Three friends find true love in this trio of novellas set in Regency England.Leticia Emerson, Violet Kellington and Anna Emerson have been friends most of their lives. Little did they know a visit from three Eton school boys would change everyone’s lives for the better.Fifteen-year-old Lord Wesley Addington has just learned he has a half-sister, Lady Leticia Emerson. Over the next decade, Violet … next decade, Violet Kellington falls in love with the man who only sees her as his sister’s friend.
Lord Robert Carmichael has been all but abandoned by his family due to his pronounced limp, and he doesn’t want to pass on his affliction to a child. Though he is determined not to marry, Letty Emerson sees only the brave man who fought through the pain of his illness and the scorn of his family.
Scholarship student Mark Jones is torn between two worlds: the London stews he was born into and the peers who will never accept him. But in him, Anna Emerson, who has an English father and a Native American mother, knows she has found her soul’s mate.
NEVER AND ALWAYS contains three intersecting novellas, touching on love, loss and acceptance. Reader advisory: this book contains little history, but some graphic sexual scenes,
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If you’re like me and enjoy romance written in series, you know that once the series is done, we are literally going through withdrawal. We hope and hope that the author might one day give us a glimpse of those many couples that we’ve come to know and love through their wonderful prose and plots.
Well, let me tell you! I was one happy camper when this author decided not to wait years and years to let me know what’s been going on in Kellington and Emerson Universe!
Every character introduced to us in this story feels genuine and well rounded and as usual, the dialogue between everyone never lacks wit and humor, for which this author is well known for.
Violet and Wes’s story was fun because of her strong personality.
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“Let me see if I understand,” she said, taking three steps toward him and bringing her lemon verbena with her. “You were so… taken with our kiss that you decided it was necessary to put an ocean between us. I am flattered beyond belief. I can only imagine how much further you would have run had we taken things further.”
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Robert and Letty’s story was heartbreaking because of who these two were. Both, but especially Robert, had to be strong not only for themselves, but for each other as well. I love flawed characters, and giving Robert an infirmity, made his story even sweeter.
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“When it had finally become apparent that, despite the hard-earned progress Robert had made, he would never walk without a pronounced limp, his father had called him into his study and said he was ashamed that the historic title would one day be handed down to such a weakling.
“Fear not, my lord,” Robert had said. “Mayhap another illness will kill me before that happens.”
His father had leaned back in his seat and said, “God knows either of your brothers would do a better job of it. At least we would not have to worry that the next generation would be deformed imbeciles.”
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Mark and Anna’s story was just as poignant as the other two and you’ll love this young man who grew without the family, yet found one in Kellingtons and Emmersons.
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“Most of the boys at Eton were entitled arses. They judged a boy by his accent first and character never. And while Mark could imitate the speech of the boys of the ton, he had an East London accent. But even if he’d had their diction, he would never be part of their circles because birthright was the only thing which mattered to them.
Lost in thought, he didn’t see the fight until he was almost on top of it. He heard it first, from the crowd of boys cheering them on. In London, Mark had seen too many real fights which ended in death and serious injury to have much of a stomach for more blood. He was about to walk around it when he saw Percy Reynolds, the reigning school bully. That was hardly surprising since he loved to get his mates to fight for him. But it was the other boy who drew Mark’s attention. He was Robert Carmichael, known as Lorton, who had a pronounced limp. Usually, Mark didn’t care all that much when toffs fought amongst themselves, but since three boys were attacking one who was already at a disadvantage he decided it was time to step in. He just had to make sure not to hurt the boys too much, because while toffs could hit each other with impunity, Mark realized the very same thing could get him expelled.”
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I must say, even though this book is comprised of three novella’s, it never felt like these stories were separate because there was a common thread to all of them and the plot wasn’t rushed which in the end helped me to connect to the main characters and enjoy their happily ever after’s.
By now I’ve come to respect this authors writing voice and I’ve yet to be disappointed by it. Her stories never fail to keep me entertained from the first to the last page.
If you’re a fan, I have no doubt you’ll get this one. If you’ve never read this author, you may as well start with this story of true friendship and love. It’s a ‘must read.’
Melanie for b2b