A gentleman’s gentleman is expected to keep the secrets of his master.Loyal butler, James Bates, harbors a scandalous secret of his own. One which remains buried deep beneath his professional demeanor. He desires only to serve in obscurity without inviting further scandal into his life. When the sweet, young Anna enters the household as the new ladies’ maid, he discovers a passion he had long … had long banished hope of ever possessing.
Bates treats Anna with kindness, and although his regard for the young woman is far from virtuous, he maintains propriety. When Anna returns his affections, it seems his happiness will be complete. That is until accounts of the horrid actions of his youth rise from the past to steal away everything he loves—including his beloved Anna.
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If you have been following the series, you already know Bates and Anna, if not be prepared for a completely different sort of historical romance! This is more of a “below the stairs” romance than your typical historical.
James Bates is the competent, handsome butler of the Earl of Winterbourne. But James is much, much more than he appears. A stupid stunt years ago changed the course of his life and left him with tremendous guilt and the desire to be a better man.
Anna was the lady’s maid to Lady Katherine, but since Katherine’s disappearance, she was lucky enough to stay on as housemaid. Anna harbors a tendre for James, but the older man doesn’t seem to notice she is a woman. Anna hasn’t had an easy life, orphaned at a young age, she was taken in by a woman and given a good life, but when her adopted mother passed, Anna had to go into service. She was lucky to get the position with Lady Katherine and was grateful that she was able to remain after Katherine disappeared. She tries to flirt with James, but he shuts her down. When she finally decides to give up pursuing him, it seems like he finally notices her.
James has secrets, HUGE secrets, he knows Anna is interested in him, just as he is with her, but he doesn’t feel worthy of her – if she ever knew the truth, she would run as far away from him as she could – wouldn’t she?
I throughly enjoyed this book, it is well written and flows perfectly, the chemistry between James and Anna is electric, the secrets are jaw-dropping, the love scenes are warm leaning towards steamy, the secondary characters are wonderful and the ending is spectacular! While I would recommend reading the books in order, I think this book could be read as a stand alone title with no problems.
Seducing Winter’s Gentleman by Kirsten S. Blacketer was a wonderful change of pace for me. It made me realize there is not nearly enough historicals centered around the working class. It was nice to break free and get absorbed into Bates and Anna’s story. This story was perfectly romantic and sweet and I loved Bates and Anna. It was fun seeing how things worked out so their love could blossom. The story was well written and flowed nicely. I do recommend reading the previous books though it’s not needed. A completely enjoyable read.
Can love survive anything? You will have to read Seducing Winter’s Gentleman by Kirsten S. Blacketer is book 4 in the Thieves Of Winter series to find out. Though in a series this book can be read as a standalone. What I so enjoyed about this regency story is that the main characters were servants in the household. Kristen has such a way of writing that in this story it is sad, a tad dark with a bit of mystery as well as romance so it keeps you intrigued and did not disappoint. She truly is a talented and creative writer. This story has secrets, respect, loyalty, duty, forbidden love, devotion, murder, misunderstandings, kindness, a new friend, a missing person, contradiction, death, reuniting, orphaned and love. I highly recommend you read this book!!
***This book was gifted to me and I am voluntarily reviewing.
Loyal butler, James Bates desires only to serve in obscurity. Then the sweet, young Anna enters the household as the new ladies’ maid. Bates treats Anna with kindness, and although his regard for the young woman is far from virtuous, he maintains propriety. When Anna returns his affections, it seems his happiness will be complete. That is until accounts of the horrid actions of his youth rise from the past to steal away everything he loves including his beloved Anna.
Although this is the fourth book in the series it could easily be read on its own. However I love series & as I enjoyed this book so much I immediately bought the rest of the series. The pace is good & the story flows well, I read the book in a sitting! The characters are well fleshed, I liked both James & Anna, their HEA looked to be set when a box discovered in a chest threw everything into jeopardy, then secrets were told leading to new lives for both James & Anna. The author is a relatively new author to me but I’m finding the more of her books I read the more I want to read.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read
This is the forth book in the series” Thieves of Winter “. I haven’t read the first ones but it didn’t really matter although now I am finished I will be going back and reading them. If you have read the other ones in the series, this is a nice finish to the whole series. This is only the second of Ms Blacketer’s that I have read and enjoy the fact that it was different to the first one I read. Ms Blacketer likes to write story lines that are a little different. I love the way she writes her characters and the story line keeps you turning the page. I read this book in one sitting. I like the fact that it is about a butler and a maid, which is something quite different to the usual historical romance. I had all you need, romance, suspense and mystery. There is a small amount of sex but this reviewer as usual skipped it and it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. If are looking for something a little different than the usual Ton romance this book is for you. I received this book as an ARC.