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Keeping Up with the Penryns #1
A Casterglass Christmas
To save Casterglass, all the Penryn children will need to return home, rebuild their lives among the ruins, and find love that has proved elusive…
The Penryn family have always been eccentric—living in a dilapidated castle in the wilds of Cumbria with an orchid-mad father and a classicist mother who likes to re-enact Greek myths, who wouldn’t be? Penniless and proud, patriarch Walter Penryn resists selling his birthright and family legacy until taxes, bills, and the need for a new roof force him to reconsider.
Well-heeled Londoner Althea Penryn doesn’t expect a divorce and job hunt over the Christmas holidays, but her husband claims he’s done and the prenup is solid. She packs up her reluctant teenage children and heads home to Casterglass Castle to confront the ghosts of her past—including the real one her mother claims lives in the old guard tower. And then there’s her unexpected romance with local sheep farmer, John Braithwaite, who is everything her adulterous, solicitor ex-husband isn’t.
This Christmas, amid the renovation and potential heartbreak of losing her family home, can Althea find a new purpose and the happiness that has so long eluded her?
The Penryn family have always been eccentric—living in a dilapidated castle in the wilds of Cumbria with an orchid-mad father and a classicist mother who likes to re-enact Greek myths, who wouldn’t be? Penniless and proud, patriarch Walter Penryn resists selling his birthright and family legacy until taxes, bills, and the need for a new roof force him to reconsider.
Well-heeled Londoner Althea Penryn doesn’t expect a divorce and job hunt over the Christmas holidays, but her husband claims he’s done and the prenup is solid. She packs up her reluctant teenage children and heads home to Casterglass Castle to confront the ghosts of her past—including the real one her mother claims lives in the old guard tower. And then there’s her unexpected romance with local sheep farmer, John Braithwaite, who is everything her adulterous, solicitor ex-husband isn’t.
This Christmas, amid the renovation and potential heartbreak of losing her family home, can Althea find a new purpose and the happiness that has so long eluded her?
263 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 28, 2021
58 people are currently reading
182 people want to read
About the author
Kate Hewitt
890 books1,716 followersKate is the USA Today-bsetselling author of many books of both historical and contemporary fiction. Under the name Katharine Swartz, she is the author of the Tales from Goswell books, a series of time-slip novels set in the village of Goswell.
She likes to read women's fiction, mystery and thrillers, as well as historical novels. She particularly enjoys reading about well-drawn characters and avoids high-concept plots.
Having lived in both New York City and a tiny village on the windswept northwest coast of England, she now resides in a market town in Wales with her husband, five children, and two Golden Retrievers.
She likes to read women's fiction, mystery and thrillers, as well as historical novels. She particularly enjoys reading about well-drawn characters and avoids high-concept plots.
Having lived in both New York City and a tiny village on the windswept northwest coast of England, she now resides in a market town in Wales with her husband, five children, and two Golden Retrievers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
October 26, 2021
Received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for a fair review
A wonderful, engaging story about family, starting again and second chances at romance, “A Casterglass Christmas”, by Kate Hewitt (Tule Publishing), has the added charm of taking place in a dilapidated but still enchanting castle in Cumbria.
I loved the complexity of both families and its elements, and the showing, throughout the story, of the heroine’s gradual awareness and reaction to her moribund marriage and her cheating husband.
I also loved how Hewitt portrayed the feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment and shyness in several characters and the preponderant role they have in the plot.
The way Hewitt explored the familiar tendency to bury your head in the sand when life’s hurdles seem so difficult was amazing, too.
The depiction of family is great; I liked the strong relationships and how each of the young people has their own, unique personality.
The tentative romance is sweet and heartwarming; it could be a bit more developed, but Althea and John are so good together and I’m sure we’ll see more of them in the following stories in the series.
A wonderful, engaging story about family, starting again and second chances at romance, “A Casterglass Christmas”, by Kate Hewitt (Tule Publishing), has the added charm of taking place in a dilapidated but still enchanting castle in Cumbria.
I loved the complexity of both families and its elements, and the showing, throughout the story, of the heroine’s gradual awareness and reaction to her moribund marriage and her cheating husband.
