The Impetuous Heiress

The Upstart Christmas Brides #3

by Alina K. Field

When dashing Fitzhenry Lovelace escorted sensible Mary Elizabeth Parker to a once in a lifetime meeting with her estranged grandfather, an unexpected romance bloomed that had nothing to do with her grandfather’s immense wealth. Throwing caution to the wind, sensible Miss Parker said a wholehearted yes to Fitz. But before they could finalize their nuptials, a family emergency called Fitz away. Then he stopped answering her letters.Months pass and the Yuletide arrives, and Miss Parker faces the fact that her impetuosity has led to a Dilemma. Then word arrives that her ruthless mother and stepfather, suspecting a possible inheritance, are descending upon her with a horrid replacement for Fitz in tow. Miss Parker bolts, but her meddling cousin plans an unexpected stop on the journey.Having made a hash of his finances and neglected the lady he still loves, Fitz, now Lord Loughton, realizes he must make amends with the woman he still loves. But before he can act, Miss Parker arrives on his doorstep. He soon senses more is amiss with her than just his careless courtship. Can he uncover her secrets and win her back before he loses her altogether?

141 pages, Paperback

Published February 25, 2022

About the author

Award winning and USA Today bestselling author Alina K. Field earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and German literature, but prefers the much happier world of romance fiction. Though her roots are in the Midwestern U.S., after six very, very, very cold years in Chicago, she moved to Southern California where she shares a midcentury home with her husband and her spunky blonde rescued terrier.


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https://alinakfield.com/
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Reviews

[Bonnie]

Thanks to BookSprout for a copy of this novella; this is my freely given opinion.

This was a short novella about Mel Parker, a 25 year old woman, and her betrothed Fitzhenry Lovelace. They have a confused relationship wrought with miscommunication and doubt, affected by both their past experiences with relationships, both personal and familial. This at times was a confusing novella too, as it bounces between the "present" and several months in the past, to tell the story of their relationship.

Mel, had the expectation of being a spinster, having witnessed the worse of relationships between her parents. They married in passion, and had a contentious marriage, sounding like it was filled with fighting, coldness, and cheating, with their young daughter witnessing it all. Her father died, leaving Mel a small endowment, and she reached out to her maternal grandfather, a banker who cut off her mother, to help her learn to manage it, so that she could live comfortably without depending on a man, or marriage, and protect herself from her mother's mechanisms.

Fitz was recently widowed, and helped accompany Mel to her grandfather's that day, as they were both staying at a houseparty and he was trying to avoid matchmaker's trying to match him to their marriageable daughters. On their journey back, they were delayed because of weather, and spent the time getting to know each other, and falling in love. After a short time, they became engaged, but then he had to leave suddenly because of a pending disaster in his family.

Over the ensuing several months, Mel writes to Fitz, but his communication peters out. He is ashamed because of several changes in his situation and his own poor management of them. He does love Mel, but his shame caused him to neglect her, and she stops writing to him. He ultimately decides to travel to her and win her affections back. The fates, in the form of well-meaning interfering family members, deposit Mel and her cousin, as they are travelling that winter, at Fitz's family home, and they are both forced to confront each other. Mel is angry at Fitz and has decided to end the betrothal, and also in an unsavory situation that she is seeking to save herself from, namely involving her mother. Fitz uses the opportunity to try to win her back, and establish greater honesty with her.

This is one of those stories that start off a bit confusing, but as you go along, you get the backstory to fill in the holes, and a better picture of what causes the conflict. On saying that, I initially did take a dislike to Fitz because his way of addressing his problems seemed to be avoidance - drinking, going to houseparties, etc. and could understand Mel's anger, disappointment, and lack of trust, considering her own history with what she has observed of relationships. But he did redeem himself in the end, considering how he helped her overcome the terror that is her mother. I could also not understand how they fell into such a betrothal so very quickly - after a span of days of knowing each other, and barely any courtship. Sure, maybe the attraction was burning hot (not effectively established in the story), but their pasts would have merited more distrust and caution on both their parts, so I questioned the authenticity of that. She witnessed a terrible enough marriage between her parents, and her mother's treatment of men to wish to remain a spinster and avoid marriage, until Fitz. Fitz had a less than satisfactory marriage before his wife's death, and suffered a severe betrayal, yet falls into a relationship with Mel quite soon after his wife's death.

However, I was drawn in by their interactions during their reunion, and Fitz's regret and showing probably more of his authentic self to Mel, and Mel's vulnerability, then their unity when dealing with conflict, such as his contentious tenants, and her mother. Still an interesting love story.

3.25 stars out of 5.

