Best friends since their schooldays, Henrietta, Harriet, and Hero are wise and witty young ladies, embarking on the sometimes bumpy road to happily-ever-after, each in her own brilliant way . . . Hero Whitby has harbored long-buried fears since a devastating attack by two young men of the privileged class. Now, while her peers aspire to husband-hunting, Hero pursues her passion to be a doctor, … pursues her passion to be a doctor, working alongside her father, a respected Devonshire physician. But when a badly beaten stranger is carried in to his practice, Hero is stunned by her reaction. Over three days of tending to the man, along with her instinct to heal, she finds herself intensely drawn to him . . .
Robbed and left for dead for highwaymen, Alexander Sterne has no memory of his past as a soldier in Wellington’s army—or as a carousing playboy. But as he becomes aware of his surroundings and the plight of the locals, Alex realizes only he can break the corrupt hold of an evil land steward. And when Hero’s tender kiss awakens him from sleep—and restores his identity—he knows that he must regain not only his strength but a newfound compassion . . . which can only be ignited by Hero and a meeting of hearts that may heal
them both . . .
more
Hero has worked along her physician father for several years and has learned through his tutelage how to heal. When a beaten and broken man is brought to them, after being left for dead, Hero takes over most of his care. When the man comes to after several days, he doesn’t remember who he is so they call him Adam. Over time, he remembers that he is Lord Alexander Sterne and the lord of the Abbey in this small town in the English countryside.
Alexander is a seasoned soldier who suffers from nightmares from the battles and the men he lost and the horrors of war. Hero has her own nightmares that weigh heavily on her mind, also. The more time Alexander spends with Hero, the more he wants to be with her, maybe forever. Hero is skittish, though, and he realizes that maybe someone has hurt her and he wants nothing more to make the hurt go away. But, he is lying about not remembering who he is in order to get intel on his corrupt and evil land steward. Will Hero ever be able to forgive him when the truth comes out or will his lies destroy what could be between them?
I enjoyed the development of the characters in this book. There was some sex, although not terribly graphic. Their story is more about their budding relationship and their relationship with others in the community. There is smuggling, bullies and a lot of intrigue going on.
I was given an arc copy of this book by netgalley and I offer my review willingly.
This is my first book by Wilma Counts. I enjoyed it and found it to be a fun story. I will definitely read more by her. But though I enjoyed the book, it really didn’t grab me by the throat; I was able to put it down and walk away for periods of time.
I really liked that Alex was formerly a military officer who fought at Waterloo. Being from a military family (Semper Fi!), I always enjoy that type of hero. Alex suffered from PTSD due to his military service. This made him an interesting character to me. I also liked Hero a great deal. She, too, seemed to suffer from PTSD due to a severe trauma as a girl. She assisted her father in his medical practice in a time when that was an unacceptable thing for a woman to do. She was a very strong heroine. I thought Alex’s brutal attack, his amnesia and the smuggling storyline were extremely interesting.
The romance of Alex and Hero, though, fell a little flat for me. Though they were very sweet together, I really didn’t feel the heat. Also, the way Alex responded to Hero when she found out his secret rather irked me. You lied to her, man…you don’t have the right to be offended! It was still a nice romance in spite of that. I am looking forward to going back and reading the first book I missed in the series.
I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.
It Only Takes a Kiss by Wilma Counts is book Two in the Once Upon a Bride Series. This is the story of Alexander Sterne and Hero Whitby. I have read the previous book, but feel this can be a standalone book.
Hero has taken to helping her father who is a Doctor and building her knowledge of his field. Hero had a troubling encounter with the aristocrats has settled into this life she has now. But when a badly beaten man is in need of care it brings out some feelings in Hero. Alexander was a soldier in Wellington’s army and the third son of Duke of Thornleigh. But he was set-upon, robbed and badly beaten which has left him with amnesia. But he is quickly getting the reality of his settings and that there is something special about Hero.
I have really enjoyed this series so far and was happy that this book just added to that feeling.
Best friends since their schooldays, Henrietta, Harriet, and Hero are wise and witty young ladies, embarking on the sometimes bumpy road to happily-ever-after, each in her own brilliant way . . .
Hero Whitby her passion to be a doctor, working alongside her father, a respected physician. But when a badly beaten stranger is carried in to his practice, he’s been robbed and left for dead, Alexander Sterne, third son of Duke of Thornleigh has no memory of his past as a soldier in Wellington’s army—or as a carousing playboy. But as he becomes aware of his surroundings and the plight of the locals, Alex realizes only he can break the corrupt hold of an evil land steward. And when Hero’s tender kiss awakens him from sleep and restores his identity he knows that he must regain not only his strength but a newfound .them both.
This is the second of the three H’s stories but can easily be read on its own. Another well written engrossing read that I really enjoyed. It was well paced & had amnesia, secrets, smuggling, an evil steward as well as romance. Alex & Hero are very likeable, they are thrown together when Alex is beaten, they become friends but secrets threaten to separate them until they realise what truly matters. I’m looking forward to Harriet’s story
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
Wilma Counts is a reliable author for me, someone I count on to bring to life a different time and period with an engaging love story and interesting people. In It Only Takes a Kiss she manages to make realistic a young lady’s interest in medicine and make fresh again the story of a not-so-aristocratic woman’s love for an aristocratic wastrel. Hero is just a wonderful heroine, someone who is brave, kind and unwilling to waste her life on fashion and fribbles. Instead, she helps her father in the surgery — and as he grows frailer, takes over — and makes something of her life. Her care for the injured Alexander Sterne (known as Adam because of memory loss for much of the story) is touching, with interesting bits about Regency-era medicine thrown in for good measure. There’s some meat to this story. We see again how rare it is for women to have choices, and how a sister in a house after a brother marries — even a wonderful brother — is left spinning her wheels. Hero’s betrayal by Alexander — he doesn’t tell her his real identity — is well-told and induces a tear or two. Yet Counts does not let the misunderstanding linger or become overly bitter. This is the best kind of escape reading, with characters who become friends, fall in love and (we trust) live happily ever after. (I received an ARC from NetGalley. Opinions mine.)