I also loved how Hewitt portrayed the feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment and shyness in several characters and the preponderant role they have in the plot.
The way Hewitt explored the familiar tendency to bury your head in the sand when life’s hurdles seem so difficult was amazing, too.
The depiction of family is great; I liked the strong relationships and how each of the young people has their own, unique personality.
The tentative romance is sweet and heartwarming; it could be a bit more developed, but Althea and John are so good together and I’m sure we’ll see more of them in the following stories in the series.
December 9, 2022
I really disliked the main character, which was an airheaded, dumb woman with no sense of reality. The other characters had potential but stayed rather two-dimensional.
October 28, 2021
The first instalment in a new series.
Althea Penryn moved away from the family's ramshackle castle in Cumbria when she went to college, she married young and went to live in Surrey with her solicitor husband and their three children. But now, after twenty-one years of marriage, her husband has announced that he is spending Christmas skiing in Switzerland with one of Althea's so-called friends, and not with his family. Althea has overlooked multiple infidelities during their marriage but this is a step too far, they have a screaming row and she takes the children to stay with her eccentric parents and youngest sister.
When Althea arrives things are even worse than usual, the roof needs replacing at a cost of at least £200,000 and her seventy-two year old father is talking about selling the castle, where the Penryns have lived for over 800 years.
Can Althea come up with a plan to save the castle, reconcile with her sister, placate her irate teenager, and decide about her marriage?
This is classic Kate Hewitt, cosy, sweet, just like a warm mug of hot chocolate. My only gripe is that this is only the first book in the series, I need the second book STAT.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher Tule in return for an honest review.
Bumped for release.
Althea Penryn moved away from the family's ramshackle castle in Cumbria when she went to college, she married young and went to live in Surrey with her solicitor husband and their three children. But now, after twenty-one years of marriage, her husband has announced that he is spending Christmas skiing in Switzerland with one of Althea's so-called friends, and not with his family. Althea has overlooked multiple infidelities during their marriage but this is a step too far, they have a screaming row and she takes the children to stay with her eccentric parents and youngest sister.
When Althea arrives things are even worse than usual, the roof needs replacing at a cost of at least £200,000 and her seventy-two year old father is talking about selling the castle, where the Penryns have lived for over 800 years.
Can Althea come up with a plan to save the castle, reconcile with her sister, placate her irate teenager, and decide about her marriage?
This is classic Kate Hewitt, cosy, sweet, just like a warm mug of hot chocolate. My only gripe is that this is only the first book in the series, I need the second book STAT.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher Tule in return for an honest review.
Bumped for release.
December 22, 2023
This book is the very definition of cozy. It's a Hallmark movie as a book; lovely, unchallenging and sweet.
December 9, 2023
The book has a typical Christmas theme where the female lead goes back to her childhood home in a castle after a failed marriage… then wants to help make the castle successful. There’s not too much of Christmas in the book. It’s a cute story.
April 27, 2022
I though I would like this book better. Kate Hewitt usually writes really good books. I found the characters to be really weak and boring.
December 9, 2024
Pretty good
December 27, 2024
Nice enough for a Christmas read.
October 28, 2021
A Casterglass Christmas by Kate Hewitt
To save Casterglass, all the Penryn children will need to return home, rebuild their lives among the ruins, and find love that has proved elusive…
The Penryn family have always been eccentric—living in a dilapidated castle in the wilds of Cumbria with an orchid-mad father and a classicist mother who likes to re-enact Greek myths, who wouldn’t be? Penniless and proud, patriarch Walter Penryn resists selling his birthright and family legacy until taxes, bills, and the need for a new roof force him to reconsider.
Well-heeled Londoner Althea Penryn doesn’t expect a divorce and job hunt over the Christmas holidays, but her husband claims he’s done and the prenup is solid. She packs up her reluctant teenage children and heads home to Casterglass Castle to confront the ghosts of her past—including the real one her mother claims lives in the old guard tower. And then there’s her unexpected romance with local sheep farmer, John Braithwaite, who is everything her adulterous, solicitor ex-husband isn’t.
