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Secret Of The Manor
Warren Blake is an accountant at the pinnacle of his career. After accepting a new position he decides to settle in the scenic Cotswold village of Walmsley Hackett. A village with a colourful history of myth, old wives tales and mystery.
One morning during his train ride into work, Warren notices a small quaint church which he becomes enchanted with. Curiousity compels him to find the church and when he finally does, he discovers an unmarked grave in the corner. Feeling sorry for its occupant, Warren becomes a frequent visitor.
Little does he know that the young man inside the coffin needs a champion and Warren is chosen.
What follows involves a ghostly medieval joust, witchcraft, love, and Warren risking his life.
One morning during his train ride into work, Warren notices a small quaint church which he becomes enchanted with. Curiousity compels him to find the church and when he finally does, he discovers an unmarked grave in the corner. Feeling sorry for its occupant, Warren becomes a frequent visitor.
Little does he know that the young man inside the coffin needs a champion and Warren is chosen.
What follows involves a ghostly medieval joust, witchcraft, love, and Warren risking his life.
230 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 6, 2015
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31 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
February 14, 2016
Secret of the Manor is a captivating story that had me hooked from the first page. This is one for lovers of tales with a slight paranormal influence and plenty of drama and romance.
Disclaimer: I was involved in the editing of this book.
Disclaimer: I was involved in the editing of this book.
March 25, 2023
DNF @ 2%.
10 pages of info dumping and the ball hasn’t started rolling on story yet. I don’t need 10 pages to tell me about your job and house.
10 pages of info dumping and the ball hasn’t started rolling on story yet. I don’t need 10 pages to tell me about your job and house.
September 10, 2016
3.75 stars
January 25, 2024
** 4.5 Stars **
This was a very unusual and intricate ghost story! It's a slow-paced tale with a cleverly thought-out plot. Recommended for those who are looking for something different!
This was a very unusual and intricate ghost story! It's a slow-paced tale with a cleverly thought-out plot. Recommended for those who are looking for something different!
November 18, 2015
Original Blog Post: Blog Tour, eARC Review, Excerpt,Trailer & #Giveaway: Secret to the Manor by Taylin Clavelli
Review by: multitaskingmomma
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
I love my fairy tales and ghost stories. Then again, I truly love literature, especially Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. I read the original text back in high school and I just fell in love.
What has that got to do with Secret of the Manor? A lot!
Warren Blake is one of those lucky bastards whose career success gives him the option to retire at forty. He had planned, he worked hard, he made amends where needed, looked at life with eyes wide open, and worked his arse off. (Sorry for the language folks, but I have to address those who cannot comprehend retirement at forty.) His plans worked to his advantage and now he has another set of plans in the works.
Buy a house in a quiet, little town and bide his time. It worked until he spies a picturesque little church, stumbles upon an unmarked grave and gets thrown into a dimension that ruins his plans for the future.
Warren finds himself in a time trap where he is a knight and is the chosen champion to save someone he knows nothing about. To top it off, a dratted swan is making his life in the past and present times frustrating. Also, he apparently has to learn how to wield a lance to survive a joust. His warhorse is willing and able, he is just too modern to fight properly.
Wait! Hold on! What is going on?
The humdrum life of Warren is suddenly thrown into a dimension of paranormal proportions. As typical of Clavelli, the slow build up and the vivid imagery gets the readers to a place in their minds that reminds so much of Ivanhoe but with a paranormal twist in the form of a witch's curse. Where is the romance? Well, you have to read it, right? Not only is the other main character the unlikeliest introduced, but he is also not the ghost.
Clavelli has this art to her storytelling. It is a different approach than what most are used to, but there is a reason to the pace and once everything is laid bare, only then can you realize the beauty and mystery of her tale. There is a whole lot going on and briar roses are just one of them.
Note: Just like her previous story, Dakota Skies, there is a characterization in the horses involved. Horse lovers out there, you'll be surprised with just how these tales revolve around the horses.
Oh, and Warren?
Seriously! You have to ask?
Review by: multitaskingmomma
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars
I love my fairy tales and ghost stories. Then again, I truly love literature, especially Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott. I read the original text back in high school and I just fell in love.
What has that got to do with Secret of the Manor? A lot!
