Whitney Award Winner for Best Historical Romance 2018Miss Belle Heartstone—heiress and savvy businesswoman—needs a husband. Immediately. As in, yesterday would not have been soon enough. Her mother’s attempts at matchmaking have been disastrous. So Belle decides to solve the problem her way—survey the market and purchase the best groom available. Colin Radcliffe, Marquess of Blake—debt-ridden and … Radcliffe, Marquess of Blake—debt-ridden and penniless—needs a large infusion of cash. Desperately. Preferably cash that does not come with a wife attached. It is no surprise, then, when he receives Miss Heartstone’s brazen proposal—her cash, his title, their marriage—that he politely declines.
But before he leaves her, Blake suggests something truly radical: Maybe before finding a husband, Belle should find herself.
His simple words send them both on an unexpected journey, spanning continents and years, entwining their lives in ways neither could have foreseen. Can two lonely souls move past societal expectations and forge a unique life together?
Please note: The basic storyline of Seeing Miss Heartstone was originally published as a novella titled, An Invisible Heiress, in the Spring in Hyde Park anthology. This current novel is a greatly expanded version of that plot, adding over 200 pages of text and creating a more robust, well-developed story.
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I have read every single book from this author and I have never been disappointed. I was unaware this book was out and I have to say it is one of her best ones yet. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, the dialogue, and the storyline. For once, the woman of this period ends up being equal. I could not put it down, still recovering from the all night reading.!
Loved it ! My idea of a wonderful truly romantic story. No offensive language. No sex scenes leaving nothing to the imagination. Just a good story with likeable characters. Easy fun read!
Worth reading a second and third time.
The cover is beautiful, it really drew me to the book. Regency romance is so exciting to read about. It’s a time of different rules and etiquette than we have now. What is acceptable, what is not? It’s such a different time period, the formal ballgowns, the upper class opulence. Reading a book like this really immerses me in the time period and I very much enjoy it.
Tea anyone?
Published November 1st 2018 by Fiorenza Publishing
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.
This was a great read. It seemed a bit familiar and took me a minute to realize I’d read the novella several years back, but the full length book was even better. I loved the unique story line. It had great characters and interesting dialog. A great read!
I found this a well written and easy to read story, I enjoyed this light reading.
Allow a full day for this family-friendly, Regency, epistolary romance with a feisty heroine and the Lord who goes to India to repair the finances left in disarray by his predecessor. I read an ARC and this voluntary review is my own opinion.
Having loved the original, shorter version, I knew I would enjoy this and I was correct. This kept me glued to the story as much as I could devote time to it. And when not reading, I was thinking about it.
The author draws out images that are so real and lifelike. I feel the emotions of the characters, I understand their reactions. I can sense the dreariness of the rain, etc.
What happens when you have a wealthy heiress who thinks she needs to get married and combine it with a penniless marquess who’s not ready to get married? You get advice to not buy off a husband, but take advantage of the opportunity granted to be independent.
In an effort to show gratitude for Lord Blake’s kindness to her, Belle wants to contribute to his business venture, but realizes that she must remain anonymous. As correspondence travels between England and India, a relationship begins to form and before she knows it, Belle is stuck. How can she reveal herself now? When can she reveal herself? What will happen when he finds out? The story centers around this detail.
Romance – PG / kissing
Language – PG / mild
Violence – mild
My rating – 5 stars
This story is a bit heartbreaking and I loved the apropos title. Colin seems to “see” her in the beginning, but then his vision gets all messed up and hazy throughout the story. So much growth happens to Belle and I wanted to shake Colin at the end. It dragged just a bit because I knew where things needed to go and I’m not really patient, but the ending was beautiful and worth my impatience. Written through letters and different view points kept the story engaging and the ending really is swoony. I’ve read other things by this author and am never disappointed.
Seeing Miss Heartstone is a sweet story by Nichole Van. Miss Belle Heartstone is an heiress on the look out for a husband. The sooner the better. She becomes desperate and goes out to purchase herself her own husband. Which leads her to financially struggling, Colin Radcliffe, Marquess of Blake. He refuses her proposal of marriage, but gibes her life changing advice that changes their lives forever.
Seeing Miss Heartstone is a unique and surprising story for me. It is not one I was expecting or could have predicted. I absolutely loved how Belle and Colin were able to connect with one another and I enjoyed watching them grow with every page I turned.
Seeing Miss Heartstone gets a four and a half stars from me. I recommend it for readers who enjoy sweet romantic historical fiction. I look forward to reading more by Nichole Van in the future. She has great talent.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
First let me say that I have been a fan of Nichole Van for a long time so when I was offered the chance to review Seeing Miss Heartstone I jumped at the chance. The story was unique. I loved the characters. I loved how independent Belle was but how she was still very human and very alone. I loved Blake/Colin and all of his strengths and flaws. I even liked Miss Rutger. She was seemingly an insignificant character but still an important one. I do wish we had heard more about Belle’s mother, but then again maybe not. Great read.