This Christmas, amid the renovation and potential heartbreak of losing her family home, can Althea find a new purpose and the happiness that has so long eluded her?
This is Althea Penryn and John Braithwaite's story.
“Mum, there’s no signal!” Sixteen-year-old Poppy waved her phone in Althea’s face as she turned onto the sweeping drive, its extensive gardens now shrouded in darkness— and sleeting, icy rain.
Christmas in Cumbria. Very merry. “Poppy, I’m trying to drive.” “There’s no signal,” her daughter shrieked again, as if Althea hadn’t heard her the first thirty-two times she’d mentioned it since they’d turned off the M6 and entered the Land that Time Forgot.
“Poppy, please.” Althea tried to keep her voice light even as she gritted her teeth.
Another flicker in his eyes, like a shadow in water. His expression remained uncomfortably appraising.
“You can’t? I’m John Braithwaite. I own Appleby Farm.” “Oh.”
He’d spoken as if she should have known both his name and his farm, but she wasn’t familiar with either.
A Casterglass Christmas by Kate Hewitt is a 4 star book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
To save Casterglass, all the Penryn children will need to return home, rebuild their lives among the ruins, and find love that has proved elusive…
The Penryn family have always been eccentric—living in a dilapidated castle in the wilds of Cumbria with an orchid-mad father and a classicist mother who likes to re-enact Greek myths, who wouldn’t be? Penniless and proud, patriarch Walter Penryn resists selling his birthright and family legacy until taxes, bills, and the need for a new roof force him to reconsider.
Well-heeled Londoner Althea Penryn doesn’t expect a divorce and job hunt over the Christmas holidays, but her husband claims he’s done and the prenup is solid. She packs up her reluctant teenage children and heads home to Casterglass Castle to confront the ghosts of her past—including the real one her mother claims lives in the old guard tower. And then there’s her unexpected romance with local sheep farmer, John Braithwaite, who is everything her adulterous, solicitor ex-husband isn’t.
This Christmas, amid the renovation and potential heartbreak of losing her family home, can Althea find a new purpose and the happiness that has so long eluded her?
This is Althea Penryn and John Braithwaite's story.
“Mum, there’s no signal!” Sixteen-year-old Poppy waved her phone in Althea’s face as she turned onto the sweeping drive, its extensive gardens now shrouded in darkness— and sleeting, icy rain.
Christmas in Cumbria. Very merry. “Poppy, I’m trying to drive.” “There’s no signal,” her daughter shrieked again, as if Althea hadn’t heard her the first thirty-two times she’d mentioned it since they’d turned off the M6 and entered the Land that Time Forgot.
“Poppy, please.” Althea tried to keep her voice light even as she gritted her teeth.
Another flicker in his eyes, like a shadow in water. His expression remained uncomfortably appraising.
“You can’t? I’m John Braithwaite. I own Appleby Farm.” “Oh.”
He’d spoken as if she should have known both his name and his farm, but she wasn’t familiar with either.
A Casterglass Christmas by Kate Hewitt is a 4 star book.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.
January 1, 2022
Woohoo! Kate Hewitt has a new series for Tule Publishing! A CASTERGLASS CHRISTMAS is the first in the Keeping Up with the Penryns series, and it’s a charming start. Althea returns home to Cumbria with her kids, hoping to spend Christmas and regroup after her marriage ends. Her parents have always been eccentric, and the castle dilapidated, but it’s home. Things are not what she expects, and not only does she need to repair her relationship with her sister, she finds that the sale of the castle is imminent. She’s broke, in desperate need of a job, and not sure where to turn next. The last thing she expects is a new romance…and for John to help her even more than expected. T
I love the beginning to this series, with a Christmas, a slow romance, and plans to save the castle and the Pennryn family. I also love watching Althea grow and find herself.
I can’t wait to see how her romance progresses in each new novel as the Pennryns come home and work to save the castle and become an integral part of the village around it. Kate Hewitt is such a fun and versatile writer! It is always a joy to read her novels, and her series are heartwarming with characters you always root for (and wish you knew personally).
