Strawberry Lace

by Amy Belding Brown

Despising the snobbish attitudes of the Winters, whose barbecue she is hired to cater, Chelsea Adams finds herself falling for the family's son and accepts another man's proposal in order to run from her feelings. Original.

Genres: Romance

Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Amy Belding Brown is the bestselling USA Today author of EMILY'S HOUSE, FLIGHT OF THE SPARROW and MR. EMERSON’S WIFE. A Vermonter and history nerd, she was infused at an early age with a New England outlook and values. She loves stone walls, sugar maples and old cemeteries, and her favorite hobby is nature photography. She’s never happier than when she’s reading a stack of 19th century letters or exploring old church records. She has taught composition and creative writing to college students and life-story writing to senior citizens, made quilts, raised four children, been a tour guide at Louisa May Alcott’s Orchard House Museum in Concord, Massachusetts, taught pre-school, made cloth dolls, created wall hangings on a hand loom, baked homemade bread, written poetry, and painted New England landscapes. Oh, and she’s also been a pastor’s wife for 43 years.. A graduate of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, she received her MFA from Vermont College and now lives in rural Vermont with her husband, a UCC minister and spiritual director.

Reviews

[Sabrina Swazy]

I stumbled upon Strawberry Lace while hunting for '90s romance novels, and it completely blew me away. Amy Belding Brown crafts a beautiful, emotionally rich story that avoids the usual surface-level tropes of the genre.

Chelsea Adams is a fantastic, grounded protagonist. Watching her navigate the high-society drama of the snobbish Winters family while trying to outrun her own growing feelings for their son felt incredibly real and poignant. The pacing is tight, the chemistry is magnetic, and the prose is much more elegant than your typical category romance from that era. It’s warm, deeply comforting, and beautifully written. If you can track down a copy of this rare early work, absolutely grab it it’s an unforgettable read!