest in Abigail. He could no longer do his slow seduction of her into his life. He had to move quickly to keep what he thought was his for the taking. Would the slow seduction have worked if Abigail had not had Robert to compare him with?
I was surprised by Abigail’s grandmother in the end. It was not the reaction I expected from her. It showed her redeeming graces. And I kinda thought maybe I’d like to see her have her own book. Perhaps she’ll learn kindness and be softened by love?
I think my only complaint about the story was it took Robert so long to figure out the problem and even though he knew he found Abigail adorable he was so slow to do more than be her friend. I know he had an estate to run but couldn’t he have done some investigative work to figure out what Abigail wasn’t telling him? Ha ha. Okay, okay. I got to see Abigail’s thoughts and experiences and Robert didn’t so I can’t blame him for not being as astute as I. That being said, once it because clear to him, I loved his decisive action. I was so glad to see his last interaction with Mr. Mead. And in that moment, I even loved the butler.
Also, sweet cover!
Sex: no
Language: no
Violence: a well deserved knee to the groin and punch in the nose.
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book through netgalley and voluntarily chose to review it.
I enjoy reading clean, sweet regency fiction that’s well-written, and this book is all of that. Chalon Linton has written a beautiful love story with great characters and a setting that made me wish I could visit that English village and countryside.
As the title suggests, I did adore the character of Abigail. She’s lovely, intelligent, educated, and caring. However, she is also mistakenly thought to be slow because she has a slight speech impediment. Her grandmother treats her as if she’s ashamed of her and encourages her to remain silent when in public. By the time I had read a couple of chapters, I was angry at the ill treatment Abigail received from those in her social circle. Robert Wilkins inherits the estate next to Abigail’s home, and is instantly attracted by her kindness and compassion. He soon realizes that he “adores Abigail”, but their road to romance is hindered by her grandmother’s expectations. Robert made the perfect hero for Abigail, and the way he “rescues” her is perfect.
This truly is a wonderful story. Highly recommending this one to all who love to read regency fiction.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
I’ve been looking forward to this book since I heard it was coming out. It seems like everyone read this book (and loved it!) before me. Finally it’s my turn.
This story is told in the first person with the alternating voices of Robert and Abigail. I really loved getting both points of view and feeling the intimacy of their thoughts. Robert and Abigail are both kind people. Robert is very aware of everything going on around him. He is invested in learning his new role and doing a good job. He really pays attention to Abigail and notices the small things but he never pushes her or forces her to divulge things she is uncomfortable with. Abigail is a character worth rooting for and honestly I couldn’t help myself. She’s the underdog, unfairly repressed and insulted for most of her life. I wanted all good things for her and even felt outrage on her behalf when people were mean.
I could easily picture the people and places in this story. It all flowed gently and easily. All things led to a very sigh worthy ending and I really enjoyed it!
Content: kissing, a couple instances of untoward advances
– I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions express are my own.
There are so many amazing looking Regency romances coming out this spring! I have been hearing great things about this one, so I was so excited to get to read it. And it lived up to the hype. I LOVED it!
This one is full of great characters. I loved Abigail, Robert, and his sister Hazel. I hope that Hazel is going to get her own story some time. There are also characters that I didn’t like. I’m not going to tell you who and prejudice you before you even pick up the book! Not liking characters is a huge sign for me that the author did a great job with her characters.
The plot was great. It kept me engaged during the whole time I was reading. I didn’t want to put it down to do anything, I just wanted to know what was going to happen to my beloved characters.
Make sure you grab your own copy of this one!
I was sent a copy of Adoring Abigail as a gift from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
Adoring Abigail was a dramatic romance. Abigail has a speech impediment, which makes her a vulnerable character in the story due to her lack of comfortably associating with others and her Grandmother’s own lack of understanding. Her speech seems to improve as the story moves along as you get to know her character, it becomes less noticeable. I really liked that small shift that the author made. It was brilliantly done. Captain Robert Wilkins and his family are very likeable characters as well. The story moves along pretty quickly and was a fast read. It’s a good romance with enough dramatic tension that you will want to continue turning the pages.
Please note that I received a free copy of this book to review, however, this is my honest opinion.
The main characters were both interesting and different from what you find in a lot of Regency novels–Abigail’s speech problem was something I haven’t seen in other books, and Robert’s rise in station and his adjustment to it, while a little more common, was still engaging. I really liked Robert’s mother and sister and how they were as immediately accepting of Abigail as Robert was. One thing that didn’t come through for me as strongly as I would have liked is WHY the vicar was so set on marrying Abigail He was the type of villain you love to hate, so that was great; I just wish his reasons for wanting to marry her were more strongly explained.
3.5 stars.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
This is a story that needed to be told and just struck a chord with me. Linton made me feel real emotions for fictional characters created so well, I forgot they were not real people! I felt a connection to Abigail, forced into circumstances beyond her control and being criticized and shunned at every turn. Her speech impediment caused people to treat her as less than enough, and it was heartbreaking. Her positivity under the circumstances leapt off the pages and I was rooting for her the entire time.
The gardens and grounds of Cattersly were described so well I cannot leave them out. I could picture it all in my mind. I shouldn’t say this, but I hated the vicar! He was evil and so full of hypocrisy, I wanted to punch him myself! Robert was the true gentleman and I loved his goodness and purity of heart. This is the regency novel of 2020 people, so get out there and grab your copy! Linton has hit a home run!
I received a copy of this book for free, all thoughts and opinions are my own.