A Gentleman for all Seasons | Review

A Gentleman For All Seasons

by Shana Galen

Vanessa Kelly

Kate Noble

Theresa Romain

If you have not read any of these ladies works

before, this is an excellent way to get the feel of them.

Four wonderful short stories. Set in the small quiet town

of Hemshawe. Quiet until Georgie and her brother,

Bartram take over a house for a time. Bartram has his

own reasons for choosing this house. Which is the

starting point for all the romance that continues

to explode.

 Adam Sturridge and Belinda Leonard are the

first couple to crumble under the weight of Georgie and

her matchmaking skills. Madness in Spring is the story

from Kate Noble. When two people have known each

other for the most of their lives, it can be hard to

get past the childhood memories. Kate did a wonderful

job bringing these two characters together. I am sure

they must have fought her all the way.

The next story is Summer of Wine and Scandal by

Shana Galen. Caroline has a big secret in her past.

But Peregrine Lochley knows nothing of her secret.

He only knows his carriage is trapped in the mud and

he has no idea how to get it out. Lochley is lucky enough

that Caroline happens by. While Lochley is a wine

expert, Caro is the scandal. This is a story about 

being brave. Following your heart. Shana's writing

was a reminder to always get both sides of the story.

  

Theresa Romain adds a story called Those Autumn Nights.

This story explains why Bertram Gage rented the house

that he did. Everyone has had a moment when someone

made them feel unworthy. Not good enough. But as

humans, we always want to show them that we are

worthy. We all need to learn the less of following our

heart. But we also need to learn forgiveness.

Perhaps the hardest lesson of all. Thank goodness

Eliza Greenleaf comes along to help with quarter day.
Theresa was full of kindness and forgiveness in her story.

Then the final story of Gentleman for all Seasons is

The Season for Loving by Vanessa Kelly.

Georgie  Gage (matchmaker professional) and

Fergus Hadden (happily single) find themselves

thrown together at a house party in the home of

Bertram and Eliza Gage. Both of them simply want to

live their lives as they wish. With no help from those

that care about them. But in the end, Vanessa's story

is of romance. Cupids arrow finding his target.



It is happily ever after for all.
Even those living not quite in Scotland.

I enjoyed this anthology. Surprisingly, all four stories.

It's not often that happens. I suppose the fun and

interesting characters all joining together make

the stories easy to read and enjoy. 

Review by Lisa Hutson   





Guest Post from Shana Galen

A Gentleman for All Seasons
Available Now!

The tiny village of Hemshawe is the sort of place where nothing ever happens...until a handsome ex-soldier and his matchmaking sister let the imposing manor house at the edge of town. The friendly Londoners shake up the staid people of Hemshawe, and villagers see each other in a new and oh-so-appealing light.

Suddenly long-sparring enemies become lovers, a town festival heralds a new start for a fallen woman and a dandy, and a man who has given up on love gets a second chance with the woman he never forgot. And the matchmaker herself?  She won't rest until she finds her own happily-ever-after...

A Gentleman and a Veteran
By Shana Galen

Today is Veterans Day, and I have the utmost respect for veterans. My dad and my grandfather served during times of conflict. In my new anthology, A Gentleman for All Seasons, not only did my co-authors Vanessa Kelly, Kate Noble, and Theresa Romain, and I each write a story with a hero we hope readers will love, three of our four heroes are veterans.

The unrest of the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon led to war in Europe. The Peninsular War meant many of the men who lived during the Regency period had served abroad or were part of the regiments protecting England. Think of George Wickham, whose regiment is stationed briefly in Merryton, where Lizzie Bennett lives in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice.

A Gentleman for All Seasons revolves around a brother and sister, Bertram and Georgie Gage, who let a house in a little country village for a year. Bertram served in the 13th Light Dragoons, and now that he’s returned from the war he wants to make sure his sister has peace and quiet to recover from an illness. Bertram reunites with a woman he loved before the war, and their story is told in Theresa Romain's “Those Autumn Nights.” My hero is Peregrine Lochley, who served with Bertram in the 13th. These friends have been through hell and back, and when Lochley needs a place to stay briefly after his father exiles him from London, he knows he can count on his friend Bertie. Of course the former soldier and London dandy falls for the last woman he expects in “The Summer of Wine and Scandal.”

Kate Noble’s “A Madness in Spring” also features a veteran. Adam Sturridge was in the Foot Guards. But all his military training has left him unprepared for the feelings he develops for his childhood friend Belinda Leonard. Vanessa Kelly’s hero Fergus Haddon may not be an ex-soldier but he is a sexy Highlander. He’s also just the man Georgie Gage needs. Now that she’s recovered from her illness, she’s tired of being coddled. Fergus doesn’t try to coddle Georgie, and the little matchmaker finally makes her own match in “The Season for Loving.”

This was such a fun anthology to write, and we loved crafting stories with four different heroes in four different seasons. Winter, summer, spring, or fall, we have a hero for them all!

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