5 Stars. Clean. Made me laugh out loud in several places.
I always like Nichole Van’s writing style. She has a clever way with words, and this is probably my favorite book of hers that I’ve read. I own and have read the entire House of Oak and the Brothers Maledetti series. Despite me really liking them, they always slightly disappointed me in the end as they went more and more to the supernatural and mystic conclusions.
This book, however, is pure Regency fun. Belle Heartstone is a bright and capable heiress, managing her own fortune and business, who thinks she needs to find someone to marry to get out from under her mother’s thumb. She arranges for Colin Radcliffe, Marquess of Blake, to meet her and proposes marriage, essentially asking him to let her buy herself a good husband. Colin is broke but honorable and instead suggests that she find herself and only marry when she wants to. As a thank you for his life changing advice, she secretly funds his business venture. Only as he comes back to England does the question of whether he’ll finally see Belle Heartstone for herself come to the fore. I liked the way the conflict was set up. It seemed to naturally grow from the issues surrounding a very independent woman in this day and age. Colin’s reactions throughout the story are genuine and heartfelt. Of course, it also has a happy ending.
I received an ARC of this story, but my opinions are my own.
I first read this as a novella when it was part of a Timeless Romance Anthology. I was glad to see that this novella was going to be expanded. I really enjoyed the expanded version! I loved the characters and how their relationship progressed and how the characters changed. I thought the revelation of the secret was a bit drawn out and wished it happened sooner, but I still really enjoyed the story! I am excited to read more by Nichole Van! Recommend to all who like clean regency romances.
What a wonderful story! I couldn’t put it down.
I liked how brave and sensible was Belle. In the book she mentions that she likes heroines who have pluck, and in her own story she showed backbone and determination without being stubborn and unreasonable. Colin was a perfect match for her (though it took him quite some time to realize it) – he was kind, loyal, witty and honourable. Their relationship went through different stages, bit each of them helped Belle and Colin grow and eventually drew them closer to one another and created a strong bond that endures.
I enjoyed tremendously their journey together. The story and the characters were very well developed – nothing was missing and the HEA was satisfying.
This was the first novel of Nicole Van that I read and now I’m planning to go through all of her books in search of other wonderful characters and witty conversations.
Sensuality: clean, a couple of kisses
Religion: none
Narrative: 3rd person, following Belle and Colin
I liked this story a lot. As I was reading the beginning of the book I kept thinking the story was so familiar. Had I read this book before? Is this a typical story line? Is this plagiarized? These were questions I asked myself multiple times. I was so relieved to see that this is the extended version of Van’s novella in Spring in Hyde Park. Whew! I HAD read it before. Kinda. It ISN’T a typical story line and NO plagiarism. I should have checked it more thoroughly before I started reading and then I wouldn’t have been distracted by my own thoughts. Ha!
This isn’t a typical regency romance. In this story we have a female who bucks the system on so many levels yet still manages to remain part of polite society. And we have a male who is basically a feminist. Or at least he thinks he is. What happens to his feminist beliefs when they are put to the test though? This book also takes place over years with the two main characters living on separate continents for most of that time. They build their relationship through letters. But he doesn’t know who she is. And the conflict took a long time to resolve. So yeah, not your typical romance.
Both these characters undergo great changes in their personal make up. Both are tested. Both fail and succeed. There is symbolism in the title and in other aspects of the book. I left like I was reading a romance with some layers and depth. When is a betrayal not a betrayal? Can a friend’s lie really be the best thing? “Is the pain of losing her greater than the humility required to forgive her?” So many things to think about in addition to just enjoying the story.
I love strong female stories. I love a man who believes in women’s abilities. So I loved both the main characters. Fun read. Well done Miss Van!
Sex: some kisses
Language: a few times, mild.
Violence: References to needing to fire male employees violating female underlings.
Another great read from Nichole Van. This was originally a novella in an anthology but this didn’t feel repetative. I enjoyed reading there story more in depth. There were a couple twists before there hea. I loved it
I loved this book! The plot was unique and intriguing and so well written, and the characters were multifaceted and endearing. I was sucked in from the beginning and couldn’t put it down! The only reason I gave it 4 stars rather than 5 was because there was quite a bit of swearing included that was unnecessary and distracting. Other than that, it was amazing and I’d definitely recommend it!
enjoyable read. One of this authors better books
I read the novella in a different book, but didn’t know this one was the same (has a different title). I loved getting the complete story this time around. It was so well written. The friendship was fun. I didn’t see how they could come together. And if one of them ended up marrying someone else, I was going to scream. I felt like there were so many great and memorable one-liners. Solid business ideas and foreward thinking. Humorous and sweet. Love the cover. Love that it was clean. I would read this one again. I received this book in exchange for an honest review.