Ever After

Ever After by Jude Deveraux
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hallie discovered quite by accident that she had inherited a house from a man she had never met. If she hadn't returned without warning to her house that afternoon, looking for a missing envelope of important documents, she never would have walked in on her stepsister impersonating her and signing papers to take possession of Hallie's unexpected inheritance. While it wasn't especially shocking to learn her stepsister had deceived the executor of the will and was attempting to defraud her, it most certainly was shocking to discover she now owned a house on the island of Nantucket, and it was even more shocking to find out that she had a private physical therapy client waiting for her in said house. Most shocking of all was the revelation that her newly acquired home came with two ghosts: the Tea Ladies, who died a couple of centuries ago and yet never stopped fixing their famously elaborate teas.

The sisters' matchmaking talents are legends among the islanders, and soon Hallie finds herself locked into and out of rooms, drenched by thunderstorms so local the neighbors aren't aware they occurred, supplied with endless quantities of fabulous sandwiches and cakes, and falling for her gorgeous patient with the huge extended family.

Jamie Taggert isn't pleased with the way his identical twin got him to Hallie's house on Nantucket Island, but he acknowledges he needs physical therapy to rehabilitate his knee after a skiing accident, so he agrees to let Hallie treat his leg--and ONLY his leg. Unlike most men, who can't wait to disrobe, Jamie refuses to let anyone see his scarred body. He fears pity and goes out of his way to avoid it, usually by avoiding people altogether. His aversion to pity runs so deep, he lets Hallie believe he's just a rich playboy rather than admit he acquired most of his scars--both physical and mental--when his humvee exploded, killing his friends and nearly killing him as well.

Although the attraction between Jamie and Hallie is strong, painful secrets and ingrained beliefs threaten to separate the pair, and it takes some clever conniving on the part of the departed to teach them to have faith in the strength, reality, and longevity of their bond.

I love that Deveraux is now writing about the next generation of the Taggert/Montgomery family. Such a treat to get a glimpse into the happily ever after of some of my favorite characters of the past! I actually stayed up late two nights in a row, despite being seriously sleep-deprived, just because I couldn't stop reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for letting me read an Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) of the third book in this series in exchange for my honest review. I can honestly say I absolutely loved it! It's truly delightful to read a romance novel written by an author who likes and appreciates men and depicts them pretty realistically.

For reader's advisors: story and character doorways are both pretty strong, as is setting (ghosts and the non-creepy haunted house). There is some sexual content, but not especially explicit, and there is a little bit of swearing.

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True Love

True Love by Jude Deveraux
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Three and a half stars.

Alix Madsen spent only one summer on Nantucket when she was a small child, so when Adelaide Kingsley dies and leaves Alix her home on the island for one year, Alix is puzzled and reluctant to go...until her boyfriend dumps her. After that, a year away seems much more enticing. What she doesn't know is that the year has strings attached: she is supposed to uncover what happened when Valentina Montgomery vanished two hundred and two years ago.

For his part, Jared Montgomery Kingsley really does not want Alix living in his home for the next year. She's a newly graduated architecture student, and he is a famous architect who has no desire to put up with the fawning adoration of an acolyte. He owes her parents for essentially saving him and putting him on the path to where he is now, yet he hates that he has to keep their secrets and not tell Alix that each of her parents has spent a great deal of time on Nantucket these past twenty years or so. However, his grand plan to avoid her falls through when she and her best friend Izzy arrive three days early. That's when he begins to discover that Alix is everything he never knew he wanted.

As expected, book one in the trilogy helped explain some of the context for book two, For All Time which I accidentally read first. I highly recommend reading the series in order.

When I began reading True Love, I wasn't sure I was going to like it. Jared starts out arguing with his (several times great) grandfather, the ghost who's haunted Kingsley House for the past two centuries. Caleb has been visible to each of the heirs as well as the occasional female relative...and Alix when she was four years old. The argument read like a temper tantrum, making 36-year-old Jared seem petulant and immature, but thankfully I kept reading because it got better. While he will never be my favorite fictional hero, Jared did grow up and develop over the course of the book.

For readers' advisors: character doorway is primary, story and setting secondary. Some sex scenes and sexual references. I can't recall if there is any swearing.

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For All Time

For All Time by Jude Deveraux
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Montgomery-Taggert clan is back with a whole new generation, but some things remain the same: family legend states you marry the one who can tell the twins apart. Problem is, this time the twins are princes, and the heir to the throne has his engagement already arranged. Still, Graydon is fascinated by Toby and decides to trade places with his younger brother and stay on Nantucket for an extra week after his cousin's wedding just to see what it's like to feel like an ordinary man rather than a crown prince.

Toby's introduction to the twins does not go well. When Rory approaches her group at the restaurant the night before the wedding, she takes an instant dislike to his presumption they'd stop what they were doing and pay attention to him. The day of the wedding, Graydon pretends it was he who'd come over to them at the bar, angering Toby, who hates liars, especially smooth, handsome ones like the men her mother constantly throws in her path. He will have to work very hard to convince her to give him another chance.

An accident in Lanconia means Graydon has to stay put for a while, joined by his bodyguards, Daire and Lorcan. Initial assumptions lead to hurt feelings, which leads to Toby falling asleep in a vacant house and dreaming of a past life filled with friends and family in different clothing and social roles. It's the most realistic dream Toby's ever had, though, and suddenly, a tiny hidden room in the house fills her with terror and the conviction that she once died inside. At least the mystery serves to somewhat distract Toby from the knowledge that her time with Graydon will soon end, so falling in love with him would be a Bad Idea.

Unbeknownst to me when I requested the ARC from NetGalley, this is the second book in the series. I normally do not read series books out of order, and this is a prime example of why: I spent much of the novel wishing there were a detailed family tree and glossary of people and houses to help me keep track of who was whom. I kept having to flip back and reread pages, trying to piece together what was going on and how everyone was related. I'd definitely suggest reading this series in order, since one book flows right in to the next.

I'd classify this romance novel as a good beach read. Graydon is so improbably perfect (A prince who cooks, organizes messy rooms, waters plants, has the body of a toned warrior, and pitches in to help plan a fancy wedding? Riiiiight.) that I almost tagged the book "fantasy." It's a fun read, though.

For readers' advisors: story doorway. Lots of kissing, not much sex or bad language.

I received a free Advance Reader's Copy (ARC) from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

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