A New Foundation

Bainbridge House #1

by Rochelle Alers

He’s the man with the plans

But she’s calling the shots

After escaping an abusive marriage, Sonya Rios-Martin is determined to live an independent life. The generous job offer from Taylor Williamson will help her do that. But her unexpectedly strong attraction to model-turned-project-engineer Taylor throws a wrench in her plans. Sonya and Taylor have to figure out how to build a solid foundation—without re-creating the cracks from her last devastating relationship.

From Harlequin Special Believe in love. Overcome obstacles. Find happiness.

Bainbridge House

Book 1: A New Foundation

Genres: Romance, Contemporary

252 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2021

About the author

Rochelle Alers was born in Manhattan, New York, USA, where she raised. She obtained degrees in Sociology and Psychology, before started to work. She is a member of the Iota Theta Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and her interests include gourmet cooking and traveling. She has traveled to countries in North, Central and South America, and Europe. She is also in accomplished in knitting, crocheting and needlepoint.

Published since 1988, today a full-time writer, has been hailed by readers and booksellers alike as one of today's most prolific and popular African-American authors of romance and women's fiction. With more than fifty titles and nearly two million copies of her novels in print, she is a regular on the Waldenbooks, Borders and Essence bestseller lists, regularly chosen by Black Expressions Book Club, and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Gold Pen Award, the Emma Award, Vivian Stephens Award for Excellence in Romance Writing, the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award and the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Award. She also wrote as Susan James and Rena McLeary.

Rochelle Alers lives in a charming hamlet on Long Island.

Reviews

[Robin Loves Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Multicultural romances are becoming more and more readily available for reviewers. A New Foundation was a wonderful book to have come my way. In this first book in the Bainbridge House series, Taylor Williamson has a huge job on his hands. He will be restoring his family's historical estate. He definitely will not be working alone. One of the people he hires is an architectural and art historian, Sonya Rios-Martin. As a previous victim of emotional abuse at the hand of her ex-husband, Sonya is more than distrustful of men and gives Taylor a wide berth.

Sonya is not the only one with a sad past. In fact, Taylor has his own demons but after having been adopted, had time to heal. In fact, he became a model at one time and also a structural engineer. It is his engineering skills that make him perfect for the project. One thing becomes almost immediately clear with regard to Sonya and Taylor - they are both strongly attracted to one another. However, with their pasts in mind, it seems doubtful that either of them is prepared to act of their growing feelings.

This was an enjoyable and emotional story of two broken people who found happiness and joy with one another. However, there are hiccups along the way and it was quite pleasant to read how the two found their future together. This enjoyable frist book in this series was followed by Christmas at the Chateau.

Many thanks to Harlequin Special Edition for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

[Michelle Lindo-Rice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taylor Williamson is committed to honor his parent's wishes and renovate Bainbridge House. He has big plans for the project and is pleased when Sonya agrees to work with him,
Sonya Rios-Martin has overcome an abusive marriage and is on her way toward becoming an independent woman. When Taylor Williamson, her friend's brother, offers her a job, she gladly accepts, knowing it could launch her career to the next level. What she didn't expect to feel was a strong attraction to her new boss.
When I read Rochelle Alers, I know I am going to be exposed to rich settings and decadent meals along with some great characters. I found Sonya and Taylor's story to be a sweet tale. I enjoyed how the author set up the foundation for the series and I am intrigued to meet the other siblings. I look forward to reading more of her work. and the rest of the series. The cover art is amazing.
Thank you #Harlequin and #Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Jaszmin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fast paced. Everything happened immediately....really only read it to read the Christmas book. It wasnt bad though just nothing made me relate or find interest in the characters

[Lauren loves llamas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Content warnings: MC left abusive marriage (emotional and verbal, before book starts), death of a parent (before book starts), discussion of miscarriage and subsequent infertility (MC’s mom), child neglect (MC’s birth mom, before book starts)

I was a bit shocked to realize I’d never read anything by Rochelle Alers before, so when I saw this was the start of a new series, I had to pick this up. This is a delightfully sweet romance with the best friend’s sibling and workplace romance tropes and it was so much fun to read!

