To avoid being sent across an ocean, Grace switches places with her sister. The only man aware of their deception? A dear friend, and her secret love. Grace Everly has no desire to set sail for the Caribbean, unlike her adventurous twin sister, Hope. Thanks to her sister’s irresponsible behavior and subsequent banning from the journey, Grace’s father decides to send her in Hope’s place. Desperate … in Hope’s place. Desperate to remain where things are familiar, Grace proposes an unthinkable plan: that she and Hope switch places. They only have to keep up the act long enough for Hope to board a ship in London. When the man who has stolen Grace’s heart learns of their secret, things get more complicated.
Jacob Barnes, soon to be ordained a vicar, has known Grace and Hope his whole life. Though close to both sisters, he’s dreamed of courting Hope for months. When he realizes his friends have switched places, putting the woman he admires out of his reach, he agrees to help with the subterfuge despite his bruised heart. As he watches Grace stumble in her acting abilities, attempting to change who she is, he realizes how much she means to him. But how does he tell her, without risking their friendship?
The deception puts their relationship to the test. As Grace hides her heart and her identity, Jacob examines his feelings, and no one in their community will be happy when the truth is discovered.
This is the second book in the Inglewood series and can be read as a stand alone, Sweet Regency Romance.
Other books by Sally Britton include:
Rescuing Lord Inglewood, Inglewood Book One
The Branches of Love Series, A Complete Regency Series:
The Social Tutor
The Gentleman Physician
His Bluestocking Bride
The Earl and His Lady
Miss Devon’s Choice
Courting the Vicar’s Daughter
And from the Forever After Retellings Line:
The Captain and Miss Winter
more
Discovering Grace by Sally Britton was so good!! I loved Jacob Barnes so much, and I found him interesting (being a second son, and weeks away from becoming a vicar). Of course, the story wouldn’t even exist (nor the title would make any sense) without Miss Grace Everly. I must admit, while I did like her from the start, and it was interesting to see her as part of the twin duo she belongs to with her sister Hope, the first part of the book seemed a bit slow for me.
Also, the first few chapters threw me off since I couldn’t understand how the switching was going to be explained since everything seemed to be going so well (after all, their father decides to send Hope to the Caribbean). Of course, it seems that I just needed to be more patient since the author explains all of it rather well (just keep in mind, it won’t be off the bat).
While I found the idea of switching places interesting, I didn’t know how I’d feel about it, but I must say that I liked how the experience serves for the reader to follow Grace’s growth throughout this time. Of course, having Jacob’s “support” is what would end up making this book all that much more gripping and swoony
Based on the two aspects that I’ve mentioned, this book would rate 4 or 4.5 stars for me, but I’m willing to round it up to 5 based solely on Jacob (and his many romantic quotes), as well as that perfect ending (last chapter + epilogue).
I received an ARC of this book via StoryOrigin, and this is my honest and voluntary review.
Poor poor Grace. Part of me wanted to see her go on the Caribbean adventure instead of her sister just for her to live a little. But in a way she did get her adventure just by staying home and experiencing life without her dominant twin. She discovered who she could be and how to follow her heart. This was a cute story. I am very curious of how her sister’s adventure will fair. That book is next to come.
Rating: PG
Another great book by Sally Britton! The characters are so enjoyable that I instantly felt connected with them. I found it so fun to read about twins and their deep love for each other. Grace and Hope looked a like but had very different personalities. Jacob helped Grace become bolder but I feel Grace helped him to learn more on matters of the heart. I enjoyed the plot and it kept me enamored with the book right up to the last page. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series!
Was given a complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.
Hope and Grace are twin sisters who long for different things. Hope wants adventure and longs for far away places, while Grace is content to stay home in their village. When Hope is given the opportunity to travel but then banned because of her bad behavior, Grace decides the sisters need to trade places. Their good friend, Jacob Barnes, notices the deception right away and must decide whether to keep their secret.
Without giving away what happens, I enjoyed Ms. Britton’s writing and the storyline. I didn’t agree with Grace’s decision at first, but I liked how Ms. Britton handled the decision to deceive their family. I also liked how she didn’t gloss over that this would create problems once their switch came to light.
Jacob seems a bit too obtuse to me in not knowing how he feels, but he’s also got a good heart. I liked watching Grace grow outside of her sister’s shadow until she gets her happy ending too. There are some amusing moments and conversations also, as Grace learns more about herself, outside of her sister’s shadow for the first time.
