Review: Ever After by Jude Deveraux

Ever After

Nantucket Brides Trilogy, #3
Jude Deveraux

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Penguin Random House
Date of Publication: June 23, 2015
Number of pages: 368
Cover Artist: Karen Batten & Lynn Andreozzi

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN     Kobo     ARe

Review: For All Time by Jude Deveraux

For All Time

Nantucket Brides Trilogy, #2
Jude Deveraux

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Date of Publication: July 1, 2014
Number of pages: 400
Cover Artist: Lynn Andreozzi & Claudio Marinesco

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN     Kobo     ARe 

New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux returns to the ruggedly magnificent island in For All Time, the second novel in her Nantucket Brides trilogy—this time featuring the next generation of her beloved family of Montgomery-Taggerts.

The wedding of Alix Madsen and Jared Montgomery is a glorious affair at an elegant little chapel in the woods, followed by dinner and dancing, all while moonlight blankets the festivities in a romantic glow. While most guests are fixed on the happy couple, Jared’s cousin Graydon can’t look away from a bridesmaid, Toby Wyndam. It’s not just her quiet beauty that enthralls him or the way she makes him laugh. Toby possesses the truly remarkable ability of being able to distinguish Graydon from his identical twin brother, Rory. According to family legend, such a gift marks her as Graydon’s True Love.

But Graydon knows there is no possible way that they can ever be together, for he is heir to the Lanconian throne and is to marry a noble woman who has been chosen for him. Yet, intrigued by Toby, he asks her to help him hide on Nantuck for a week away from regal responsibilities. In exchange, he’ll assist her with planning acclaimed novelist Victoria Madsen’s lavish wedding. Since they both know their union is impossible, the pair promises that they will never be more than just friends.

But there’s more going on between Graydon and Toby than her unique power to tell him apart from his twin. At work are forces beyond their control, which are ruled by time itself. Combine that with the magical island of Nantucket, and a seductive spell is cast over Graydon and Toby. If they are to be together, they must change what once was, as well as what will be.

I was excited to see the second book in the Nantucket Brides Trilogy by Jude Deveraux become available on Netgalley.  I have been a huge fan ever since I read Black Lyon, way, way, way back in the early 80's. After reading the first book in the trilogy, True Love, I was thrilled when I was approved to read this one as well.

This book picks up from the end of book 1.  Alix and Jared have just married and everyone is ready to enjoy the wedding party.  Graydon, cousin of Jared and the Crown Prince of Lanconia had partnered Toby, reluctant wedding planner and bridesmaid, down the aisle. When he found out that she had met his identical twin brother the night before and could tell the two of them apart, something almost no one could do, he decides to spend some time with her to find out if the family legend holds any truth: You marry the one who can tell the twins apart.  In order to spend some time with Toby, Graydon demands Rory, his twin, switch places with him.  With some smooth talking and adroit maneuvering by Rory, Graydon gets the chance to spend the coming week on Nantucket with Toby.

And so the matchmaking begins.  Alix's mother Victoria gets in on the act by insisting that since Toby did such an excellent job on Alix's wedding, that Toby should do Victoria's as well and even arranges for Toby to have time off so that she can plan the wedding and spend it with Graydon, of course. It's not long before they are spending all of their time together.  As they draw closer to each other, they also stumble upon the story of Garrett and Tabby and their tragic romance. Is history doomed to repeat itself, or can they create a new history and future?

I quite enjoyed the paranormal aspects to the book.  True Love dealt with the ghost of Caleb, while this book involves time travel. I was also thrilled to see Lanconia show back up.  Not only is Graydon the grandson of J.T. and Aria from The Princess, but he references his ancestors, Rowan and Jura from The Maiden. It was fun to get a chance to link back to the earlier books. This was another 5 star read.

Review: True Love by Jude Deveraux

This is the first book in the Nantucket Brides Trilogy by Jude Deveraux.  I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review.  I choose this book, because one of my favorite books and the first historicals and romances that I ever read were by Jude Deveraux. For some reason, I haven't picked one up in a while and I wanted to see if the magic was still there.  It was. :)

This story opens with the male protagonist, Jared, talking to his grandfather Caleb about Alix Madsen coming to the island to stay for a year. Jared is not pleased that Alix is coming and basically keeping him from his inheritance while she is supposed to figure out the long unsolved mystery of what happened to Valentina, some 200 years ago.  Just because she could see their family ghost during her 1 visit as a child.  Plus Alix is an architectural student, and Jared has quite the name for himself on the mainland as an architect.  He really doesn't want to deal with her.  Jared's big plans involve leaving before Alix gets there.  Caleb is not happy with these plans and says that he has a feeling that Alix will be the one to solve the mystery.  It wasn't until the end of the the prologue, that I realized that Caleb was the ghost.

Chapter 1 dives us right into Alix making the trip to Nantucket a few days early with her best friend Izzy.  Alix is currently moping because her boyfriend dumped her for a younger dumber version, just after graduation.  But thing perk up considerably when Izzy recognizes Jared Montgomery, famous architect and their mutual crush, on the island. Neither Alix nor Izzy realize that Jared Montgomery and Mrs. Kinglsey's nephew, are the same person.  Izzy heads back to the mainland to continue working on her wedding plans, while Alix works on putting together something to wow The Jared Montgomery.  When Jared gets back to find Alix has come in early and Alix gets her introduction to Jared Montgomery Kingley, the misunderstanding follow quickly.

There was a lot going on in this book - a mystery, a romance, a wedding, a pregnancy, a haunting, meddling mothers, lies and half truths galore.  I was reminded of why I so very much enjoyed Ms. Deveraux's books all those years ago.  Plus, the tie ins to past Montgomery-Taggert books kept me grinning and hoping for a mention of my favorites. For me, this was a delight to read.  I will say that there were several emotional scenes in the book and there were several times that I had to get the kleenex out and dab, blot and blow.  But I really enjoyed the emotional investment I got to make in the characters.  This was a 5 star read for me, reminding me to not forget all my favorite authors.

Jude Deveraux, the New York Times bestselling author of unforgettable romance, returns with a breathtaking first book in a fantastic new series—the Nantucket Brides trilogy. Set on the magical Massachusetts island, True Love introduces characters from a new generation of Montgomery-Taggerts, the beloved family from Deveraux’s classic novels.

Just as Alix Madsen is finishing up architectural school, Adelaide Kingsley dies and wills her, for one year, the use of a charming nineteenth-century Nantucket house. The elderly woman’s relationship to the Madsen family is a mystery to the spirited Alix—fresh from a romantic breakup—but for reasons of her own Alix accepts the quirky bequest, in part because it gives her time to plan her best friend’s storybook wedding.

But unseen forces move behind the scenes, creaking Kingsley House’s ancient floorboards. It seems that Adelaide Kingsley had a rather specific task for Alix: to solve the strange disappearance of one of the Kingsley women, Valentina, more than two hundred years ago. If that wasn’t troubling enough, Alix must deal with the arrogant (and extremely good-looking) architect Jared Montgomery, who is living in the property’s guesthouse.

Unbeknown to Alix, Jared has been charged with looking after her while she lives on the island—an easy task for him, considering the undeniable chemistry between the two. But Jared harbors secrets of his own, which, if revealed, may drive a wedge between the pair.

With a glorious Nantucket wedding on the horizon, sparks fly, and the ghosts of the past begin to reveal themselves—some of them literally. Finding their lives inextricably entwined with the turbulent fortunes of their ancestors, Alix and Jared discover that only by righting the wrongs of the past can they hope to be together.