Rescued from near-poverty by her uncle, who invites Celia Meade and her family to live at his huge estate, Celia must now contend with the dangerous jealousy of her uncle's daughter, Caroline, who sees Celia as a threat to her ambition to become mistress of Shelton Hall.
Running into each other again in the woods that adjoin Lord Merrick's property the attraction between Lord Merrick and Celia blossoms into love in the warm days of summer. But now Celia must choose between her family's safety and future, and her love for Lord Merrick.
My love of reading and writing goes back to my discovery of Nancy Drew, The Dana Girls and Judy Bolton mysteries, which I read by the truckload.
From those early books I went on to read the classics and alternating with classics I would read gothics, and it was "Rebecca", which revived a dream of childhood to become a writer. A letter from Daphne Du Maurier, in reply to my letter to her spurred me into writing a gothic novel. After that I became addicted to Regency romances,
Celia Meade is doing everything she can to keep her family together and out of the workhouse. Her father left them penniless with only a small yearly income. The only help they receive is from an Uncle who they haven't seen in quite some time. His wife, now deceased, held a terrible grudge against Celia's Mother for things in the past. This hatred was passed to her children. The eldest cousin, Caroline particularly dislikes Celia because Celia has drawn the attention of the neighbor, Lord Robert Merrick. Caroline wants Robert for herself and she will do whatever it takes to secure him. Lord Robert Merrick was attracted to Celia from the moment her saw her at her Aunt's funeral. He wanted to get to know her better but didn't get the chance. Caroline always put herself between the two. When Robert learns that Celia and her family are coming to stay at her Uncles estate, he hopes to get to know her better. They both have a love of outdoors so it is inevitable that they meet alone. Something between them ignites and neither can deny it. Celia must protect her heart, she knows Caroline will never stand for her taking away the one man Caroline always wanted. Celia s Uncle is pressed by Caroline into asking Celia not to see Robert. Caroline tells Celia she will ruin her family if she does not stay away from Robert. This book was very well written! I could not put it down. The characters were real people with real problems. The romance was sweet and poignant. I felt so sorry for Celia. And loathed Caroline! The ending was perfect! I really enjoyed the descriptions of places and people as well. The plot and climax of the story were well done, it is a fast-paced read (or maybe I thought it was because I could not stop reading) I will definitely seek out other titles by this author!
So, once again, Ms. Gay has proven that she is a talented author that creates beautiful stories filled with wonderful characters and enjoyable plots. In "Enchanted Summer" we meet Celia - she is working hard to help keep her family afloat. She is sweet and kind. Robert, our hero, is everything Celia isn't, as far as society goes. He's rich and handsome and is on the radar of Celia's cousin. I truly liked Robert - he knows what he wants and goes after it. As I read this story, I was caught up in it and didn't put it down. It moves at a good pace and Ms. Gay does a wonderful job of bringing the reader right into the story. This is a romance that is just that - romantic and filled with love. Yes, there is the evil sister, or cousin, and a bit of mystery as well that only helps solidify the feelings of our main characters. I highly recommend this one, especially for the historical romance lovers. (received copy for honest review).
This is a very sweet historical regency romance. I will admit it started a bit slow for me but really picked up around a quarter of the way through. I loved that Celia is such a strong female lead, there is intrigue, and of course a sexy Lord.
The first bit of the book setting up the story and characters like I mentioned above was slow, but I understand why there was so much description needed. After that I didn’t want to put the book down. I fell in love with Lord Merrick myself. I thought the cover was to die for and can see this in the book! There is a little light sex but it was so sweet and sensual.
If you like regency romance, Historical romance, good clan stories this is a must read.
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway! I'm excited to read it!! I definitely think it's going to be a good read. I'll update my review when appropriate.
This was an enchanting story with interesting and memorable characters. Celia and Robert were perfect together and the trouble that Caroline caused Celia and her family made me yearn for the moment of her comeuppance. The problem was that I felt Caroline never really answered for all the trouble she caused and I wasn't really satisfied with the way the story ended because of that. Of course all readers can figure out that Caroline wouldn't win Robert for herself as that was a forgone conclusion but it would have been nice to see something more happen to her for how cruel she was to Celia and her family. Despite that one annoyance, I did enjoy the story and felt it deserved at least four stars.
Too much narrative, I would that the reader can draw her own opinions and conclusions from the dialogues/conversations (and interactions thru conversations among characters) instead of from the author's long narrative and descriptions. Other than that, this is still a well~written work plus Ms. Gay stayed True to the genre. I also appreciate that it is well edited as there are no present day words like the killjoy "okay" to throw the reader off her comfortable Timeline. This work is still more authentic than the pseudo~Regencies that regularly come out nowadays.
A very well thought out plot that appeared to be on par with the period in question. Only criticism was the spelling mistakes and misnamed characters that was confusing at times. Also I would have liked to know what the Earl's reaction to the marriage was and what happened to Caroline.
Enchanted Summer: (Regency Romance) is a splendid story. On the brink of poverty, the family was invited to stay with relatives. It started out unpleasant and had a wonderful atmosphere in the ending. It simply turned out wonderful for this family.
I loved t hi this. Book from beginning to end except for the frustration of Celia's prideful way of not telling Robert about Carolina's horrible treatment of her family but I guess also well that ends well. 😇
So happy this was a wonderful book and I look to enjoying your other books. This is a must read and I know you will not be disappointed. Some books don't need sex to hold ones interest. God bless. D.H. from New York City