A Fortunate Exile

by Heather B. Moore

From USA Today bestselling author Heather B. Moore, comes A FORTUNATE EXILE, a historical romance novella in which Lila Townsend finds herself the victim of a broken heart—broken by the most notorious bachelor in 1901 New York City. If that isn’t bad enough, her father sends her to Aunt Eugenia’s remote farm where Lila must wait for her father’s anger to subside and the gossip columns to find new fodder. When Lila meets her aunt’s boarder, Peter Weathers, she discovers a man who isn’t afraid to stand up to her formidable family and take a chance on a woman with a sullied reputation.

(Originally published in A TIMELESS ROMANCE WINTER COLLECTION. Now available as a standalone novella.)

Genres: Romance, Historical Fiction

55 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 17, 2015

About the author

Heather B. Moore is a USA Today bestselling author of more than ninety publications. Heather writes primarily historical and #herstory fiction about the humanity and heroism of the everyday person. Publishing in a breadth of genres, Heather dives into the hearts and souls of her characters, meshing her love of research with her love of storytelling.

Her ancient era historicals and thrillers are written under pen name H.B. Moore. She writes historical women's fiction, romance and inspirational non-fiction under Heather B. Moore, and . . . speculative fiction under Jane Redd. This can all be confusing, so her kids just call her Mom. Heather attended Cairo American College in Egypt and the Anglican School of Jerusalem in Israel. Despite failing her high school AP English exam, Heather persevered and earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University in something other than English.

Please join Heather's email list at: HBMoore.com/contact/
Website: HBMoore.com
Twitter: @heatherbmoore
Instagram: @authorhbmoore
Facebook: Fans of Heather B. Moore
And yes, the Blog still lives: MyWritersLair.blogspot.com

Literary honors: 2020 Goodreads Choice Award Semi-Finalist, Foreword 2020 INDIES Finalist, ALA Best New Books - September 2020, 6-time Best of State Recipient for Best in Literary Arts, 2019 Maggie Award Winner, 4-time Whitney Award Winner, and 2-time Golden Quill Award Winner.

Heather is represented by Dystel, Goderich, and Bourret.

Reviews

[Jeanette Dummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet little Christmas story! I liked the characters and wish novellas offered a little more space to get to know them a little more. I think they had a lot to offer. Fun story to read on a snowy winter day!

[Nari · Rating 5 out of 5]

The characters are well written. I liked that the story gave both Lila and Peter's point of view. The romance seems a bit rushed. It is a short but sweet romance.

[Taffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review soon to come!!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy and sweet read. The main character was sent to stay with her aunt because of her association with a man with a reputation of a rake. Her aunt is bitter, mean, and cold. Her house guest, Peter, is immediately attracted to Lila, but has learned his lesson. High society women are more trouble than they are worth!

Merged review:

A sweet romance novella. When a young society miss gets into a questionable relationship with a known rake, what is a parent to do? Send her away from polite society until any scandal is dismissed. Lila is sent to live with her strict aunt after having her heart broken. The list of rules she must follow is deemed proper punishment for her lack of good judgement. When Lila meets her aunt’s boarder, Peter Weathers, she discovers a man who isn’t afraid to stand up to her formidable family and take a chance on a woman with a sullied reputation.
A cute and easy read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Fortunate Exile is an engaging historical romance novella from USA Today Bestselling Author Heather B. Moore. From the very beginning, author Heather B. Moore draws us quickly into the poor choices of main character Lila Townsend who has made headlines in the New York society pages for scandal. Desperate to save face, Lila’s father sends her to live with his miserly and somewhat mean sister Eugenia to teach Lila a lesson and let the scandal blow over.

With strong characters, wrong choices, and unexpected surprises, Moore creates a story of consequences and acceptance, but also of hope, courage, and redemption. I thought the depth of character development was impressive given the length of the novella. This novella was fast and entertaining to read. I highly recommend it. Heather B. Moore gave me a complimentary copy of A Fortunate Exile by Heather B. Moore for my candid review.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

A short novella (56 pages on my reader), this is a sweet clean romance.