[Peggy]

Fitz and Mel met at a fall house party. They fell in love and became engaged. Fitz was called home because his father was very ill. After a while, Mel decided he might be jilting her, and for several very good reasons, she traveled to his home, intending to break their engagement. Fitz had been neglectful of her, but he had a lot on his mind which he had not explained to Mel. He doesn’t want to break the engagement, but it might not be easy to convince Mel. An emotional story with interesting characters and a holiday happy ending.

I received an ARC of this book via BookSprout. My review is voluntary.

[Sandy]

Interesting and good toward the end.
I was rather confused by this book and had to go back and see if I was missing something when reading an early chapter. Not till much farther did things become clearer. I liked both Mel and Fitz the mom of Fitz and Mel cousin were interesting matchmakers. Fitz’s daughter was a living doll. This was a book for me that got better the farther along it went and it had a good ending. I did receive a free copy of this book from Booksprout and voluntarily chose to review it.

[Marie Bourgery]

Mel and Fitz jump headfirst into their engagement which happened days after they met. But lack of communication between them for months, plenty of misunderstandings, and her greedy selfish mother may keep them apart. I had a feeling right away why Mel was ill after her trip and that she didn't even consider it a possibility when she did more than kiss Fitz baffled me. He has way too much pride and tries to figure out solutions to his mistakes on his own. The novella length story goes back and forth between the time they met and present.

[Jayne Butcher]

Lovely! Mel and Fitz met at a house party. Since it was located near her estranged grandfather, Mel, escorted by Fitz, paid him a visit. Although he was ill, Mel and her grandfather bonded. A whirlwind later, Mel and Fitz were engaged…..enter Mel’s egocentric self-serving mother. Everything about this story is quick. Including the courtship and handling of unwanted relatives. Love, trust and commitment rule the day, and this is an emotionally satisfying tale.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cheryl Rosenwald]

Lady Mel was in love with Fitz at first sight. Having family emergencies Fitz had to leave, with everything happening he didn't get back as soon as he thought. Even though Mel loved him and he had asked her to marry him she still had her doubts. With all family dynamics on both sides there were doubts aplenty on both sides. Can they work everything out without anyone getting hurt?.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sheila]

Fitz and Mel meet at a house party and fall for each other and he even ask her to Mary him. When he has to attend a family emergency he is gone a long while with no communication with Mel. She thinks it is time to visit him and break their short lived engagement only to find he really loves her and wants to move forward with the engagement. Well written story with characters that are truly in love.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Mia Burke]

Alina K. Field’s “The Impetuous Heiress” (The Upstart Christmas Brides Book 3)

Ms. Field is always an author I enjoy. This is a well written, sweet second chance romance. There’s lots of family dynamics and drama to hold your interest until such a satisfying end. I particularly enjoyed watching Fit an Mel navigate their feelings for one another, their families and their charming romance.

Thank you so much Ms. Field for this delightful, fun romance.

[Maria]

This book has it's ups and downs, it was an enjoyable book to read and the characters were interesting. I enjoyed Fitz and Mary's story as she tracks down her erstwhile would be betrothed to find out why he stopped writing to her, before her mother and stepfather can betroth her to another. Will Fitz convince her of his love and regain her heart and her trust.

[Rhonda]

The holidays always add an unexpected twist. Plus meddling family members make for an interesting story with some twists and turns. Wonderful characters to follow along in the story. Love the historical aspect and the fact it is around the holidays. Good read.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Loreli Jessee]

I absolutely loved this book. Mel wanted nothing more to do with Fitz, but things happen for a reason. It was awesome how Fitz made Mel change her mind. This book will keep you turning the pages through to the end. I loved the surprises, passion and so much more, I couldn’t stop one I started.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Di]

Enjoyed the character development and plot as it occurred with great pacing and kept me engaged overall. Mary and Fitz are so sweet together, their love just could not be denied.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rebecca]

Oh, yes! This was simply stunning. I truly loved every page. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.

[AmazingJ]

A Wonderful & Delightful Novella
Fitzhenry & Mary Elizabeth (Mel) were wonderful characters.

[Cheryl]

This was an enjoyable read that moved along at a good pace. The two main characters of Fitz and Mel were likeable. They both had instances in their background that affected them. Fitz and Mel were attracted to each other but circumstances got in the way. However, there are two matchmaking relations who are determined to help things along. I read this in a day. I had just finished reading another book and wanted a book to lift my spirits and this certainly did that in an entertaining way. I received a copy via Booksprout and have voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Space Cowgirl]

Better late than never!
A total watering pot!

Historical Recency Romance 💕and Adventure
This novel just seemed to rehash the same theme over and over and grew tiresome. The book is well written but too long.
The phrase "watering pot" was used numerous times to excess. The heroine spent countless pages either crying or ready to cast up her accounts. Over wrought and overkill.

ARC Provided by Booksprout 🌱
This ebook was $3.99 on Amazon 📚at,the time of this review.
Opinions expressed here are entirely my own.