The book is a quick and clean read. There are no major surprises, but there’s also nothing out of place. It’s a good way to spend a few hours with a few characters you can learn to enjoy.
I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I had an ARC copy of this book, but this is my honest opinion. I really enjoyed reading this book. It was the first I had read this author, and I will definitely read more of her work. I enjoyed the plot and the characters in the book. The character development and growth were great.
I thoroughly enjoy this author’s style of writing. I look forward to each of Britton’s new releases. This book started out so fun with the idea of twins and switching places so both could get what they wanted most in life. I do agree with some reviewers who have stated that there was repetitive internal dialogue, thus the 4 stars. In spite of that, the story covered the self discovery and growth of the main characters as well as a change of heart for one. I felt the time and opportunities to evolve as characters, was well written and believable. I love that Britton’s books take a fresh clean approach to a well worn genre. I have not felt rushed through her stories with unbelievable timeliness, but more led by the experiences of the characters. (I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. My opinion is not a reflection of this opportunity, but an honest assessment of the author and this novel.)
A week after reading Discovering Grace, I find myself randomly thinking about scenes. I can remember many things so vividly which is a testament to Sally Britton’s incredible writing. Her characters are unique and have so much depth, the story-lines are always interesting, and her writing style is outstanding.
Grace had always lived in the background of her twin sister. She finally was not only able to stand on her own but also realize that she is good enough just as she is. Jacob had grown up with Grace and Hope and thought he knew everything about them. He was very clearly wrong. I loved Grace Everly and Jacob Barnes together.
This book is the second in the Inglewood series after Rescuing Lord Inglewood. It can be read on its own, though the previous book is excellent, and I suggest reading it as well.
I am very much looking forward to Saving Miss Everly.
Growing up I enjoyed stories about lookalike characters trading identities, so I was excited to read an adult take on such a storyline. Overall this was a fun read, but I also appreciated the added depth it had, touching on the morality of switching places.
I loved the characters. They felt real, even the secondary ones coming to life. Of course Grace was my favorite. She was kind, compassionate, and smart, but not unrealistically perfect as she could be jealous. It was interesting to see how wrongly some of her neighbors viewed her. That really made me feel for her. And the character growth! I was so happy about that as it’s one of the most important things to me in a novel.
I really liked Jacob too. The dynamic between Jacob and his family was great, but most importantly, he and Grace were well matched. Their love story was really well done. I loved that there were two obstacles to their getting together: his feelings for Grace’s sister and Grace’s deception. The pacing was perfect, so I never got impatient waiting for them to get together.
I know now that this is the second book in a series. I hadn’t read the first one, but this is perfect as a standalone. I understood it fine. That said, I plan to seek out the first book since I enjoyed the characters so much, and I hope in the future there will be a book about Isaac.
I received a free review copy of this ebook, and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
The second novel of the Inglewood series, “Discovering Grace” is a sweet and clean romance featuring Grace Everly and Jacob Barnes.
Lovely and thoughtful, Grace is consistently overshadowed by her identical twin sister, Hope. A near tragedy dashes Hope’s dreams of sailing to the Caribbean with family friends; her father insists Grace take her place instead. However, Grace wants to remain at home and proposes a switch, enabling both girls to get what they want.
In my opinion, their father’s edict is unwarranted. While one person in particular discerns the deception immediately, it is surprising that no one else figures it out. It is a matter of we see what we expect to see.
Grace really does discover herself. As does Jacob, who long had what can best be described as infatuation for her sister, Hope.
Sally Britton is one of my favorite Regency authors. Her prose is lovely, with few grammatical errors. There was one particular error I noticed. “Für Elise” is a favorite of mine and was published posthumously in 1867. In addition, this novel takes place in 1814, and the Napoleonic Wars did not end until 1815, although Napoleon was in exile in 1814.
All in all, a lovely read, and I look forward to Hope’s story.
The second story in the Inglewood series and this one picked up relatively soon after the first one left off. I can’t wait to find out what happens to Hope in the next book!
This was a great look at sister and family dynamics along with the friendship to love storyline. I loved the reminder that just because someone doesn’t like the spotlight, doesn’t mean they aren’t strong, brave and adventurous… we just might like different types of adventures 🙂
Hope and Grace Everly, introduced in Book 1, are identical twins. However, their personalities are very different. Where Hope is the life of the party, Grace sits quietly and shows attention to those ignored by society. Where Hope acts as the hostess to a picnic, it was Grace who planned and organized it. Where Hope acts on impulse, Grace thinks it through first. Where Hope dreams of adventure, Grace is happy at home. Together, they compliment each other and strengthen the other’s weakness.
As the reader learns at the beginning of the book, Hope has finally been granted her wish – to go on an adventure to the West Indies. However, her impulsiveness gets her in trouble when she takes the bait and chooses to race another girl and her brother. When the race ends in a crash and the young man is injured, Hope’s father reacts and denies her the trip. When he declares that Grace would go instead, both girls feel punished since Grace wants nothing to do with travel or a boat.
It’s at this point that the plot thickens. Grace, in an effort to save herself from the unthinkable, suggests to Hope that they switch identities – until Hope sets sail. Of course, Hope agrees and the stage is set. Grace will now assume the role of Hope and hope that no one catches on to the ruse.
Jacob Barnes has grown up with the twins and has recently envisioned himself married to Hope. Therefore, when he realizes that they switched places, he’s upset as well as in an ethical dilemma since he’s about to be ordained the next vicar of the local parish. Does he condone it or condemn it? And, now that he has the opportunity to spend time with Grace, does he actually find himself missing Hope after all? As he grapples with his feelings and sorts them out, he slowly realizes that it’s Grace he wants and not Hope, but does Grace understand that?
What follows is a gentle romance of a sort of romance. Jacob thinks he loves one sister, only to discover his feelings for another. Grace loves Jacob, but doesn’t want to set herself up for heartache when she’s convinced he wants Hope. And, just when everyone is about to untangle their feelings, more truths are revealed to bring on more ethical issues.
There are a lot of lessons learned. Both Hope and Grace learn that their behavior has consequences. Their father learns the limits of a fair punishment. Jacob learns about pride and forgiveness. And, everyone learns that Grace is more than they thought she was – she gets “discovered.”
Romance – PG / kissing
Language – clean
Violence – carriage accident and a character is injured
My rating – 5 stars
This was so good! I enjoyed reading about Grace and her strengths, sorrows, feelings of inadequacy, and becoming braver and more self-aware. Her character is so good! I loved the sweet love story, the goodness and cleanness of it, and the wonderful happy ending. I highly recommend it!
I received a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions are my own and are expressed voluntarily.
I love Sally’s books, I really enjoyed Grace and Jacob’s story and I’m glad he finally opened his eyes and discovered Grace! I feel like Grace also discovered herself and who she was independent of her sister, and realized what she had to offer and that she could stand on her own. Good clean regency romance I would definitely recommend
Sally Britton kept me totally entertained with this story. Having a family with several sets of identical or nearly identical twin I loved the idea of Grace and Hope switching places as adults. With their opposite personalities it could not have been easy for either of them. There is plenty of humor with Grace trying to be Hope, yet trying to be true to herself. I enjoyed the interaction between Jacob and Mr. Spratt, Isaac or his brother, Mathew. I completely enjoyed this book and am impatient for Hope’s story.
When asked I always reply that I prefer contemporary to historical romance, unless I’ve just read one of Sally Britton’s books. Discovering Grace is such a well-written book that pulls at the heartstrings that it’s hard to imagine preferring anything to it. The characters are developed so that I feel as if I could sit down and have a nice long chat with them over a cup of tea. The book moves along at a perfect pace and has a sweet HEA. I’m looking forward to the next book in this series. I highly recommend this book to readers of clean historical romance and to Christian fiction readers. Even if Regency romances are not your thing, I encourage you to give this one a try. It might just change your mind. I received an ARC. I chose to write a review and share my opinion of this excellent book.
This book had wonderful characters. The suppporting characters helped the story progress in a nice way and the h & H. They were a nice addition. I enjoyed getting to know Grace more and the author did a great job in giving her depth and personality. I was able to escape into regency England and stay there. I thought it was a good job in staying within that historical time period. I dodn’t notice any mistakes.
Grace ~ A word that has so many meanings. It is the name of our main character here, but also has other implications in this story.
Grace is the seemingly shy twin, but all along has had strengths and depth to her personality that others don’t even see. She is kindhearted, intelligent, and brave. I love her spirit, and how she questions herself and her decisions, but discovers her true self in the process.
Jacob is the soon-to-be vicar that has only ever had eyes for Grace’s sister Hope, until Hope is no longer in the picture. He discovers that Grace is more than who he has always assumed she was.
And, he discovers things about his judgmental thoughts along the way that he has to deal with before he can go forward.
I particularly loved the importance that the author placed on Grace’s father’s (eventual) response to Grace’s deception. It is the epitome of how our Heavenly Father responds to us as his children.
One of the (noun) definitions for Grace is: “God’s kindness and love shown to us, even though we do not deserve them.” This story has a beautiful thread of this kind of grace and forgiveness woven throughout.
This author did a superb job of creating situations and resolutions, with a satisfying end.
This book has no ‘fluff’ in it. There is suspense, humor, self reflections, tender emotions, and of course sweet clean romance.
It was a joy to read and left me eagerly waiting for the next book in this series – Hope’s story!
I received an ARC of this book. All opinions stated here are my own.
I highly recommend this book as well as all others from this author. They are all well worth the time spent reading them.
I first read this book and wrote the review below but just listened to the audiobook and have to say that it was wonderful. The narrator does a wonderful job with Sally Britton’s lovely story.
Sweet story. I liked Grace from the first book and my heart ached for her quiet heart. She loved Jacob who only has eyes for her sister. Both Jacob and Grace grow a great deal in this book. Grace grows beyond being the woman at her sister’s side and becomes her own self. She’d always been content to be the unseen, unheard sister but by the end of the book she stands up to be seen and heard. Great growth. For her it must have been awful to sit and hear herself spoken of by other people. She wouldn’t like it whether they spoke positively or negatively but how painful to hear the negative. Jacob too grows as he begins to see himself, his new role as vicar and the others around him more clearly.
I liked that though Grace and Hope are opposites in nature and Hope overshadows Grace most of the time, their relationship itself is not so uneven. They love each other so well. It would have been easy to make Hope be snotty or unseeing toward her sister but even though Hope is thoughtless in her thirst for adventure she appreciates her sister’s qualities.
Even their father grows in this book. He isn’t a main character but it is his temper over Hope’s antics that sets up the premise of the book and by the end he is able to see more clearly and be forgiving as well.
I also loved Jacob’s mother. How Jacob treats his mother is a good indicator of what kind of a husband he will be. He is not only kind and appreciative but also see her gifts in a way that children are often oblivious to.
This book is a slower paced, clean, gentle read much like Grace and Jacob. It fits their personalities beautifully.
No sex, language or violence
*I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book and voluntarily choose to review it.
1814
Grace and Hope Everly, age 24, are twins. Although identical in appearance, they are opposites in temperament. While Grace is calm and a homebody. Hope is prone to mischief and has a bit of a bad temper. Hope wants to travel to London to take in some of the season or go to Bath to take the waters. Unfortunately, the girls’ mother doesn’t like to travel, so there they stay.
Today, their friend, Miss Irene Carlbury has come to call. She grew up on the Caribbean island of St, Kitt’s, and has now come to England to polish her manners and such. Irene’s family will be returning to the Caribbean for the better part of a year. They want to take one of the twins as a companion for Irene and wants the girls’ parents to decide which sister should go. The parents choose Hope and she is delighted. Although Grace does not wish to go, she is saddened at being separated from her sister. Relieved at not being chosen, Grace still worries that Hope doesn’t fully realize what she’s getting into.
Jacob Barnes is a neighbor to the Evetly family and secretly is in love with Hope. He is sad to learn that she is leaving. Jacob will soon become the new vicar.
When Hope’s temper causes a carriage accident that injures a young man, her father denies her the trip to the Caribbean, and will send Grace in her place. Both girls are devastated. So, at the last minute, they pull a switch allowing Hope to go as Grace and Grace acting and dressing like Hope until at least Hope’s ship has departed. The deception is difficult for Grace and she feels bad lying to her father.
Soon, Grace and Jacob spend more time together and Grace confesses to him. He is shocked at her deception. When her father finds out, he is furious and makes her stay in her room and tells her that she must confess her sin in front of the church members.
This is where I said – wait a minute! That is way too harsh a punishment to inflict on a woman who is 24-years-old for Pete’s sake. There comes a time in life when a parent doesn’t get to treat their offspring like a child. I almost stopped reading the book, however, I like the author so I finished it. The author brings it together for the reader in the end and promises that we will read Hope’s story in her next book. I do hope that it is not as harshly religious as this one, because that was a huge turnoff!
Copy provided by the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I love this authors story telling. Very sweet and emotion filled. Grace was always in the background while her twin Hope was in the limelight. Their best friend Jacob had a tendre for Hope, while Grace had deep feelings for him. When Hope gets the opportunity to go away, Jacob will start to see that all along Grace is the one for him, now if he can only convince her. I received a complimentary copy and I am voluntarily reviewing.