Lily Townsend is a young, naive socialite who falls for the most notorious bachelor in New York city who breaks hearts left, right and center. The innocent Lily thinks she is different & that Roland really loves her only to find out otherwise (naturally!).

Her fathers banishes her to her aunt Eugenia's remote farm to ride out the scandal. Living with her strict, austere and cheerless aunt who treats her like a servant, Lily finds a friend in the young man - a relative's son - boarding with her aunt.

This was a really quick and easy read but I thought the romance was way too rushed & wasn't quite convincing. Lily goes from heartbroken to back in love too quickly.

Copy gifted in exchange for an honest review.

[Lisa Paskins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lila Townsend intends to marry the town’s notorious bachelor thus preventing her father from sending her away to prevent scandal and gossip. When she finds Roland otherwise occupied and not willing to marry her, her heart is broken. She is banished by her father to Aunt Eugenia’s remote farm where instead of being a pampered socialite she is more the servant.
Aunt Eugenia already has a houseguest, Peter Weathers. He proceeds to make Lila’s term of exile bearable. This is a touching love story and written very realistically making you wish that Lila and Peter are real and that they might be found in your family tree. This is a novella that will provide a short period of distraction and enjoyment. I highly recommend it.

[Mindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FORTUNATE EXILE is a well-written clean romance novella. I felt sorry for Lila at times, especially when she arrives at her aunts. She was pretty spoiled with her upbringing and had quite the eye-opening time under her aunt's watchful eye. Peter was my favorite. The characters are all written well and even though it is a novella, the story never feels rushed. I loved how Peter was there for Lila and helped her in many ways.
Received an ebook copy from the author in exchange for an honest review

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet, clean, well written but very short novella. It was sweet the way Peter immediately started sticking up for Lila in regards to her aunt. And I loved the interaction between Peter and Lila. I just wish the story could have been longer in order to flesh out the relationship between them. It was a little rushed due to the shortness of the book.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions stated are my own.*

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather Moore is genius at writing in all different genres and this one that takes place in the early 1900s is no exception. Originally published in the Timeless Romance Anthologies: Winter Collection, this story tells the tale of a girl with a broken heart who is sent to her aunt's house after an incident. Her boarder is more than Lila bargains for and I love his strength and determination. I can always count on a sweet and clean romance to be found in these anthologies and from these amazing authors!

Content: clean!

[Charissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this novella. It's pretty short and the plot is a bit rushed due to the short length, but it was written well and not boring at all. The characters are sweet, but I like a little more character development (which would take length). Still, for a novella, it wasn't bad and I can honestly say I liked it. Not loved...but it was pretty good and if you like short books, this will make you happy.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars -- Cute love story, but it felt extremely rushed to me as far as the time frame. It also seemed a bit scandalous for the time period as far as the time frame and quickness of the two characters falling in love as well. I would have liked more time and details for this story to develop more and really set the foundation for Lila and Henry's relationship and how it would be accepted with the scandals surrounding both of their recent past relationships.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun to read Heather B Moore's first published novella! The characters sucked me in! I would love to read more. Both main characters have had their hearts trampled on in the past. As they reach out to rescue one another, they begin to learn what love is really like.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Fortunate Exile is a wonderful little Christmas story. It is only about 50 pages long and I would love to see these characters again in a longer story in the future.
Just beautiful!
5 plus stars.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed A Fortunate Exile very much. It's short enough to read in one sitting if you don't have time for a lengthy novel. The romance is sweet and the historical setting adds to it nicely. Definitely worth the read!

[Pennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a run in with Landon's most notorious bachelor Lila is exiled to her aunts farm in the country where she is rescued by another unfortunate exile. This story is a delightful and entertaining story. I enjoyed every page.

[Carol Guthrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice if I could whisk my daughters off to a "safe" haven when I disapprove of their romantic interests! I found this story to be delightful read. Novellas are a favorite of mine, especially while I am in the midst of a school semester. Not to long, not too short.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short (as novellas always are) but a sweet little love story and a squeaky clean read.

*I received an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Nicki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way too short but a nice Victorian story. I think she just wanted to be loved. That aunt sure was awful. Thanks for the short story. I enjoyed the quick read.