Warren Blake is one of those lucky bastards whose career success gives him the option to retire at forty. He had planned, he worked hard, he made amends where needed, looked at life with eyes wide open, and worked his arse off. (Sorry for the language folks, but I have to address those who cannot comprehend retirement at forty.) His plans worked to his advantage and now he has another set of plans in the works.
Buy a house in a quiet, little town and bide his time. It worked until he spies a picturesque little church, stumbles upon an unmarked grave and gets thrown into a dimension that ruins his plans for the future.
Warren finds himself in a time trap where he is a knight and is the chosen champion to save someone he knows nothing about. To top it off, a dratted swan is making his life in the past and present times frustrating. Also, he apparently has to learn how to wield a lance to survive a joust. His warhorse is willing and able, he is just too modern to fight properly.
Wait! Hold on! What is going on?
The humdrum life of Warren is suddenly thrown into a dimension of paranormal proportions. As typical of Clavelli, the slow build up and the vivid imagery gets the readers to a place in their minds that reminds so much of Ivanhoe but with a paranormal twist in the form of a witch's curse. Where is the romance? Well, you have to read it, right? Not only is the other main character the unlikeliest introduced, but he is also not the ghost.
Clavelli has this art to her storytelling. It is a different approach than what most are used to, but there is a reason to the pace and once everything is laid bare, only then can you realize the beauty and mystery of her tale. There is a whole lot going on and briar roses are just one of them.
Note: Just like her previous story, Dakota Skies, there is a characterization in the horses involved. Horse lovers out there, you'll be surprised with just how these tales revolve around the horses.
Oh, and Warren?
Seriously! You have to ask?
December 15, 2015
*** ARC provided to Bayou Book Junkie in exchange for a fair and honest review. ***
Warren Blake is a very private man, used to keeping his work life completely separated from his private life. No one knows much of him at work, other than him being a very hard worker and a 'human calculator'. He's a loner, although in the last few years he's opened more of himself to one of his new neighbors, Carl and his wife Emily.
He sees a church everyday on his way to work, and curiosity makes him visit the place. He finds an unmarked grave there and feeling sorry for the person that was interred there, he visits frequently. What he doesn't know is that he's been chosen to be that person's champion and that soon he'll find himself travelling through the fabric of time to a medieval joust and be caught in the middle of a tangled web of witchcraft, love and ghosts, while risking his own life.
I really liked this story. Warren was very likable and I really loved the way he and Alex worked together and slowly fell in love. I also loved Carl and James and even Nicholas the ghost, they were awesome additions to the story. The blurb didn't give much away, so I wasn't quite sure how it would play out, but it was an interesting tale, mixing fairy tale elements with time travelling and lots of information regarding medieval jousts, with a sweet, slow-burning romance and a HEA, which is always a plus in my book! Very recommendable!
Rating: 4 Stars!
Warren Blake is a very private man, used to keeping his work life completely separated from his private life. No one knows much of him at work, other than him being a very hard worker and a 'human calculator'. He's a loner, although in the last few years he's opened more of himself to one of his new neighbors, Carl and his wife Emily.
He sees a church everyday on his way to work, and curiosity makes him visit the place. He finds an unmarked grave there and feeling sorry for the person that was interred there, he visits frequently. What he doesn't know is that he's been chosen to be that person's champion and that soon he'll find himself travelling through the fabric of time to a medieval joust and be caught in the middle of a tangled web of witchcraft, love and ghosts, while risking his own life.
I really liked this story. Warren was very likable and I really loved the way he and Alex worked together and slowly fell in love. I also loved Carl and James and even Nicholas the ghost, they were awesome additions to the story. The blurb didn't give much away, so I wasn't quite sure how it would play out, but it was an interesting tale, mixing fairy tale elements with time travelling and lots of information regarding medieval jousts, with a sweet, slow-burning romance and a HEA, which is always a plus in my book! Very recommendable!
Rating: 4 Stars!
November 13, 2015
Warren is planning on retiring at forty! His moved into a quant cottage in a village and has taken up horse riding.
Warrens friend is Carl, his older than him, more of a father figure, he helps him settle into his new life in the village.
While out riding warren becomes mesmerised by a cemetery on the trail he takes, and strange things start happening and they're going to stranger!
