In a rapidly changing world, there is one constant that continues to provide this reader with refuge and much needed escapism, and that constant is Kristen Ashley’s inimitable brand of storytelling. As one of the most versatile Romance writers of today, Ashley’s extensive catalogue stretches across several subgenres and tropes, but all her stories have one thing in common—emotional depth and rich character development—and her latest novel is a perfect testament to that. The quiet, restrained beauty of the English countryside offers an idyllic setting to a poignant tale of love, friendship, and mystery, that is only intensified by a touch of the supernatural. When it comes to delivering stories that take over your entire life while reading them, then settling deep into the fabric of your soul, Kristen Ashley reigns supreme.
I knew my great-grandfather had seen these gates. He’d been driven through them. He’d stayed in the massive house that lay beyond the intricate wrought iron and parkland. In that house, he’d convalesced. In that house, he’d fallen in love. In the end, he’d left this extraordinary estate with a broken heart. And I was there to tell his story.
In order to research the ill-fated love affair between her great-grandfather and a British aristocrat’s daughter, historical fiction writer Vivienne Dupree travels to The Downs, the sweeping English country estate where the affair took place, and the ancestral family home of Battle Talyn, Duke of Burleigh, and his three sisters—Temperance, Prudence, and Chastity. But instead of long-lost letters that would shed light on an eighty-year-old mystery, what Vivienne finds is a family that is shrouded in secrecy and trauma, bound together by an unbreakable bond of love and devotion. And the head of the family might be the most remarkable man she’s ever met.
He was complicated. He was smart. He was funny. He was gallant. He was handsome as all hell. He was a ludicrously good brother. He respected women. He was protective. He was generous. He was an amazing flirt. He thought I was beautiful. He was interested in what I did. He’d read my books. He was honest. He was frank. I could fall for this guy. Hard. And for forever.
The more Vivienne gets wrapped up in the Talyn siblings and the many secrets holding them back, the more she comes to care for a family that has lived in quiet desolation for far too long. And even as she continues to butt heads with the very bossy but irresistible Duke of Burleigh, she finds herself not only falling madly in love with him but also realising that she is exactly where she was always meant to be.
“Hear me, Vivi,” he whispered, and him using my nickname for the first time, coupled with him being so close I could smell his musky, woodsy cologne, regrettably at that juncture, all of that did a number on me. “I. Am. Not. Playing. Games.”
If you’re looking for a deep, soul-searching romance that doesn’t shy away from heavy emotions to see broken spirits gloriously heal, look no further because Kristen Ashley’s latest offering is truly Perfect In Every Way.
“Done being teased, darling?” he purred.
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Manors and Mysteries - Recommended Reading Order
(standalone stories with interconnected characters)
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