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loverofromance 's review for:
Sommersgate House
by Kristen Ashley
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
Sommersagate House was such an interesting read, and far different from what I have read from this author yet. I think I put off this series for so long because I hadn’t heard much about these books, there really isn’t that much talk surrounding this series, especially in comparison to the other series that came out around this as well. But I was wanting something different and I have been trying to get through this author’s backlist and I was intrigued by the setup of the story and getting some unique ghosts and gothic-like elements and I have to say that this author truly impressed me in how she implemented many factors of this book. I wasn’t fully into this book which I spent all day read and I should have finished it but honestly my high blood pressure is really affecting my attention in reading so it took way longer than I would have liked. But I truly enjoyed this book as a whole.
The setup of this book is that there is a painful death in the family. The hero’s (Douglas) sister married the heroine’s (Julia) brother and they had some children but then the parents of the children were killed in an accident and in the last will and testament requested that Douglas and Julia raise the children together. Julia has come to England to reside in the manor house to raise these children that are in desperate need of stability and love. There is a rising tension between Douglas and Julia, they have various views on how the children should be raised but they are also completely different personalities from each other. Douglas is an aristocrat, grew up in a cold unfeeling home, and closed off and almost cold but there is an intensity to him. Then we have Julia, who is warm and compassionate, and bubbly. They are like fire and ice but there are secrets in the house, as well as haunted ghosts that torment the home and the people that live there. Douglas is determined to marry Julia, but Julia refuses to marry anyone due to the disaster that her first marriage became, and thus begins a fierce courtship and battle of the hearts and wills. So who will win in the end?
This was quite an interesting story that this author wrote and I was all for it. I was so fascinated by the setup of the story. I personally have no issues with a couple this connected to each other (as it’s through marriage bonds and not blood ties) to being together. It’s really heartbreaking at times because we see the grief and loss that they as a family are going through and the children that are written are done so well. I just admire what Kristen Ashley wrote in this one and how well she handled certain issues that are very relevant and connect to the reader. I adored the grumpy sunshine elements that permeate the story and I became so drawn into this story and what the author was able to accomplish with this one here. You definitely can go into this one blind though and even not read the blurb here just don’t skim the beginning parts or it might be confusing. I really respected the various tones of emotion that are written within this one here. The romance between these two is one of my favorites as it has a level of angst that just works for me. Although this isn’t the norm for Kirsten Ashley. In most of her books, her couples are “together” pretty early on, but there is this battle of wills almost till the very end. I loved the unrequited love as the hero has been in love with the heroine for a long time, but keeps himself so closed off you don’t even realize it until later. I absolutely adored this hero if I didn’t know this was a contemporary and there was a use of cars, I would think this was a regency or victorian era novel. There are many resemblances that just made this one work out so well for me. There is also an intense gothic vibe to the story that I definitely think will move many readers in such a beautiful way. I need more gothic-like feel stories in my life, and just reading this one was a good reminder of that.
Overall I found Sommersagate House to be an intense love affair of a romance that will sweep you off your feet with paranormal delights, a battle for love, and a family coming together to heal and unite in epic ways…..if you are a KA fan, you definitely need to grab this one up!
This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
Sommersagate House was such an interesting read, and far different from what I have read from this author yet. I think I put off this series for so long because I hadn’t heard much about these books, there really isn’t that much talk surrounding this series, especially in comparison to the other series that came out around this as well. But I was wanting something different and I have been trying to get through this author’s backlist and I was intrigued by the setup of the story and getting some unique ghosts and gothic-like elements and I have to say that this author truly impressed me in how she implemented many factors of this book. I wasn’t fully into this book which I spent all day read and I should have finished it but honestly my high blood pressure is really affecting my attention in reading so it took way longer than I would have liked. But I truly enjoyed this book as a whole.
The setup of this book is that there is a painful death in the family. The hero’s (Douglas) sister married the heroine’s (Julia) brother and they had some children but then the parents of the children were killed in an accident and in the last will and testament requested that Douglas and Julia raise the children together. Julia has come to England to reside in the manor house to raise these children that are in desperate need of stability and love. There is a rising tension between Douglas and Julia, they have various views on how the children should be raised but they are also completely different personalities from each other. Douglas is an aristocrat, grew up in a cold unfeeling home, and closed off and almost cold but there is an intensity to him. Then we have Julia, who is warm and compassionate, and bubbly. They are like fire and ice but there are secrets in the house, as well as haunted ghosts that torment the home and the people that live there. Douglas is determined to marry Julia, but Julia refuses to marry anyone due to the disaster that her first marriage became, and thus begins a fierce courtship and battle of the hearts and wills. So who will win in the end?
This was quite an interesting story that this author wrote and I was all for it. I was so fascinated by the setup of the story. I personally have no issues with a couple this connected to each other (as it’s through marriage bonds and not blood ties) to being together. It’s really heartbreaking at times because we see the grief and loss that they as a family are going through and the children that are written are done so well. I just admire what Kristen Ashley wrote in this one and how well she handled certain issues that are very relevant and connect to the reader. I adored the grumpy sunshine elements that permeate the story and I became so drawn into this story and what the author was able to accomplish with this one here. You definitely can go into this one blind though and even not read the blurb here just don’t skim the beginning parts or it might be confusing. I really respected the various tones of emotion that are written within this one here. The romance between these two is one of my favorites as it has a level of angst that just works for me. Although this isn’t the norm for Kirsten Ashley. In most of her books, her couples are “together” pretty early on, but there is this battle of wills almost till the very end. I loved the unrequited love as the hero has been in love with the heroine for a long time, but keeps himself so closed off you don’t even realize it until later. I absolutely adored this hero if I didn’t know this was a contemporary and there was a use of cars, I would think this was a regency or victorian era novel. There are many resemblances that just made this one work out so well for me. There is also an intense gothic vibe to the story that I definitely think will move many readers in such a beautiful way. I need more gothic-like feel stories in my life, and just reading this one was a good reminder of that.
Overall I found Sommersagate House to be an intense love affair of a romance that will sweep you off your feet with paranormal delights, a battle for love, and a family coming together to heal and unite in epic ways…..if you are a KA fan, you definitely need to grab this one up!