An untested teacher. A wealthy benefactor. When their attraction becomes undeniable, will they open their hearts to each other?
Colorado, 1910. Quinn Cooper can’t help feeling uneasy. But securing a job as a schoolmarm in a tiny frontier town was the only way to save her family from starvation back in Boston. And her nerves aren’t eased by a stray gunshot that spooks the sleigh horses, casting … the sleigh horses, casting her into the snow… until she’s rescued by a handsome stranger.
Lord Alexander Barnes knows better than to believe any pretty young woman would willingly become a mother to five children. But the lonely widower finds himself charmed by the lovely newcomer and her easy rapport with his offspring. And after his disgruntled nanny quits, his heart melts at the sight of her joyfully taking over the role.
Determined to prove herself in the schoolhouse and as a governess, Quinn fears her near-poverty will prevent any possible courtship with the affluent Englishman. And between their age difference and prejudicial violence in the town, Lord Barnes is certain this second chance at happiness just cannot be.
Will their love go unspoken, or will their persistence reward them with a lasting passion?
The School Mistress is the delightful first book in the Emerson Pass Historicals sweet romance series. If you like gallant nobles, resilient heroines, and hints of mystery, then you’ll adore Tess Thompson’s Edwardian adventure in the Old West.
Buy The School Mistress to study reading, writing, and happily ever after today!
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A sweet, wholesome story, The School Mistress of Emerson Pass is a quick easy read that transported back to the early 1900s where Quinn, the school mistress, leaves her financially struggling family in Boston to travel by herself to Colorado where she plans to earn enough to support herself and her widowed mother and sister. Predictable but enjoyable, Tess Thompson’s characters are easy to enjoy in this first of a 10-book series. I’m looking forward to getting to know more of them in the coming books.
Thanks for allowing me to read an advanced copy; all opinions are my own.
The first in a new historical fiction series from Tess Thompson. This first book has everything we’ve come to know & love from Ms Thompson-romance, family drama, and strong characters. You’ll be rooting for Quinn and Alexander from the beginning!
This is the start of a new series by Tess Thompson, author of the Blue Mountain and Cliffside Bay series’s. Both are excellent series’s and I throughly enjoyed them. I think I have a whole new favorite though. This book was so good.
Quinn is an innocent young woman new to the mountains of Colorado. She has come to Emerson Pass to teach the children there. Little does she know what awaits her. Her heart will be filled in ways she never thought possible. She always assumed she would be a spinster and just a school teacher who never got married. When she meets Alexander and his five children her heart is forever changed. She sees five angels and they worm their way into her heart from the start.
Alexander is the father to the five children in this story. He hired Quinn through the mail to come teach the children of Emerson Pass. He was under the impression that she was much older. Alexander had lost his wife when his last child was a baby. He didn’t have time for love. But the more he is around Quinn and sees how she is with his children and how sweet she is all around, he falls for her. He had come to Emerson Pass after it had burned and rebuilt it. He wanted a safe place for his family and the residents of the town.
This book is so good. It’s a story of innocence and also prejudice. There are many emotions involved, laughter, sadness, happiness, love, prejudice, murder, family. It’s the perfect story to keep you turning the pages. I felt the cold in my bones in this book. The snow falling and the children’s laughter was perfect. The love that blossoms.
There are parts that made me so angry too. The murder of Samuel Cole. He was married to Rachel who was a black woman and the people of Emerson Pass didn’t approve. That just wasn’t done in the early 1900s.
The characters in this book are all so likable. Alexander’s children are so sweet and normal, even the feisty ones. The landscaping is beautiful and you will feel like you are right there in their home, the school and the town. Descriptions are done wonderfully. The love story is so sweet. So natural and realistic. This book just has it all. From start to finish it will hold your heart captive. I think Tess Thomson wrote the perfect love story with this and I can’t wait to see how she will top it in the next book.
Thank you to #Tess Thompson, #MaryAnn Schaefer for this ARC in exchange for my complete honest review.
I LOVED IT!
A big 5 stars and high recommendation.
The wonderful first installment of Tess Thompson’s new historical series, The School Mistress of Emerson Pass will have you rooting for Quinn Cooper as she forges a new life in Colorado at the turn of the 20th century. Highly recommended.
What a sweet story! This book’s setting and era reminded me a bit of Anne of Green Gables.
