As featured in USA Today’s “Happy Ever After” blog–a sparkling, suspenseful mixture of Gothic romance and romantic comedy from the Daphne du Maurier Award-winning author of With This Curse and Sea of Secrets!
Vivacious actress Sybil Ingram looks forward to a life of security when she leaves the theater to marry a wealthy American. But when he dies suddenly on their wedding night, she finds … on their wedding night, she finds herself a penniless widow. Her only legacy is Brooke House, a Gothic revival manor in the wilds of the Hudson River Valley. However, the eerie mansion comes with two tenants. One is a hostile ghost. The second, and far worse, is former violinist Roderick Brooke—the most insolent, dangerous, maddeningly gorgeous man she’s ever met.
As Sybil and Roderick engage in a battle of wills—and wits—she finds herself increasingly drawn to him despite her growing suspicion of a connection between him and the spirit that haunts Brooke House. But soon an even greater threat arises: the mysterious queen of local society, Mrs. Lavinia Dove. For reasons that Sybil can’t imagine, Mrs. Dove is determined to have Brooke House and Roderick for herself… if necessary, by deadly means.
By turns mysterious and moving, sparkling and spooky, Nocturne for a Widow follows a spirited heroine through adventures in life, love, and death. From the colorful theatrical world of late-Victorian London to the American wilderness, Sybil’s travels will test her mettle–and her heart.
Length: 97,000 words ~ Sensuality level: mild/sweet
Categories: Victorian era, historical fiction, gothic romance, romantic suspense, mystery, historical, romantic comedy, ghost story, Victorian mystery, historical romance, sweet romance, supernatural, 19th-century theater, Victorian England, cozy mystery
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Nice mix of romance, paranormal activity, and historical setting.
A quick read. Enjoyed the description of the mores of that time period. Characters very broadly drawn, but still fun to read.
Had to keep reading to the end. Just purchesed two more of her books.
Easy read
beach reading
Loved the literary language. Good combination of good story with, interesting time period, beautifully written!
I enjoyed this book. I love the misunderstanding in the beginning of the book that sets up for an enjoyable read.
Well written exciting book.
It was original and kept me interested.
The characters were interesting but the story line was a bit on the dull side. A book to enjoy without having to do much thinking.
I enjoyed this book. It had a few twists and I thought the main characters were well fleshed out. I would read other books by this author.
I enjoyed the characters very much
This is good. Not terribly suspenseful, but it kept me interested
An easy read. Not sure I see where a series would take the story unless world travels of music and theater.
Kind of spooky, but in an old fashioned setting. A liberated woman of rhe 1800’s. Enjoyable read.
This book brings a woman from naivete from being taken advantage of to one of maturity and involved thought processing despite the challenges she is faced with. The characters are well developed in the book but yet a bit of behind the presentation the reader suspects there is something they are missing. The book begins rather slow but the reader comes to find out that the beginning, builds the foundation that they’re brought back to with their eyes opened to another perspective. Trust me when I say that you’ll enjoy this book. Just give yourself time to get into the story.
Nocturne for a Widow was so much fun to read. There are ghosts, romance, and very funny parts. It is the story of actress Sybil Ingram who looks forward to a life of security when she leaves the theater in 1873 to marry a wealthy American. But when he dies on their wedding night, she finds herself a penniless widow. Her only legacy is Brooke House, a Gothic revival manor in the wilds of the Hudson River Valley. However, the eerie mansion comes with two tenants. One is a hostile ghost. The second, and far worse, is former violinist Roderick Brooke–the most insolent, dangerous, maddeningly gorgeous man she’s ever met.
I absolutely loved this book. It had some very good twists and turns. It also gave some interesting information regarding history of what life was like during that time period.
This was a good book. I loved the historical aspect of the story line. The author does a great job describing everything in the story. I definitely recommend it.
A good read