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#KateHewitt #ACasterglassChristmas #KeepingUpwiththePenryns #ReadzTule #TulePublishing
I love the beginning to this series, with a Christmas, a slow romance, and plans to save the castle and the Pennryn family. I also love watching Althea grow and find herself.
I can’t wait to see how her romance progresses in each new novel as the Pennryns come home and work to save the castle and become an integral part of the village around it. Kate Hewitt is such a fun and versatile writer! It is always a joy to read her novels, and her series are heartwarming with characters you always root for (and wish you knew personally).
Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#KateHewitt #ACasterglassChristmas #KeepingUpwiththePenryns #ReadzTule #TulePublishing
January 10, 2024
I will just leave one review but this is the first book in a 4 book series. I found it and thought I would read it over Christmas. It was good enough to get book 2...The Castleglass Garden, and then 3...The Castleglass Heir, and then finally book 4...The Last Castleglass. I read them very fast, one after the other almost as if it was one book.
I tried an effort to write a while ago and I failed miserably. It really was bad. The reason that people told me it was bad was because of character development. As I read I look for good character development. Kate Hewitt is the "Queen" of character development. All 4 of these books do nothing but have the reader know every single thing about the main character. Although the backdrop is a large Castle in various stages of disrepair, the stories are about the 4 children of the Barron of Castleglass who is contemplating selling it. Through various stages of each of the 4 children's problems with life, they find themselves drawn together, one at a time, to repair Castleglass. As most readers know, books like this are not about "repairing" a structure, they are about repairing themselves. They all need it, but don't we all?
These are 4 easy to read books about overcoming obstacles in life.
I tried an effort to write a while ago and I failed miserably. It really was bad. The reason that people told me it was bad was because of character development. As I read I look for good character development. Kate Hewitt is the "Queen" of character development. All 4 of these books do nothing but have the reader know every single thing about the main character. Although the backdrop is a large Castle in various stages of disrepair, the stories are about the 4 children of the Barron of Castleglass who is contemplating selling it. Through various stages of each of the 4 children's problems with life, they find themselves drawn together, one at a time, to repair Castleglass. As most readers know, books like this are not about "repairing" a structure, they are about repairing themselves. They all need it, but don't we all?
These are 4 easy to read books about overcoming obstacles in life.
November 18, 2021
I love the UK region of Cumbria with its spectacular scenery, breathtaking views and yes, rain, so when I discovered that A Casterglass Christmas was set in that part of the world I was on board right away. Kate Hewitt knows this area well and with her superb scene-setting I was immersed in the story from the first page.
I love that the stars of this book are not in their first blush of youth. Althea is 41 years old, married with three children and a husband, who is a serial adulterer. As the story opens we see Althea struggling to enthuse her two younger children about their unexpected visit to her family home, Casterglass Castle. She’s facing a divorce and is clearly brittle. I empathised with Althea despite her massive mood swings and initial rude words to John, the hunky middle aged farmer next door. John is a brick. He’s there to offer support and useful suggestions. The pull between these two is clear. I cheered them on throughout the book. I also loved the secondary story around Althea’s efforts to save Casterglass. It carried well through this book and is a great foundation for book two in this series.
I love that the stars of this book are not in their first blush of youth. Althea is 41 years old, married with three children and a husband, who is a serial adulterer. As the story opens we see Althea struggling to enthuse her two younger children about their unexpected visit to her family home, Casterglass Castle. She’s facing a divorce and is clearly brittle. I empathised with Althea despite her massive mood swings and initial rude words to John, the hunky middle aged farmer next door. John is a brick. He’s there to offer support and useful suggestions. The pull between these two is clear. I cheered them on throughout the book. I also loved the secondary story around Althea’s efforts to save Casterglass. It carried well through this book and is a great foundation for book two in this series.
December 21, 2024
Audiobook review
Well-heeled Londoner Althea Penryn doesn’t expect a divorce and job hunt over the Christmas holidays, but her husband claims he’s done and the prenup is solid. She packs up her reluctant teenage children and heads home to Casterglass Castle to confront the ghosts of her past—including the real one her mother claims lives in the old guard tower. And then there’s her unexpected romance with local sheep farmer, John Braithwaite, who is everything her adulterous, solicitor ex-husband isn’t.