Taylor is the oldest of five adopted siblings, four brothers and one sister. After their father’s death, they discover that they’ve inherited a mansion in New Jersey – more than 100 rooms on over 300 acres of land. Their father always intended to renovate Bainbridge House, so now Taylor is taking point on turning it into a hotel. To do that, though, he’ll need help clearing out the excesses of Gilded Age rich folks. Luckily, his sister Viola has a friend who just might fit the bill. Sonja grew up as an army brat all over the world, fascinated by the art and history of museums her mother would take her to, leading to a career as an architectural and art historian. Cataloging and helping with the restoration of Bainbridge House is like a dream come true, and it doesn’t hurt that her new boss is very easy on the eyes. But neither Taylor nor Sonja are looking for anything romantic right now, even if they’re both very attracted to each other. Besides, they only have to work closely together for two years. How hard could that be?

“I believe trust is more important than love because people can fall in and out of love. I’d rather trust you than love you.”
Sonja had just given Taylor the opening he needed. “Can you love me?”
“I’m sure I can.”

Both Taylor and Sonja are very career focused individuals. For Taylor, it was in service of getting a new promotion at his engineering job, though he’s willing to walk away from that to take over the new family project. For Sonja, it’s more about being able to take care of herself. Sonja feels like she’s never been truly independent. She’s always lived with family, a roommate, or her ex-husband. Her ex was extremely controlling and while she’s overcome a lot of the trauma from that, she’s still distrustful of relationships in general. And while Taylor had an absolutely idyllic childhood after he was adopted, his life before that wasn’t so great. They both have a lot of reservations about getting into a relationship, especially with someone they’re committed to working with for the next two years. Unsurprisingly, Taylor’s interested in pursuing something sooner than Sonja, but he’s good about letting her set the pace. My only complaint about their relationship was the bleak moment, which was spurred by something I thought was completely out of character for Taylor.

“There was something about her best friend’s brother that turned her into an emotional pretzel whenever she asked herself what she wanted from Taylor and the answer continued to evade her.”

The details in the book are absolutely enthralling. I loved all the information about Bainbridge House and the items inside it, from jewelry to glassware to bottles of wine. I would’ve loved to read more about the items Sonja was cataloguing because it was just so interesting, and honestly, I think 50% of my desire to read the next book in this series is just so I can find out more! And that doesn’t even cover the food! Pastelón, stuffed clams, chicken and waffles, yum. Both Sonja and Taylor know how to cook and everything was described in delicious detail. I don’t read a lot from the Special Editions line (I usually prefer higher heat levels) so I’m not sure if this is usual, but there was a definite aspirational quality to a lot of the wealth displayed in the book. Most of it I enjoyed (heck, who doesn’t want to be given a condo and a car as perks of your dream job???) but the fact that not only was Taylor an experienced engineer but he’d also previously been a famous model made me giggle a little.

Though Taylor has four other siblings, only one, Viola, the youngest, is really involved in any detail in this book. I appreciated that because it gave me time to get to know Taylor and Sonja more clearly before getting involved in too much sequel baiting. As for other characters, I adored Taylor’s mother and how sweetly obvious her love for her kids was. I’m also particularly curious about Dom Shaw, the latest in a series of family caretakers of Bainbridge House. Sonja found out some info about him that wasn’t explicitly stated but was easy to guess, but I’m wondering how that’s going to fit into the rest of the series.

Overall, this is a quick and sweet read, and a great start to a new series. I will definitely be on the lookout for the next book!

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Jite · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this new multicultural romance series opener by this author, who’s a definite favourite of mine. The series is clearly going to be set around a group of siblings who’ve inherited the historic Bainbridge Mansion Estate from their late father. The series opens with Taylor, a retired male supermodel and current structural engineer, managing the restoration of the historical estate his family inherited, and Sonya, an architectural and art historian, who he’s hired to support the restoration work and cataloguing of historical items. Sonya is distrustful of men after being exploited and emotionally abused by her ex-husband who she married young, and Taylor also has scars from his past before being adopted into a loving family. So, this is a story about the healing power of love™️.

