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The Twenty Dates by Ko Porteous #Review #EmptyNesters

It is good to return to The Empty Nesters series by Ko Porteous. The Twenty Dates was published by All Ways Publishing Ltd on October 8th. You can read my review of Book 1, The Freshman Parents   here The kids have left, assuming love endures. But can yours? Book #2 in The Empty Nesters Series   Claire’s marriage is in (total!) crisis. Her husband, Mark, is distracted, presumptuous, and utterly clueless - smart scales for their 19th wedding anniversary? Really? Perhaps she'd be better off alone. At least there'd be less laundry.   When Claire suggests separating, Mark panics. He asks for one last chance: twenty dates, one for each year of their marriage, to prove they're better off together than apart. What follows is a series of adventures Claire never saw coming - some mortifying, some exhilarating, and some that make her question everything she thought she knew. About Mark. About marriage. And about the woman she's quietly become while she wasn't payin...

The Miller's Bride by Liz Harris #Review #TheHouseOfMcleodBook1

 

Welcome to Liz Harris and her new Victorian historical novel, The Miller's Bride. This new series, The House of McLeod, was published by Boldwood Books on May 27th.


When independence comes at a price...

Scotland, 1885

Gracie McLeod’s life changes overnight when her father sells the family grocer’s shop and moves the family from their Highland village to a distant fishing town. But Gracie refuses to follow.

Desperate to maintain her independence, she reluctantly agrees to an arranged marriage to Angus MacKenzie – a stranger who makes it clear he doesn’t want her, and who is in love with another woman. When Gracie arrives at the mill she now must call home, she finds herself entangled in a web of deceit and ambition. Unknown to her, Angus’s cousin is plotting to take over the mill and destroy her marriage from within, and he’s enlisted Angus’s former lover to help him.

As secrets and sabotage threaten to ruin everything Gracie has tried to build, she must decide whether to fight for a life she never wanted – or walk away with nothing.

A sweeping, emotionally rich saga about betrayal, resilience, and a woman brave enough to demand more.


 My Thoughts

You are introduced to village life in the first in a new series and quickly become immersed in Victorian rural life. The community lives by strict rules as far as social behaviour is concerned ( on the surface) and Gracie finds out the hard way how appearances count. She has been presented with a hard choice, whether to move with her parents or marry an unknown Miller but she finds that independence is preferable to being under the thumb of her overbearing relatives.  Gracie's husband to be, Angus, has been given an ultimatum by his father and chooses marriage as it offer him the security of his father's mill. 

    You are introduced to a range of characters, who I am sure will recur in future stories, some honest and law abiding but others, not. Gracie shows herself to be capable and courageous with a kind heart and quickly make friends in her new home. I enjoyed getting to learn more about the daily life of the villagers and the work in the mill. With treachery loose in the village, Gracie has to have her wits about her if she is to keep hold of her new life as the Miller]s Wife.

In short: Backstabbing and betrayal 

About the Author

Liz Harris is an award-winning author of 28 novels, including emotional and heartwarming sagas that
are perfect for fans of Dilly Court, Rosie Goodwin, Rachel Brimble and AnneMarie Brear.

Her latest series of sagas, The House of McLeod, is set in Scotland in the 1880s, and was a joy to research for someone who loves to travel, as Liz does, as it involved Liz going up to beautiful Scotland for several weeks and staying in Central Scotland, Fife and Edinburgh, where the three books are set.

After graduating in Law in the UK, Liz moved to California where she led a varied life - from cocktail waitressing on Sunset Strip to secretary to the CEO of a large Japanese trading company. Upon returning to England, she completed a degree in English and then taught in a secondary school for a number of years before developing her writing career.

Liz now lives in Windsor, Berkshire. Her two sons have fled the nest, and now have families of their own. In what free time she has, which isn't much, she loves to travel, go to the theatre and cinema, do cryptic crosswords, and above all, to lose herself in a novel!

You can follow Liz here:  

Twitter Handle:  @lizharrisauthor 

Instagram Handle:  liz.harris.52206

Website:  https://lizharrisauthor.com

Facebook: Liz Harris

Purchase Links 

Thanks to Liz Harris, Boldwood Books and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.

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