Enjoyable production on audible. I enjoyed that this is about a woman in her forties looking to start life again. Her courage and strength were admirable as she navigates her new future with two reluctant at first, teenagers.
It's a sweet clean almost old fashioned romance that is slow burn, enemies to lovers.
Wonderful narrator definitely worth a listen.
The author's captivating descriptions have you feeling part of the book and being at the castle.
The FMC is so likeable and you root for her that everything will be okay.
Really enjoyed listening to this.
Kerry Kennedy Author
Well-heeled Londoner Althea Penryn doesn’t expect a divorce and job hunt over the Christmas holidays, but her husband claims he’s done and the prenup is solid. She packs up her reluctant teenage children and heads home to Casterglass Castle to confront the ghosts of her past—including the real one her mother claims lives in the old guard tower. And then there’s her unexpected romance with local sheep farmer, John Braithwaite, who is everything her adulterous, solicitor ex-husband isn’t.
Enjoyable production on audible. I enjoyed that this is about a woman in her forties looking to start life again. Her courage and strength were admirable as she navigates her new future with two reluctant at first, teenagers.
It's a sweet clean almost old fashioned romance that is slow burn, enemies to lovers.
Wonderful narrator definitely worth a listen.
The author's captivating descriptions have you feeling part of the book and being at the castle.
The FMC is so likeable and you root for her that everything will be okay.
Really enjoyed listening to this.
Kerry Kennedy Author
December 5, 2023
Let me start this off by saying that this book made me beyond angry. Visceral reaction type of anger.
"But, Addy, you gave it 4 stars?" You bet your sweet arse I did! Here's the deal, if you don't connect with the characters then you're not going to have the type of reaction that I did. I was angry on behalf of the FMC and that was well deserved.
We come face to face with a serial cheater that obviously thinks that his shite doesn't stink. Does that sound familiar? If so, then you might end up reacting just as I did(throwing things, yelling at the cheating husband, etc) and that's not a bad thing. Kate wrote the husband so well that I felt like a friend was telling me about their cheating spouse.
I ate this story up and swallowed it down with a big ol' drink of loathing. I would recommend this to anyone that doesn't have a trigger for cheating. The only thing that I will say is that Althea, our FMC, gets hers and she does it in a way that made me cackle. Her husband sucks in so many ways.
"But, Addy, you gave it 4 stars?" You bet your sweet arse I did! Here's the deal, if you don't connect with the characters then you're not going to have the type of reaction that I did. I was angry on behalf of the FMC and that was well deserved.
We come face to face with a serial cheater that obviously thinks that his shite doesn't stink. Does that sound familiar? If so, then you might end up reacting just as I did(throwing things, yelling at the cheating husband, etc) and that's not a bad thing. Kate wrote the husband so well that I felt like a friend was telling me about their cheating spouse.
I ate this story up and swallowed it down with a big ol' drink of loathing. I would recommend this to anyone that doesn't have a trigger for cheating. The only thing that I will say is that Althea, our FMC, gets hers and she does it in a way that made me cackle. Her husband sucks in so many ways.
December 26, 2023
I was looking for a christmassy themed festive audiobook on audible and this one delivered! It was super entertaining and it dwindled in just a few sessions as I did a christmassy jigsaw and ate umpteen amount of chocolates.
It was really easy to slip into and getting to know the whole cast of Penryns was lovely. And their plight to save Casterglass too was introduced in this book and I feel like there’s so much to build up in the next book as the foundations were set throughout this one. Have to admit, it got me hooked to want to go into and listen to the next!
There was also a fair amount of satisfactory ‘punch the air’ moments in this book where you were all rooting for the characters and happy when they had their victories. And set in the backdrop of Cumbria was delightful too, as it’s one of my favourite places and I am all too aware of little trips to booths!
The fact that this book was also narrated by one of my favourite narrators - Elizabeth knowelden too was a massive win. Can’t wait to start the second and see how the plot develops.