I enjoy this author’s work because it’s always aspirational. These aren’t billionaire romances but everything is always super classy, super well-researched, the food, the interior decor, the architectural detail, everything makes you feel like you “summer” and “dine” and “holiday” as verbs, and yet it is very accessible and never feels stuck up. This author’s work is feminist but also kind of sometimes subscribed to some old-fashioned-ish gender roles of men taking care of their women that might not be for everyone, but they’re for me. Take note, if those kinds of narratives bother you. I liked that these were two eminently human characters working their way through their instant attraction for one another whilst dealing with their own baggage.

This specific book I believe, was black romance but I foresee that this series is going to be more a multicultural romance, featuring a diversity of cultures and backgrounds and I can’t wait for it. I look forward eagerly to the rest of this series. I’m already a fan! This is a home fun from Harlequin Special Edition.

I received a complimentary advance copy of this book from Harlequin Books.

[Jacknthebooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good grown folks romance, and this one hit the mark. Sonja did piss me off a little bit, but I understood her being hesitant to being in another relationship. Taylor was the perfect man for her. He was so patient and open to letting her essentially take the lead. Reading them fall for each other was beautiful. The misunderstanding was blown out of proportion. It should've been a simple conversation, but of course, Sonja got scared and compared him to her ex. She was too grown to be running away. I was glad her mama got her told her about herself. I'm glad that got it together. I can't wait to read about the rest of the siblings.

[Shae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work place romance is surprisingly deep, in an unexpected way. Our heroine, Sonya, has escaped her abusive marriage, and is starting over with this new job. The last thing she expects is to fall for her boss!
Taylor is bound and determined to honor his family's wishes with his current work project, and is thrilled when Sonya signs on to help him with it. He doesn't expect anything to come of their attraction, when they are clearly meant to be.
Alers has a beautiful way of coming at a story, and I am excited to continue to explore her works.

[Elizabeth]

Slow but interesting

The synopsis pulled me in and then I got left down a bit once I started reading. This was a somewhat slow story and within a blink around the last 3 or 4 chapters it picked up speed to an abrupt end. I stayed the course to finish this story simply because I usually enjoy books by Alers....however this one just didn't cut it much for me.

[A_Stylish_Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book. I felt this book’s pacing was really slow as Sonja and Taylor navigate their friendship and attraction to each other. Sonja’s issues with her past didn’t feel resolved and I feel like she needed therapy before she could move on with Taylor. It was enjoyable but I really wanted more to the story.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good start to the new series. I love the theme of restoring an old French chateau that was moved to New Jersey. Taylor is committed to honoring his late father's wish to renovate Bainbridge House, as are his three brothers and one sister. His sister, Viola, tells Taylor about her friend, Sonja, an architectural historian, as the perfect person to help him get it right. Sonja spent four years in an abusive marriage before escaping and working to regain her independence. Working on the Bainbridge House restoration will go a long way toward establishing her reputation in her field.

I loved the first meeting between Sonja and Taylor. The sparks were there from the beginning though both initially tried to ignore them. Taylor plans to concentrate on the renovations, while Sonja has no intention of getting involved with another man. Sonja's intelligence and passion for her work fascinated Taylor, and he knew she was exactly what he needed for the project. I liked watching them connect over their love of the house and the friendship that evolved because of it.

It wasn't long before Taylor realized he wanted more than friendship with Sonja. However, as attracted as he is to her, he doesn't just want to sleep with her. Taylor craves the kind of loving relationship his parents had and believes he can have it with Sonja. All he has to do is convince her. I enjoyed his efforts to do so and appreciated how he was always careful not to push. That care is what slowly worked its way past Sonja's walls.

