The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

 

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

This was a cute little story. It had a fun aspect that they shared an apartment but never see each other. But when they do meet it changes everything.  It is fun to hear their sticky notes to one another as well as the storyline for the brother who was in Prison.  Great read for a fun, fast-paced chick flick story. 

Isabelle and Alexander by Rebecca Anderson

 

Manchester, 1850

Isabelle Rackham knows she will not marry for love. Though arranged marriages have fallen out of fashion, hers has been settled for some time. Alexander Osgood is handsome, well-known, and wealthy, but he is distant and aloof, spending much of his time at his textile mill.

Moreover, Northern England is nothing like Isabelle's home in the Lake Country, and her marriage is far from the fairy tale she expected. Conversations with Alexander are awkward, when they happen at all, and Isabelle struggles with loneliness.

Sensing his wife's unhappiness, Alexander brings Isabelle to his country estate. During their time together, the couple begins to build a friendship, opening up to each other about the details of their lives. But when a tragic accident leaves Alexander unable to walk, their fledgling relationship is tested.

Isabelle is determined to see to her husband's recovery, and in caring for him, she discovers within herself an untapped well of strength and courage. In learning to rely on each other, the couple has an opportunity to forge a love connection that they both have longed for but never dreamed could be. 

This book to me reminded me a bit of a book called, "Me Before You". I also know from other readings and learnings that arranged marriages are hard, especially when you do not know a lot about the other person & you don't love them when you marry them. Pretty much all you have to go off of is a picture that was sent.   This story dealt a lot with his illness & trials of getting better. It also dealt with Isabelle finding out who she was and who she wanted to be in the long run. 

A Reluctant Bride (The Bride Ships #1) by Jody Hedlund

 

After facing desperate heartache and loss, Mercy agrees to escape a bleak future in London and join a bride ship. Wealthy and titled, Joseph leaves home and takes to the sea as the ships surgeon to escape the pain of losing his family. He has no intention of settling down, but when Mercy becomes his assistant, they must fight against a forbidden love.

I thought this story was easy to predict.  Maybe part of it was the narrator of the audiobook, but it just made it seem like while Mercy was innocent and poor, it made her come off a little childlike and uneducated.  In my mind I did see her as very compassionate, loyal and brave, but the book made it hard to see other things. I knew this was a romance from the description and the way they come together was better than I thought it would be.  Give it 3 stars. 

A Daring Sacrifice (An Uncertain Choice #2) by Jody Hedlund

 

The only thing harder than fighting for what’s right…is fighting their feelings for each other.

For three years, the Cloaked Bandit has terrorized Wessex, robbing the nobility by knifepoint and a well-placed arrow. But little does anyone know, this bandit is in fact Juliana Wessex, the rightful ruler of the land and a girl her tyrannical uncle—the current Lord Wessex—believes was killed along with her father.

Juliana has become skilled at hiding from Lord Wessex in the forest, using her stolen goods to provide food and shelter to the peasants her uncle has taxed into poverty. But when she robs Collin Goodrich, her red hair betrays her true identity. Lord Collin remembers Juliana from their childhood—and challenges her to stay on his estate for a week in hopes she will leave her thieving ways and become a proper lady once more. Juliana is intrigued by Collin and his charms, but only time will tell if he can overcome her distaste of the nobility—as well as win her heart.

I liked the aspect of this being a story like Robin Hood, but I did feel like the romance part of this story was a little cheesy. I liked the challenge aspect it, but I found the overall storyline a little expected and predictable.  I would give it 3 stars. 

Come Back to Me (Waters of Time #1) by Jody Hedlund

 

The ultimate cure that could heal any disease? Crazy.

That's exactly what research scientist Marian Creighton has always believed about her father's quest, even if it does stem from a desire to save her sister Ellen from the genetic disease that stole their mother from them. But when her father falls into a coma after drinking a vial of holy water believed to contain traces of residue from the Tree of Life, Marian must question all of her assumptions. He's left behind tantalizing clues that suggest he's crossed back in time. Insane. Until Marian tests his theories and finds herself in the Middle Ages during a dangerous peasant uprising.

William Durham, a valiant knight comes to Marian's rescue and offers her protection . . . as his wife. The longer Marian stays in the past, the more she cares about William. Can she ever find her father and make it back to the present to heal her sister? And when the time comes to leave, will she want to?

Bestselling author Jody Hedlund is your guide down the twisting waters of time to a volatile era of superstition, revolts, and chivalry in this suspenseful story.

I found this book just while perusing the available audiobooks and the cover caught my eye. The description sounded promising enough. I thought this was a great story & I was really rooting for her the whole way through.   I found out that this is just the first one in the series. I can't wait to see the next one to find out what happens to her sister.