It was really easy to slip into and getting to know the whole cast of Penryns was lovely. And their plight to save Casterglass too was introduced in this book and I feel like there’s so much to build up in the next book as the foundations were set throughout this one. Have to admit, it got me hooked to want to go into and listen to the next!
There was also a fair amount of satisfactory ‘punch the air’ moments in this book where you were all rooting for the characters and happy when they had their victories. And set in the backdrop of Cumbria was delightful too, as it’s one of my favourite places and I am all too aware of little trips to booths!
The fact that this book was also narrated by one of my favourite narrators - Elizabeth knowelden too was a massive win. Can’t wait to start the second and see how the plot develops.
October 28, 2021
A Casterglass Christmas is the first of the new Keeping Up with the Penryns Series by Kate Hewitt. So many of the contemporary romance series by Kate Hewitt have been of women in the middle of life changing events. This story fits that mold completely. With teenage children in tow Althea Penryn returns to the family nearly in ruins family Casterglass Castle. All the siblings are needed to save the home but this is Althea’s story.
Divorce is difficult for all usually but I say good ridden to Althea’s husband. While remaking her life, dealing with family she finds love again. Heartwarming, realistic with a heroine who has a bold, survivor spirit this is classic Kate Hewitt. I enjoyed this story, now looking forward to the next.
An ARC of the book was given to me by Tule Publishing which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Divorce is difficult for all usually but I say good ridden to Althea’s husband. While remaking her life, dealing with family she finds love again. Heartwarming, realistic with a heroine who has a bold, survivor spirit this is classic Kate Hewitt. I enjoyed this story, now looking forward to the next.
An ARC of the book was given to me by Tule Publishing which I voluntarily chose to read and reviewed. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
January 27, 2024
The book ended better than it started. In the beginning, I did not like the sassy, selfish and disrespectful children and the parent who would not do anything about it. This did improve as the book went on. Althea and her siblings had grown up in Casterglass castle with unusual parents. She went on to marry and have 3 children of her own. When she finally decides she has had enough of her husband's infidelity, she takes her children and returns to Casterglass for Christmas. When her father mentions he might have to sell the castle because of the upkeep, Althea is determined to find a way to prevent that. She reconnects with an old neighbor, John, who seems to want more than friendship from Althea. She, though, is committed to keeping her marriage vows, unlike her husband. No sex or profanity.
October 5, 2021
A wonderful start to a new series.
I was instantly hooked on this book. My heart went out to Althea who finally got the nerve to leave her cheating husband. It was especially hard when it was Christmas time. She takes her kids and moves back home to Casterglass Castle, where she grew up. But the castle is anything but glamorous. It’s decaying bit by bit. But Althea comes up with the plan to fix it up and make it a tourist attraction. I enjoyed seeing the plans come together, how Althea reconnected with her family and learned to move on with her life. There is even a love interest, her farmer neighbor, John.
I can’t wait to read the books that will follow this one and learn more about the Penryns. They seem to be an interesting family.
I was instantly hooked on this book. My heart went out to Althea who finally got the nerve to leave her cheating husband. It was especially hard when it was Christmas time. She takes her kids and moves back home to Casterglass Castle, where she grew up. But the castle is anything but glamorous. It’s decaying bit by bit. But Althea comes up with the plan to fix it up and make it a tourist attraction. I enjoyed seeing the plans come together, how Althea reconnected with her family and learned to move on with her life. There is even a love interest, her farmer neighbor, John.
I can’t wait to read the books that will follow this one and learn more about the Penryns. They seem to be an interesting family.
December 1, 2024
I read this mostly because I was looking for a Christmas book, and whilst Christmas is part of the story, it's not a very big part of the book/story, and that's actually okay as there are so many other "overly" christmasy books out there.
This is a perfectly okay read, but it's nothing more either, as everything here is completely unoriginal: woman returns to childhood home for christmas, woman in middle-age going through a splitt up/possible/pending divorce, reuniting with old friends and facing up to some unresolved trouble from the past, making a new start, meeting a new man ... Sound familiar?
Totally readable and enjoyable, but nothing that will stick with me.