I liked seeing Sonja let go of her fears and embrace her feelings for Taylor. Their connection over the house added an extra layer to those feelings. Their relationship looked very promising for the future until Taylor saw something that he misinterpreted and reacted poorly. His words and actions brought back bad memories of her marriage and drove Sonja away. I ached for Sonja as she tried to reconcile those memories with her feelings for Taylor. Conversations with her mother helped her enough to think about what had happened from another perspective. I liked that Taylor was smart enough to realize how badly he'd behaved and patient enough to give Sonja the time she needed. The ending was great, as both Taylor and Sonja shared their fears and feelings before moving on to their future.

One of the things I liked about this book were the little details that go into restoring a building like Bainbridge House, from the foundation to the landscaping. I'd love to see more about some of the treasures Sonja finds. I loved her suggestions about the farm-to-table for the planned restaurant. I look forward to the future books with Taylor's siblings, each of whom has a talent/career that blends well with their plans for the chateau.

#netgalley

[Sera Taíno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rochelle Alers is one of my favorite HQN Special Edition authors. She writes compelling stories full of drama and heart and this book is no exceptions.

The books opens with Taylor, a retired male supermodel turned structural engineer responsible for the restoration of the historical estate his family inherited. Dealing with the emotional trauma of his life before being adopted makes Taylor is emotionally scarred and hesitant about love.

Sonya, his love interest, is an architectural and art historian hired catalogue of historical items on the same project. Her backstory is also compelling, having been emotionally abused by her ex-husband, and, understandably, making her wary of love of love as well.

The novel is well-researched and realistic. I'm a sucker for competence and Sonya and Taylor are simply good at what they do. Their chemistry is powerful, but their past weighs them down, so the challenge for them is to resolve that baggage to allow them to move forward with their relationship. Alers writes them with a well of emotional depth that I enjoyed very much.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secrets, heartbreak and finally love!
Such was the case with Taylor and Sonja! Taylor an adopted former male model and multi-millionaire tasked with restoring a home in his late adopted father's family as a family project with his brothers and sister! Sonja an Architectural Art Historian picked by Taylor to do the cataloging and appraising of the valuables found in the home. These two fell in love with each other pretty quickly after working so closely together and because something they saw in the other upon their first meeting kept drawing them to each other! Sonja was gun shy because of her former failure of a marriage to a controlling older man who was a serial cheater while learning to accept the love Taylor was offering to share with her. To be sure they went through some trying times however the love they have for each other made them take a chance on putting his adoption and her failed marriage in the proper perspective in order to forge a future together! I truly enjoyed their story and now will search out the other Bainbridge stories to enjoy them too! Great job Ms. Alers, a truly great job indeed!

[Becky Tatar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sonya Rios-Martin has escaped an abusive marriage to now working for her friend's brother, Taylor Williamson as an architectural/art historian on the Williamson's estate at Brainbridge House. Of course they will get together. However, I really felt that she traded one pushy, controlling, abusive person for someone very similar. It seems as if Taylor always knows what's best, scolding her, putting her in company housing, getting her her car, and getting far too familiar far to soon. He says she's not working for him, as others are, since she's an independent contractor. But doesn't that mean she's working for him? And he flies off the handle with anger and jealousy when he sees the estate caretaker giving her a hug. He goes after the caretaker, and Sonya, with his wild accusations. Like he owns her.

[Cherie l brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. Sonja, a young lady that has sworn off dating and absolutely will not marry. But Sonja meets and accepts a commission for cataloguing and providing historic insight into the refurbishing of the Bainbridge House. The project engineer is fit and very fine Taylor Williamson. He was almost instantly smitten by Sonja. They got on handsomely until a jealous moment occurred, and then drama. Mrs. Alers gives a great plot, and sufficiently develops her characters to give an outstanding read. The book would have gotten a 5star rating from me, but I always deduct a star for curse words (very very few in this novel) and for premarital relations.

[Angela F. Holder · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok.

