All she needs is a little bit of change. She’ll have to fight him for it.Georgiana Paige is on the shelf after eight full Seasons in London and not a single offer of marriage. When the opportunity to act as companion to her spinster aunt presents itself, she jumps at the chance to escape the Marriage Mart and embark on a new adventure. Upon her eventful arrival in the tiny Yorkshire village, … Yorkshire village, though, she finds herself confronted with a man who both piques her interest and provokes her pride.
A lowly country vicar, Samuel Derrick would do anything to keep his coarse but idyllic parish the way it is. When change arrives there in the form of multiple new tenants straight from London, he vows to fight against their meddling. He is unprepared, though, for Georgiana Paige and the way she forces herself into the inner workings of the parish. His past experience tells him to keep the woman at arm’s length, but his heart—and her determination to stay involved—won’t allow for it.
As the village fights against the industrialization and poverty sweeping the North, Samuel and Georgiana find themselves working to pull the village together, even as those around them seemed determined to pull it apart. But how can two people who have lived such disparate lives bring anything together when they are fighting against their own desires for change and love?
The Road through Rushbury is a stand-alone sweet regency romance novel, book one in the Seasons of Change series.
Books in the series include:
Book One: The Road through Rushbury by Martha Keyes
Book Two: The Last Eligible Bachelor by Ashtyn Newbold
Book Three: A Forgiving Heart by Kasey Stockton
Book Four: A Well-Trained Lady by Jess Heileman
Book Five: coming soon by Deborah M. Hathaway
Bok Six: coming soon by Sally Britton
Book Seven: coming soon by Jennie Goutet
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This was a lovely wholesome regency romance. This story had a little different feel, as it was not set in the normal London scene but more in a rural country area. Georgiana volunteers to be a companion to her Aunt Sarah. She had already endured eight London seasons and wanted an escape to the quite country life. She was strong, determined and wanted to be independent. the characters were well defined and likable. The story moved along at a good pace. This one was very good, but a little bland and predictable. I think it could’ve used some twists and turns to spruce it up a little bit. I have read many of Martha Keyes books and love them. As I said, it was good, but not my favorite. It is the 1st book of a multi-author series. I truly enjoy all of the authors in the series and look forward to reading them all!
Utterly charming! I was entranced and transported by the story and the lovely writing. I look forward to reading more in this series.
A beetle for your troubles?
I love Martha Keyes’ style of writing which sets a pace that is not rushed. She describes her characters in a way that is easily relatable. The small town of Rushbury is well described. The relationship between Georgiana and Samuel began to grow on me. I enjoyed their banter and how they challenged each other. Georgiana was equal to the task of helping to find ways to improve the roads through Rushbury since she had a bad experience as she traveled there. The people of the town were suspicious of her being an outsider although she was determined to remain a resident. I appreciated Georgiana’s tactful approach when dealing with the residents which endeared her to them. I was impressed with the little side story of the vicar’s garden. Samuel was having difficulty with the pests in his garden and stepped on a beetle he suspected of being the culprit. But like a beetle in a garden full of slugs, it doesn’t pay to step on the beetle thinking it was the reason for the holes eaten in the leaves when in actuality it is the beetle eating the slugs that are infesting the garden. Just as the beetle, Georgiana was trying to help the residents but ended up taking the blame for its troubles. Sadly she realized that she was not welcome and decided to return home to London. Once Samuel realized the extent with which Georgiana had helped his people he couldn’t bear to let her go. I loved the epilogue. It was a sweet ending but also a sweet beginning for Samuel and Georgiana.
Charming story with a different twist from most Regency-era romances. The setting is a small village where our heroine must find her way into being accepted in a small town resistant to change — and, unexpectedly, into the heart of the local vicar!
I have recently started reading books by Ms. Keyes and have really enjoyed them. This book is also among them. The storyline was interesting and the writing flowed nicely. Ms. Keyes does a nice job of describing the village life and making you feel as if you are right there. The characters were well-defined with personality and depth giving them an authentic quality. Both Samual and Georgiana have a lot of spirit and it was fun reading the witty interactactions between them. Both have truly deep emotions and when their misunderstandings are cleared up it was lovely to see their relationship build. This is a very well- written and wholesome Regency story that was a very enjoyable read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Take a spring trip to Yorkshire from your favorite armchair and meet some interesting townsfolk from the lovely town of Rushbury. With Martha Keyes’ research and attention to detail, you will feel as though you are right there, not only watching spring unfold, but observing the effects one young woman has upon the town and its vicar. Can’t wait to read the rest of this new multi-author, clean Regency series, Seasons of Change. Highly recommend! 5 stars!
This story is one for the books.
Both the main characters are flawed, and it both makes it believable and adds to the charm of the storyline.
I enjoyed the change of pace—being away from London and bath for a time, and visiting a sleepy little village. In that way, it reminded me a bit of Cranford or Larkrise to Candleford…
I loved that this story portrayed not only romance, but the struggle between mercy and justice.
Well done, Martha Keyes!
Martha Keyes is immensely talented, and her Regency romances never fail to entertain me. This is her newest offering, part of a delightful multi-author series focusing on the idea of CHANGE. Make certain you pick it up – and you’ll find it difficult to put it down again!