Lord Alexander Barnes founded and developed Emerson Pass, a small town in Colorado. Lord Barnes’ wife, Ida, died about 3 years ago, leaving him to be both mother and father to his children. Along with his trusted staff he has done a great job. He is now in search of a school mistress to teach his 5 children as well as the other children in Emerson Pass in the new schoolhouse. Quinn Cooper applied for the job and had been corresponding with Lord Barnes about this position, but kept out the tiny detail that she was only 22 years old, which comes to a big surprise to Lord Barnes when he meets her. For Quinn’s safety as an unaccompanied young lady, it is decided that Quinn will reside at the Barnes’ home instead of at the local boardinghouse.
Attraction is immediate between the Lord and the school mistress, but they both remain pleasant and professional. Quinn delves into her work immediately. She loves teaching, she loves her students and she is falling in love with Lord Barnes and his children.
Love soon ensues and it looks like Alexander and Quinn might have that happily ever after…
Tess Thompson never disappoints.
Reminiscent of Marshall’s Christy, Montgomery’s Anne Shirley, or Traver’s Mary Poppins, Thompson’s Miss Cooper is a character that is easy to fall in love with. It is clear from the beginning that Miss Cooper’s loyalties as a teacher are to the children and anyone who wants to learn. Her heart is filled with compassion and a quiet bravery to do the right thing.
Having never been in love before, Miss Cooper finds conflict with her attraction to Lord Barnes, her employer and landlord. The more time she spends with Lord Barnes, the deeper the attraction between the two grows for each other. The longer she stays in his home, the more she falls in love with his children, and him. The idea of leaving is a devastating thought…surely, a man of his status could never fall for a poor teacher…
Omg Omg Omg
I am so proud of Tess and how she makes so wonderful and cleaver characters and plots.
This story is shocking and wonderful. I didnt expect how amazing this book is. Love and heart and pain. It is hard to explain my feelings of this book. It is just wonderful.
I am not a fan of the way life was in the past but this book shows how everything is the same just worded differently.
This schoolmistress is someone I wish I knew. She is wonderful and kind and brave. Her heart is the biggest ive ever seen.
Emerson Pass is a town ive always dreamed of. I am so proud of how tess created the Barnes family.
Everyone should read this book.
I recieved this book from the author free for a honest review.
Let me start by saying that books set in any historical time are not usually my go to but this book was outstanding. I truly felt like I was living in a simpler time, and right now I think we could all use that escape.
The slow build of the romance was everything I was hoping for and more. Alexander and Quinn will make you long to live in a different time.
I am a huge fan of Tess Thompson and I can say without a doubt this was my favorite books of hers. I cannot wait for this series to continue
The School Mistress of Emerson Pass is another page turner by Tess Thompson. I loved the characters and story line. If you are looking for a flirtatious and heart warming romance, this book is for you.
****Thank you to the author and publisher for the ARC at my request. All thoughts in this review are my own****
This is the first nook in a new series. Cross genres historical and romance. Great start to what I think is going to be a great series. The book starts with Miss Quinn Cooper on the train traveling from Boston to Colorado to become the town’s new school mistress of the small town of Emerson Pass. Great characters and story developent. You really get pulled in to the story. Can’t wait for the next book in the series.
I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The School Mistress of Emerson Pass by Tess Thompson is a new start on a unbelievable new series that I can’t wait to be able to continue. This is Quinn and Alexander’s story and also your introduction to Emerson Pass. I believe you will fall in love with it as I have.
Completely Enamored!!
The School Mistress of Emerson Pass is an absolutely delightful and heartwarming story. Tess Thompson’s beautiful writing captures you right from the very beginning. It’s magical. She creates such a vivid and alluring town. With characters full of heart and love. You become so invested.
Tess Thompson’s writing has you absolutely living and breathing the story. How refreshing and remarkable for an author to make that happen. This was an emotional read for sure. It keeps you turning pages as fast as you can.
The School Mistress of Emerson Pass is like a breath of fresh air… an exquisite breath of fresh air. This story simply dazzles and captures the heart. I can not wait for what comes next in this phenomenon series.
The School Mistress of Emerson Pass is the first book in a new series (although we did get a tease of Emerson Pass in Tess Thompson’s Cliffside Bay Series!) that is set in the early 1900’s. This heartwarming story introduces you to Quinn as she leaves behind her widowed mother and sister in Boston to take a chance at teaching in a new school in Colorado. When she finally arrives and meets Lord Barnes – neither one of them pictured each other correctly. Lord Barnes was expecting a much older teacher and Quinn didn’t expect a very handsome widowed father. Tess writes her stories as if you are right there with her characters. You fall in love with them and want to be their friends. Looking forward to the next book in the series!