Sonja's immediate declaration of love and wanting to marry and have children at that point didn't seem believable to me. She was struggling with issues due to her experiences with her ex-husband, as well as trusting herself to make the right decision when it came to Taylor. Also would have liked to have seen her meet the rest of Taylor's family and then end the story indicating the next book was coming with the wedding. I love Rochelle Alers' writing and will be looking for the next one.

[Turtleberry Turtleberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Taylor hires Sonya to work on his family home restoration project. She is his younger sister's best friend. They instantly hit it off and both realize they will be more than friends before they even really get started working together. She had a really bad marriage that made her not want to be involved in a relationship. His ideas about relationships are tainted by his birth parent's relationship.
I enjoyed this book a lot. Their relationship moved quickly but Taylor gave Sonya the time she needed to be okay with where things were going.

[Alexis The Nerdy Bruja · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 Stars

** I received this as an E-ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review, Thank you!**

I really enjoyed reading this. I liked the characters and really enjoyed the romance. It all felt very relatable and real, which made it easier to connect to the characters and the overall story more enjoyable. If you're looking for something to connect to I would recommend this book!

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable love story.

I liked it,; it was entertaining. I really liked the careers they had which were unusual for many Black folk. I will read the next installment because there is so much more to know about Bainbridge House and those who inherited it. One thing, though,; the editing needs to be improved. No need for those errors.

[Teresa Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A New Foundation

Rochelle Alers is a very talented writer. She has woven a beautiful story between Taylor and Sonja. The secrets that are hidden in The Bainbridge House are going to be worth every turn of the page. I plan to read every book. There was one problem it was a lot of repeating past relationships. Other than that the story had a wonderful flow.

[Mary Calton Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touching story

The characters are just as good as the information provided by the author. The adoption theme was just as important as the historical content provided. Although this is fiction, the story prompted my research of actual Bainbridge houses and centuries, 1600 to early 1900, furniture, jewelry, rugs and other artwork.

[KAREN MCCRAW · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great start to a series

Can't wait for the next book in the series. I enjoyed Taylor and Sonia's story . The Bainbridge House restoration will be interesting to watch as relationships develop.

[Kaydee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Beautiful story and foundation

For a series.

I loved the slow arc. I loved that both had issues to resolve. I fell in love with Bainbridge & its history.

I was surprised at the missing words,typos and other missed editing. Have publishers eschewed editors now?

[Ava Smith-forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

A NewFoundation

Loved the history of the Bainbridge family and Taylor and Sonja's meeting and falling in love at first sight adds fuel to the fire. I hope we get to see how deep Dom's connection is.

[Emily L. Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read.

This was a nice love story dealing with trust and love with a historical background. Can't wait for the secrets to come out. It sounds as though Sonya's first husband was a jealous, overbearing jerk. glad she found love the second time around.

[Gloria Shaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read better by this author

There were words missing in some sentences, and some added that was not needed. Where is your editor? I’ve read this author before and it makes me think someone else is writing under her name.

[Darlene D. Bullock · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simply Divine!

I am so in love with Taylor & Sonja's story! I was fascinated with the history of Bainbridge House. I loved that it was located in the Garden state! A fictional story but it is always nice to leave reality! Please continue the story!

[BC Dun · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but could not. I really dislike that a huge part of the heros conflict is because he and his siblings vowed never to tell anyone they were adopted. The whole book seemed disjointed and like the author just needed to end the book because they were at the page limit.

[Lee Holden, E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Excellent read, I enjoyed the characters and storyline. Taylor and Sonja are a great match. This is a foundation to the loves and secrets of the Bainbridge house. This is an exploration into the lives of the Williamson family.

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

A New Foundation

Loved this story of the descendants of the Bainbridge’s. Sonja and Taylor finding love. Learning that all Taylor’s siblings had been foster children and later adopted by Elise and the late Conrad Bainbridge Williamson. Great storyline.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

serial reads

This was a good because of the expectation of what's to come in the next book. The secrets in the family history. The mention of places I've been. Yet it was a little slow