Set in early 1800s, England…Mrs. Helena Andrews is the widow of Captain Andrews who died in battle. Leaving all she knows behind her in Norfolk, she travels to Lincolnshire to live with her grandfather, Redway Acres stable owner, George Stockton. There she will raise her daughter.After the death of her grandfather, she is left to run Redway by herself. She makes friends with an old widower in a … an old widower in a ramshackle cottage, the family from a local, grand estate and their friend, a colonel and second son of the Earl of Aysthill, Nathaniel Ackley.
She is an opinionated woman in a man’s world, who loves horses and her daughter, and will stand up for those who are in need.
Her story is one of horses, strength of will, music, friendship, love and loyalty.
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I fell in love with this historical fiction family saga from page one. Plucky Helena has found herself with child and unwed, much to the disappointment of her parents, who heartlessly ship her off to her grandfather at Redway Acres, an idyllic horse farm where she and daughter Issy thrive. I adored the relationships in this one—for good and for bad. Helen and her grandfather were so warm, and the wit that crackled between her and her mother made me laugh. Sharp and sassy. If you’re a lover of horses and romance, this is for you.
As an epic saga, this tale contains a little bit of everything lovers of Jane Austen-esque tales might yearn for. Dinner parties. Bloody battle fields. Visits with family friends. Christmas balls. Picnics and early morning rides with someone you’re courting (and their adorable daughter.) I LOVED the heartwarming themes and wonderful messages in this one. Perseus/Pegasus (heart). Helena is kind and generous, fighting for needy children, taking those who need help into her fold, and Colonel Nathaniel Ackely is a lovely match for her, a fellow horse lover, gentle and kind. There is diversity, good representation of characters with disabilities, of family of choice, and I loved the role music played throughout. A charming tale!
I was lucky to receive Book #3, 4, & 5 through a contest from the author, Trish Butler. I immediately purchased books 1 & 2 and found myself escaping to another time and place away from all of today’s drama. Not that there wasn’t drama in early 1800’s, England. This series is full of it!! It is also full of horses, strong-willed women, romance, sex, celebrations and heartache. It’s more than just a single family saga. It’s a spider web of lives woven together by time and place, need and circumstance, tradition and rebellion, love and loyalty….
Book #1 revolves around Helena. The author creates a main character born into a time where women were considered subservient to men, who, at a young age, finds herself victim to the worst of male dominance. But instead of staying a victim, she becomes stronger and goes on to carve herself a life that is not dependent purely on the will of any man. I love how the author uses Helena to address the plight of women in a timeless way and shows the power and strength women are capable of to take control of their own lives. Not that there are not powerful men in this saga! We are introduced to the best and the worst examples of men.
I love the historical aspect of this series as well as the peak into the pomp and circumstance of the time. The author’s descriptions show an immense amount of research of this era and setting. I am so anxious to continue on to book #2 and beyond!!
My Fellow Book Dragons! Welcome to Throwback Thursday…are you ready to travel back in time and leave this modern world behind? Our Gem this evening will do just that for you. See this Gem? It is quite beautiful..the color of deep green fields and hues of splendid blue skies. This is “Redway Acres: Book 1 Helena” by Gem Maker Trish Butler.
Set during the Napoleonic Wars, this is the story of Helena Andrews, a widow and Colonel Nathaniel Ackley, son of the Earl of Aysthill House, just returned, wounded, from battle.
Mrs. Andrews is a woman of good breeding, meaning she is not titled, but has come from a good home, wealth and education (as much education as a woman of her standing would be allowed). She has inherited Redway Acres Stables from her grandfather who took her in when she was widowed while still pregnant. I am going to say something about the set up of this first chapter. In the beginning it is vague as to why she was widowed and why her family would not support her. This book is well researched and has a wide cast of characters because there are three books in the series. Be patient, as many characters are introduced in this book and it is worth sticking with. We find Helena five years hence, running the stable and tending to her daughter, Isabella, affectionately known as Issie.
Helena is fiercely independent. She has been wrongly treated by her husband, her family and is not about to let anyone get the upper hand on her. Her grandfather has gone against popular convention and left her property. She is beholden to no one. She is her own woman, a rare breed at that time. Rumors of course run rampant, as ladies and gents wonder about the gorgeous woman with the little girl who runs a business and doesn’t seem to be husband hunting.
Colonel Ackley on the other hand, is resting and recovering at this family home. He is stifling. His doting mother has doted once too often and he writes to his friend, Alexander Harker for an invitation to stay with him for awhile. He and Harker are co-guardians to a young woman named Harriet. Harriet is a friend of Mrs. Andrews.
Ackley and Andrews meet and all is not love at first sight. Mrs. Andrews is distrustful of men. She guards her person and her independence as a starving dog guards a new bone. What will happen? Happily Ever After or Happily Never After?
I loved this book for several reasons. One, Ms. Butler is English and knows her element here. This is not your average romantic bodice ripper. These characters are realistic. The settings, clothing, transportation, battles, weapons, medical care and diseases are all spot on. Two, she pulls no punches, her type writer is not a bakery nor does it come with an early warning system to help the “trigger” bunch. Life in 1813 was hard no matter what class you were born into. Life in general was unpleasant at the best of times, medicine was just beginning to make nominal discoveries, women died in childbirth, spousal abuse wasn’t talked about, the brutalities of war were extremely brutal given that if a soldier survived the battlefield he could very well die of gangrene or some other infection. Three, intimate scenes are tastefully done ( a bit much for old fashioned me) but still tasteful. I do appreciate a classy romance. These scenes are done as love scenes between adults and no one sticks their head in the sand about the fact that sex is part of married life. Her writing makes me think somewhere along the line Charlotte Bronte and Phillippa Gregory are long lost cousins.
If you are looking for a bit of romance to warm a chilly evening, this may be the book for you. If you would love to present a romance lover with a lovely Christmas gift, this would be a topper!
Enjoy the rest of your evening. Until tomorrow I remain, Drakon T. Longwitten, your humble Book Dragon.
I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Redway Acres: Helena is the first book of Trish’s historical romance series. It’s getting a solid four stars from me. In book one, you meet Helena who runs her own horse stable – something that is considered unladylike and unheard of during this time. She’s faced some tough stuff in her life and is raising a child on her own. As you can imagine, she is fierce – she is deliberate and confident in voicing her opinion despite the time period’s expectation that women be more demure. One thing she doesn’t have though is a man to share her life with. Throughout the book, we meet her neighbors and friends and watch as a romance blossoms… or falls apart.
There are a LOT of things I could tell you about this book that I loved. It’s a smooth, heart-warming (and sometimes -breaking) story that I became totally engrossed in. But the biggest thing I appreciated is the author’s handling of situations that arise in the book. I will briefly mention that there are some topics (about sexual situations and treatment of women) that could be triggering for some people. However, the characters handle the situations and topics well in that she are clear in saying this is something that is wrong and unacceptable. They clearly state what is wrong about it and how it should be handled. Those who are in the wrong are receptive and repentant for the most part. Given how society is today, I found this to be incredibly important and empowering.
If you’re looking for a book with some romance, a touch of history, horses, and a strong female lead, this is the series!
A huge thank you to Trish Butler for providing me with the first two books of the Redway Acres series. I have voluntarily read this book and the review expresses my own personal opinion.