This is a perfectly okay read, but it's nothing more either, as everything here is completely unoriginal: woman returns to childhood home for christmas, woman in middle-age going through a splitt up/possible/pending divorce, reuniting with old friends and facing up to some unresolved trouble from the past, making a new start, meeting a new man ... Sound familiar?
Totally readable and enjoyable, but nothing that will stick with me.
February 5, 2023
This is book 1 in the series, Keeping Up with the Penryns. I read these books out of order and finished the other 3 before this one. It is a beginning and introduces the characters in a systematic way that shows how the other brother and sisters get their own stories in subsequent books. The Penryn family owns a castle in England and is in danger of losing it for lack of money. The family comes together to raise money to keep the family home. I enjoyed the story.
January 23, 2024
I have submitted this review after listening to the audiobook of this title.
(Audible Membership)
A woman flees back to her family home after a frightful row with her husband.
The home, which just happened to be a falling down 800 year old castle.
Although she was conflicted about her marriage, the distance and the feelings that her familiar home gave her started to give clarity to her feelings.
(Audible Membership)
A woman flees back to her family home after a frightful row with her husband.
The home, which just happened to be a falling down 800 year old castle.
Although she was conflicted about her marriage, the distance and the feelings that her familiar home gave her started to give clarity to her feelings.
October 4, 2021
I voluntarily read a advanced reader's copy of this book for a honest opinion.
A great start to a new series by Kate Hewitt. A Casterglass Christmas, book one in the Keeping
Up with the Penryns series. A story of family, coming home and trying to move on. I look forward to reading more in this series.
A great start to a new series by Kate Hewitt. A Casterglass Christmas, book one in the Keeping
Up with the Penryns series. A story of family, coming home and trying to move on. I look forward to reading more in this series.
October 13, 2021
Returning to your childhood home can be fun unless you are bringing a temperamental teen fleeing a cheating husband, and finding the home in disrepair. But, life suddenly looks better when given the opportunity to rehab your castle home and your life.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
October 26, 2021
What a great start to this new series. It is a book about a woman who has had enough with her husband’s cheating ways and takes her children and moves home. This book is so full of family. It shows you that no matter how low things get there is always a way to strive for better. Great Christmas read. I voluntarily reviewed this book in exchange for an honest review.
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December 19, 2021Surprisingly good book.
I initially thought the book wouldn't be that good so I only downloaded a sample from Amazon. Surprisingly I couldn't put it down so I bought the book. I gave the book 4 stars because there was a section that sort of dragged but shortly the book picked back up.
I initially thought the book wouldn't be that good so I only downloaded a sample from Amazon. Surprisingly I couldn't put it down so I bought the book. I gave the book 4 stars because there was a section that sort of dragged but shortly the book picked back up.
November 29, 2023
It started off slow but about half way thru it picked up. It kept my interest. My only complaint was the ending was too abrupt. I get it is to get you to go to the next book in the series but how about an epilogue, especially since the next book deals with a sister. Will they finish Thea and John's story there?
Narration was good.
Narration was good.
November 28, 2024
A sweet seasonal romance story, perfect for holiday time reading. Excellent narration by Elizabeth Knowelden as usual—a terrific pairing for family-goes-to-the crumbling castle at Christmas. Ends with a bit of a cliffhanger or more of a slope and an invitation to follow in the next book which I will do.
December 29, 2024
This started with the MC being rather whiny, and I wasn't sure I wanted to finish it, but, it was expiring at the end of the year and I was reading it for a book challenge.
I really actually enjoyed it though.
There was quite a bit going on between everyone, and now I want to read more of the series, to see how it all works out.
I really actually enjoyed it though.
There was quite a bit going on between everyone, and now I want to read more of the series, to see how it all works out.
October 29, 2021
This author never disappoints-everything I have always loved about her writing is here in all glory-lyrical, moving, beautiful and engaging-thank you for the ARC as always. Can't wait for more, always.
December 11, 2021
I honestly tried to like this book but despite many restarts at reading it, I just could not get into this one. I normally love Kate Hewitt's books but not this one sadly. But I do suggest you give it a try since it might resonate with you.
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