Alex and James are sons of lords of the manor and they're all entwined in the mystery.
Warren and Alex hit it off and develop a close relationship, but will they have a future.
I really liked Warren and took to Alex, they were very tender and caring together.
I found it a slow burn book, but very intriguing and kept you turning pages until you found out exactly what was going on and what the outcome would be.
3.5-3.75 stars
Warrens friend is Carl, his older than him, more of a father figure, he helps him settle into his new life in the village.
While out riding warren becomes mesmerised by a cemetery on the trail he takes, and strange things start happening and they're going to stranger!
Alex and James are sons of lords of the manor and they're all entwined in the mystery.
Warren and Alex hit it off and develop a close relationship, but will they have a future.
I really liked Warren and took to Alex, they were very tender and caring together.
I found it a slow burn book, but very intriguing and kept you turning pages until you found out exactly what was going on and what the outcome would be.
3.5-3.75 stars
October 20, 2017
This was an enjoyable ghost story that kept my interest until the end. It started a bit slow in the beginning with a lot of descriptions about Warren’s life but it picked up and got interesting once Warren met Alex and started to work on solving the mystery and defeating the curse.
November 22, 2015
Disclaimer: I received a copy in exchange for a review which did not influence my opinion when writing said review.
Warren Blake has a life to be envied in many ways. He's worked hard and is poised to retire in a year in his forties. The opening of the book follows him as he sets up his new home in the Cotswolds and gets the horse he's been dreaming of. With Carl, his newfound mentor in both horseflesh and the local village life, Warren is settling in with his biggest worry being the territorial swan who doesn't like him riding around the lake.
That is until he accidentally enters a time slip and ends up in a Medieval joust and nearly gets handed his head. Determined to figure out what is going on, with Carl's help, Warren contacts the local royals if you will, the family who has owned those woods for generations.
And meets Alex and his brother. This opens up a whole new world of witch craft and curses that Warren can barely wrap his head around. What he does know is he's involved with events that spin back through time to the era of that joust and that he might just be able to end the curse. If he can't, his love for Alex stands no chance.
I enjoyed the story and the setting. Warren and Alex are interesting characters. I might have liked to know more about Alex but without spoiling the story, there are reasons Alex has a little less known about him.
Warren Blake has a life to be envied in many ways. He's worked hard and is poised to retire in a year in his forties. The opening of the book follows him as he sets up his new home in the Cotswolds and gets the horse he's been dreaming of. With Carl, his newfound mentor in both horseflesh and the local village life, Warren is settling in with his biggest worry being the territorial swan who doesn't like him riding around the lake.
That is until he accidentally enters a time slip and ends up in a Medieval joust and nearly gets handed his head. Determined to figure out what is going on, with Carl's help, Warren contacts the local royals if you will, the family who has owned those woods for generations.
And meets Alex and his brother. This opens up a whole new world of witch craft and curses that Warren can barely wrap his head around. What he does know is he's involved with events that spin back through time to the era of that joust and that he might just be able to end the curse. If he can't, his love for Alex stands no chance.
I enjoyed the story and the setting. Warren and Alex are interesting characters. I might have liked to know more about Alex but without spoiling the story, there are reasons Alex has a little less known about him.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2016
I had quite high expectations about this book (M/M paranormal love story) but I ended up disappointed. The book has a very slow beginning and is too sluggish at times. I couldn’t quite understand why there was such a focus on Warren Blake’s job/office/retirement/colleagues. This was a totally boring filling, and the whole drama with the picture – slightly stupid. There was a lot of horse riding, which being only described (this is not a movie after all) was again very annoying.
Overall, the story line was interesting, but the way the book was written ruined it a lot.
Overall, the story line was interesting, but the way the book was written ruined it a lot.
January 5, 2016
The book is slow going... Almost lazy in pace at the first half. The second half has more action and speed, but still not very fast, more like a going from crawl to walk.
The plot is interesting though. And the sex scenes are very tame, not graphic at all. I don't mind, sometimes sex just distracts from the story.
The plot is interesting though. And the sex scenes are very tame, not graphic at all. I don't mind, sometimes sex just distracts from the story.
March 5, 2016
While this book has an interesting story line, I never found myself immersed in the story. The story has a very slow start and I never had that feeling of connection with any of the characters.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews