After the tragic death of his beautiful wife, Nathan Randolph is looking for companionship. Timid Darby Turner is twenty years his junior and inexperienced in love, confidence, and life. This unlikely couple marries after a whirlwind courtship. Darby has fallen in love for sure, and Nathan encourages her to explore a dark sexuality with him. Moving to his majestic, Southern plantation home, Darby … home, Darby realizes she does not know her new husband at all. Soon Darby is competing with the memory of Nathan’s dead wife.
Can Darby win out against a memory, or will the past destroy her new love?
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ARC given by author through Booksprout. My review is given volunterly.
His Wife was the first book published by Ashley Hastings.
I gave it 3 1/2 stars.
This book gave me mixed feelings, the biggening I really loved, and the end. The middle portions I felt a bit disconnected with the book.
These characters are going to give you all types of emotions. I really felt bad for Darby throughout the story until she finally stood her ground, and stood up for herself… I felt really proud of her!!! She was loving, and innocent. She just wanted to please everyone.
Now Natham he was a handful, rich, and sometimes he got under my skin, but he did love his wife Darby.
This is really an emotional rollercoaster of a romance.
It’s about an older man falling in love with a much younger woman, dominant verses submissive, even some cinky sex with a lot of naughty talk!
Darby had a really selfish mother, and Nathan had a mean mother. Arggg… Then we had the dead ex that Nat carried around with him for the past year.
I loved Maxwell’s character, he was sweet…… I can’t wait to read about his love story.
Loved the characters Darby and Nathan. Didn’t want to stop reading and wanted to find out what happened next. Darby had to grow up fast after graduating college and then getting married. She had to deal with a lot from a few people including her own mother and mother-in-law. A lot of drama, love, friendship, emotional and funny at times.
This book took my breath away! This is her debut novel and if I didn’t know any better, I would have never guessed!
Can not recommend. Thought this was a little too dark for me. Nathan seems to take advantage of Darby’s youth, insecurities and inexperience to steer her toward his sexual preferences. It was ok in the end because she finally stands up for herself.
The intensity is there especially when it come to two people being brought together. Is it truly love? Only time will tell in this amazing story that deals with a a little heartache and some happiness.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Darby recently graduated from from college and took a vacation to New York to meet her mother and celebrate. She doesn’t expect her mother to try to set her up with or creep or be rescued by the handsome, much older Nathan. In a few days, her life is changed, and she must learn to adapt to change or remain everyone’s doormat.
This was my first book by Ashley Hastings, and she definitely didn’t disappoint. I never read the book she based this story off of, and honestly I don’t want to. I enjoyed every minute of this book. From the love, mistakes, drama, WTF, weakness to strength. It was well written. Darby finally found her voice by the end of the story. Nathan and his mother had a lot to do with that in different ways. I would love to see how their relationship continues to grow. And also a book about Maxwell. Let’s find him love (maybe one of Darby’s friends comes to visit??).
Just…WOW!!! I totally LOVED this book!! This is my first read by this author and definitely won’t be my last. I literally hated to read the last word. What a great and funny and intriguing story of Nathan and Darby (Doormat Darby…too funny!!) with plenty of love and mystery thrown in. And who doesn’t love a little…ok a lot in this case, lol…mother-in-law drama!!! What’s next??!
I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
4 and 1/2 stars
I loved the cover immediately. It is beautiful and elegant all at the same time. The story begins with a whirlwind romance between Darby and Nathan. The older man sweeps in and takes Darby with him. In some ways, you wonder how it can be real. Of course, a part of me wants it to be real because who wouldn’t want a man to come in like a knight on a white horse and be the Prince Charming we always wanted. I mean Nathan seems exactly like what Darby needs because her mother is less than desirable. But things don’t seem to be going well when Nathan takes Darby home. A moody mother in law, a lurking man and a dead first wife are haunting Darby making her relationship with Nathan difficult. Not to mention his mood swings.
What I loved about this story is how it reminded me of Jane Eyre. There are mysterious elements and intrigue as Darby fights with the memory of Nathan’s first wife and trying to find her place in the new home. Despite her young age, I think she does incredibly well given the circumstances. She comes into her own and matures in a short space of time. Nathan is an interesting man. He is charming and passionate but can be cold and controlling. There is more to the man than meets the eye. In some places, I would have liked Darby to confront Nathan more and hash things out. That being said, it was still a real page turner with the passion and chemistry between Nathan and Darby as well as the mystery floating around Peacock Alley.
I first read Sweet Talk and fell in love with the characters and the book and the town of Peacock. Ashley Hastings was a new to me author and I didn’t know that there were already book set in the same town, but after reading Darby’s character I couldn’t wait to read her and Nathan’s story and I hoped it would be next (and coming out quickly). Lucky me I found out that it was actually the first in the set and had been out for a while. I was already half in love with them and their story before I even started. Both of their backgrounds were so difficult, in different ways but they each had to get through it and move forward. I really liked that Darby had a backbone and stood up for herself. There were plenty of steamy sexy scenes too.
All the books set in Peacock are definitely worth the read. Funny, Emotional, Drama, Sexy, Friendship, Love. A little bit of everything.
Darby is a gentle young woman who has been bullied by her mother for too long. When they agree to meet in New York for a meal, little realising that her mother has set her up with a repulsive jerk from their small home town that she considers will make a good marriage match with Darby. Overhearing the deplorable way that the jerk speaks down to Darby, her knight in shining armour, Nathan who is 20 years older than her, comes to their table making out that he had a date with Darby. With the jerk’s feather’s ruffled but Darby liking Nathan, they depart. Darby is overwhelmed by Nathan who is so much an assured alpha male who is a widower fallowing his wife drowning a year ago but no body found. Nathan is so enchanted by Darby that events take a turn that are nothing like the way she envisaged her trip to NY would or could ever be. He takes her home and there she meets the wonderful Mr Maxwell [who appears in Ashley Hastings other two books Magic Man and Ride With Me. She also meets the dreaded mother-in-law as well as making some great new friends. This is the third book that I’ve read by Ashley Hastings, having discovered her stories just a couple of months ago and I must say how impressed I have been with the storylines and the amazing characters that she has created. I must confess that I probably read these books in the ‘wrong’ order as I should have read The Wife first but it really didn’t make that much of an issue. Darby is such a lovely young woman who is so easy to like and so believable [in fact all her characters are like this – well her mother-in-law maybe not so much 😉 ] But you will find that there is an overlap of characters in these stories which I love as we get to see how they are ‘getting along’ in their Hea’s. I am definitely looking forward to reading more stories by Ashley and encourage you to try her other two books too. I received a copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. If I could give this more than a 5 star rating I would as it is just so good. be ready for a few twists and turns that certainly surprised me! MOST DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED
A little bit filthy, quite intense and full of mystery. Great Read!
I didn’t read the original Rebecca story so I dived into this book without any expectations. I’ve already had a pleasure to read other book from this author – Magic Man and I enjoyed it. That’s why I’ve decided to give this one a chance as well. And I’m not disappointed.
I loved the mystery, the twists and turns. The way the story line unraveled and how the heroine has developed, matured and gained her confidence in the course of the actions. How she was ready to fight for herself and for her marriage. The steamy, hot, sexy scenes were kind of filthy but I like that style so not a shock for me and for sure an additional thing to enjoy while reading. Hero was intense, closed but also romantic and loving.
If you like mystery and suspense, intense, filthy alpha heroes and heroines who are able to fight their insecurities and at the end learn how to be confident and take charge of their lives you need to read this one as you will really enjoy it.
I received an ARC of this book and I was pleasantly surprised. It was a good story that was written well with great characters that you either love or hate, and it will keep you interested and caught up in the storyline. Well Done!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Darby is a new college graduate who is in NY to celebrate her graduation with her mother. Instead she is stood up by her mom and her mother’s sleezy choice for a suitor takes her out to eat. She is rescued by a handsome and confident old man. They have a whirlwind courtship and marry within the week.
Darby comes home to Nathan’s plantation where she comes face to face with his life which includes a nasty MIL, the ghost of his deceased wife and the town. There are
Many hurdles for this couple who barely know each other to overcome. Limits and expectations are tested.
This in a unique book. Each character seemed to have many varied personality traits that would switch on a dime. It is told in Darby’s POV only with some flashbacks that are Nathans. A long and winding road for this couple after a quick start.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. Ms. Hastings had me at the introductory with the sentence “Because you see, the boat’s only cargo was a terrible secret, and once this boat was found and its secrets revealed for all to see, the storm would rage at last.” I couldn’t wait to get started and once I did I hated putting the book down. This is the story of a tortured older man who falls for a much younger lady who has been treated as doormat most of her life by her power driven mother. Nathan and Darby meet when he rescues her from a dreadful dinner date. They go out for drinks and the next day for sight seeing and before they know it they are getting married. Nathan then takes Darby home to his beautiful estate in Mississippi and his self-righteous mother. Darby soon discovers that although she really cares for Nathan, she isn’t sure if he is still in love with his dead first wife or not. As if adjusting to being in a new place and a new marriage isn’t hard enough, add in a vengeful, spiteful mother-in-law; judgmental friends and business associates; a drought that gets broken by a major storm and some hot steamy sex and you will see why I gave this book five stars.
This story was an amazing twisted tale that had my heart pained for Darby as she ventured in to a world that held too many secrets. Nathan craved the love of his new bride but in rushing to claim her innocence held so much of his past at bay. The book draws you in. You wonder hope it could get any worse or when things will finally start to look up for the couple. I really enjoyed it.
The story is original and has tragic moments, romance, and excellent character development.
Format: Kindle Edition
A new to me author.
His Wife was a quick, easy read.
I enjoyed her style of writing & the overall story line, but the characters/world building could have been more thoroughly fleshed out. There was a bit of disconnect at times.
There were a few grammar errors, but nothing that distracted from reading.
I give it a solid 3.5 stars.
I’ve read other books by Ashley Hastings, but hadn’t read this one yet and I don’t know why I waited so long! When the story started I was not a fan of Darby, she truly was a doormat and would let anyone and everyone walk all over her, but as the story progressed I was so happy to see her grow and mature and really start to stand up for herself. I felt the like I was on a roller coaster with how I felt about Nathan. I’d go from loving him, to hating him, to loving him again.
Darby and Nathan’s relationship was fast paced, however, that isn’t the true mystery of the story. That is much more of a slow burn and when the truth finally came out I was truly shocked. I loved every minute of this book and I couldn’t put it down.
I love how easy it was to picture the plantation just based on the descriptions. I truly felt like I was in the story and watching from the shadows. I hope we get more and more of Darby and Nathan in future stories, because they are such likeable characters.
This is well written and flows nicely, and I enjoyed it. I found some parts of it were predictable, but there were also a few surprises which kept you turning pages. Nathan has a lot of mystery surrounding him and his past and sweeps Darcy off her feet, marrying her after just 2 days. You watch Darcy flounder, as she starts her new life as the wife of a prominent rich man, but living in the shadow of his deceased wife. Darcy has to contend with Nathan’s mother, who tries to oust her from Nathan’s life, telling her she can never live up to Nathan’s deceased wife. However, Darcy does not give up that easily, she is prepared to fight for Nathan but the real question is will Nathan’s past and the ghost of his deceased wife win or will Darby and Nathan be able to put the past behind behind them?
Darby is young and inexperienced, but catches on quickly. Nate is older, but age doesn’t matter. They overcome a lot of obstacles.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.