This is the first book I have read by Tess Thompson and wow! what a wonderful story! A small town in Colorado, a widowed father with five children, a proper English wait staff and a school teacher from the east coast. So many well developed characters and a story of a wealthy English Lord who doesn’t look down on others but does what he can to make things better. A delightful page turner that warms your heart. I can’t wait for the next book in this series!
I received an advance copy of this book and I voluntarily wrote an honest review.
First in a wonderful new series from Tess Thompson. If you like western historical romance you might enjoy this new romantic women’s fiction western historical saga.
I’m always hungry for books like this one. I love diving back in history! I think it’s because I grew up on Little House on the Prairie and any nostalgic reminder of turn of the century school houses, the remnants of the American frontier, and engaging characters are an auto-buy for me. Tess is a consummate storyteller! Don’t miss this one!
In order to help support her widowed mother and younger sister, Quinn makes the courageous decision to move from Boston to the mountains of Colorado to become a teacher. There, she meets Lord Alexander Barnes, a widower, and his adorable children, Josephine, Theo, Flynn, Cymbeline, and Fiona… and the biggest adventure of her life begins!
“We cannot predict the joys and sorrows that await us on this journey through life. Courage is our only map.”
The first in a new series that will alternate between historical fiction (this one was set in 1910) and contemporary fiction, this story was truly a balm for my soul during the current COVID-19 health crisis. After finding it difficult to focus on anything for any length of time, the writing style drew me in from the very first pages, allowing me a much-needed respite. I found it reminiscent of both Little House on the Prairie and The Sound of Music , and I couldn’t help but smile while reading. Infused with romance, sweetness, and kindness, it was truly what I needed to soothe my wounded heart. The end brought tears to my eyes and now I am left craving the next installment…
“Do you think our descendants will be as happy here as we are?” I will have to wait to find out, but I sure hope so!
Lastly, I was amazed that so much of this story was applicable to our current situation, especially since it was written months before the pandemic began. Here are a couple of my favorite quotes:
“There are only three rules that matter most [in the classroom and in life]… BE CURIOUS. BE KIND. PROTECT ONE ANOTHER.”
“Courage is truly the only map to a satisfying life. We must not shy away from that which frightens us.”
“Do you know how happy I am now that all of the people I love will be under one roof?”
“Because people who read a lot have more to think about.”
Location: 1910 Emerson Pass, Colorado (fictional mountain town)
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
This 1st book in a new series by Tess, is pure gold. From the moment I started reading, I was drawn in to all that is Emerson Pass. The snow, the people, and the beloved Quinn. She is a brave young woman, starting out on an adventure as the town’s new teacher, clear across the country. When there, she is swept away by Lord Barnes, who clearly has his hands full and his heart open for love. I love historical fiction, and this one wowed me!
I am excited for the entire series to be unfolded before our eyes! Excellent writing by a NY Times best selling author! What an amazing trip back in time!
What a great historical romance!
I’ve read quite a few and this one is up there with the best! I loved Alexander and Quinn! His children were adorable! Alexander hired a teacher for his 5 children and the town and Quinn was that teacher. She was younger than he thought she would be. Their attraction was instant. They made a great couple and a wonderful family! This story is well written with great characters and a little mystery and suspense. This series looks like it’s going to be great! I can’t wait for the next book!
I’m not sure I’ve read a historical romance since Tess Thompson’s Duet for Three Hands, and I’m certainly glad that I read this one.
This series is set in small Colorado Town, and the books in the series are going from past to future and back again. I love that concept, because I always want the back story as well as the epilogue. Writing a series in this way about one family is going to check off both of those wants.
Starting with a train ride over a treacherous pass(can I just say my body drew up in a knot reading the description of tracks built on sticks) we are introduced to Quinn Cooper. She’s left her widowed mother and her sister in a desperate attempt to keep them alive, and headed west to become a school teacher. This is something that was totally believable because it happened all the time at this point in history.
Needless to say there is romance as Quinn meets Alexander Barnes, the man and father that wants not only to provide an education for his children, but for all children in the town. The story is so much more than a romance though. It’s a mystery(there is a murder), but it’s also a lesson in life about good overcoming evil.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series, as we see how the Barnes family grows and flourishes.