Loved this book!
Georgiana and Samuel were both angry when they met, she from having to deal with a highway and walking a mile to her aunt’s home carrying her luggage because the rough road caused the carriage wheel to break and he because he saw her as judgmental selfish gentry Londoner and outsider. Despite that he shouldn’t have been so quick to make her look like a fool at the town meeting he goaded her into going to. He also shouldn’t have been quick to make assumptions about her when something bad happens after he spent weeks with her and during that time she kept trying to find ways to do what was best for Rushbury.
Georgiana Paige makes a poor first impression on the vicar, Samuel Derrick, but she has been through an ordeal getting to the village of Rushbury. The vicar and common people of the village don’t want any changes made by the gentry to their home. Change is inevitable, but the way it comes about with the caring heart of Georgiana is a truly beautiful thing! She finds a loving husband and a home in Rushbury.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I loved this first book by Martha Keyes in the new Seasons of Change series. The Road Through Rushbury is a lovely story with wonderful characters that pull you into their world. The sweet and clean love story is delightful and shows devotion, strength, friendship, and hope with a perfect ending. I’m looking forward to more by this great author and fun series!
I really liked the story and the title fit the story well. I always enjoy a Martha Keyes story because I feel she has a command of the Regency era. I feel confident that when I want to escape into her historical novel I will get the whole experience without glaring modernisms. For this book I thought the story flowed well. It was a unique premise and I loved the h & H’s meet cute. The two had good dialogue and their were some witty and fun banter. Both the h & H had some pride and I thought their change natural and believable. Overall, I thought it was a nice relaxing read. It had nice & enjoyable romantic build up, struggles and resolution.
To save a village they will work together.
What an unlikely pair we have with our vicar Samuel Derrick and our spinster Georgiana Paige. They find themselves working together fighting to save the Yorkshire village. The characters were engaging I loved their strong-willed natures when it came to fighting for what they believed in. The author did a splendid job of showing what the times were like and how their preconceived ideas may just be standing in the way. This was an excellent read and I enjoyed it a great deal. I hope you check it out it was so worth the time reading it. I did receive a free copy of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Book one in the Seasons of Change series a well written Regency story of a man set in his ways and does not like change, and the woman who comes into his life. I enjoyed reading Georgiana Paige and country vicar, Samuel Derrick’s story. I want to read the next book. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Loved this story! I don’t think I have ever read a Regency where someone has had 8 seasons before being considered on the shelf. That was a shock. I think four, maybe five is the most I’ve read. Though it seems odd to me, I did like the maturity Georgiana displayed, even if she couldn’t always hold her tongue. The banter between her and Samuel was a lot of fun. I loved watching their relationship develop and the ways they both changed for the better. This was a really fun book with a lot of emotion and I really enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
This was a fun read. Set way outside of London society it was fun to see Georgiana adapt to and appreciate a completely different lifestyle using her London skills to help the village. She is very clever. I also enjoyed the vicar though their cute meet was not exactly cute. I’d call it more of a gripe and snip meet. But it didn’t take them long to see the error of their ways and begin to work together. It seems that nearly everyone who acted badly in this book was brought to see their error of their ways excepting the rude and annoying Lady whose name I cannot think of at present. Even Georgiana’s lout of a brother was repentant in the end. Enjoyable, mostly light read which just touches on some of the historically difficult times in England’s history. This story allows you to see the difficulties from both sides of the coin. How can justice and mercy both be satisfied?
Sex: no
Language: no
Violence: Potential peril with highwayman, vandalism.
*I received an ARC of this book and voluntarily chose to review it.
Sometimes a broken road, littered with what feels like failure, leads you to exactly where you are meant to be. In yet another immersive tale, Martha Keyes introduces readers to Georgiana Paige, who has not succeeded in winning a proposal through eight seasons of London’s infamous Marriage Mart. Resigned to spinsterhood, she travels into Yorkshire to become a companion to her aunt, only to unexpectedly find the acceptance she’s been seeking all along. How true it is that right when we’ve given up our need for control over our destinies, miracles appear when we least expect them. Sometimes we need the perspective of darkness to fully appreciate the light, and that is one of many lessons learned by our hero and heroine. I greatly admired them both and could relate to their more mature thoughtfulness and wariness as two people who had experienced some of life’s disappointments. That also gave them more courage and selflessness when it mattered most. This story had me crying and beaming in equal measure.
An incredible new regency novel by Keyes and a great start to a new series. We got to know these characters and this small town very well within these pages. I felt very close to them. This story was different from most regencies I have read but thy made it novel indeed. I can’t wait to see what comes next!
I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Georgiana was not what Samuel expected, actually not what anyone expected. An old maid at the advanced age of 27, Georgiana was an unexpected joy to read. She did not conform to the rules of the day although she didn’t really break them, just bend them a little. Martha Keyes brought us a sweet story but mainly she brought us some interesting characters. From Aunt Sara, Burke, the Reed family, the Gilmores and especially Samuel, you come away feeling you know these people. Just the perfect amount of romance, humor and tension.