Hidden Spring: A Novella

by Liz Adair

Susannah Brown, a beautiful young widow, lives out the tragedy of having the love of her life die after only six months as his bride. Not only must she deal with the heartbreak of loneliness, she must try to support herself as a dairymaid in 1890's Arizona Territory after having been raised a lady in Boston.  The house on the property she inherited is a tumbledown shack, and she despairs about her whole situation until the homecoming of her dead husband's half-brother, Douglas.Susannah has heard what townspeople whisper about him, and when she finds him on her doorstep, his visit is unwanted and unwelcome. But he helps out around her place and soon becomes a friend of sorts, confiding to her a secret that few people know. It is only after Susannah's obsession with her husband's memory drives Douglas away that she realizes she loves him. What will it take for her to win him back?In this free romance novella, award-winning author Liz Adair tells a story of second chances and the healing of the wounds of loss.

64 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 11, 2016

Reviews

[Susan Aylworth]

Sweet love

HIDDEN SPRING is a precious little jewel, a short novella with realistic settings and characters and a tender romance that sings of sweet love.

Susannah and Douglas seem meant to be. Mama and Papa Brown, a short list of secondary human actors, and a rich cadre of farm animals with unique personalities all round out the supporting cast. Hidden Spring is a lovely setting for their sweet, old-time western story.

Liz Adair may have come late to publishing, but she's a natural story-teller. If you don't know her work, this short novella is a good introduction. If you've read Liz before, this story is a sweet welcome back.

[Nicole Normand]

I received a copy from InstaFreebie; this is my honest review.
-Reminds me of The Grasshopper and the Ant – A Jean de La Fontaine Fable. Wesley being the ant and his brother Douglas being the grasshopper. Douglas makes such a better partner in Western life than Wesley and if this was real-life content I would hope Susannah realize this instead of idolizing the dead.
-Touching, clean (unless you count Solomon's Songs as dirty), and a good speed for a novella. You can feel the friendship building and the companionship too.
-The scene at the end after the fire was the most touching and I've had this image in my head for hours now.
-Book written in 2016 but relates to today as per anti-vaxxer and dying of the disease, like Adam Cooper did back then (~1865).

[Kristen]

Read this as part of the - I was surprised by a couple of parts in this one, usually they are all pretty squeaky clean. One where it says a married couple makes love, which isn't a biggie, but then another part has an intimate scene recalled in it where he "cups her breast" etc. again, it's a married couple but didn't need to be in there. Other than that, it was just ok for me.

[Ruth Ann]

Alone

This was a very well written book by Liz Adair and I enjoyed reading it. A young widow, a half brother, in-laws, a cow and calf, a beautiful farm, repairs, surprises, falling in love little by little books of poems and a lot more to this story. Is there a happy ever after? I would recommend this book to everyone. Buy the book and enjoy reading it.

[Kathy]

Sweet romance set in the 1890's

I enjoyed reading this short romance and didn't want it to end. The reader will love the characters and how this love story developed. I want to read more by this author especially her series set in Utah.

[Deborah F. Morales]

Would be five stars, but.....

I would have given Hidden Spring five stars, but it's too short! 😜
Just kidding! I know it's a novella!
Definitely five stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Highly recommended!

[Tracy]

Recommended by a friend. A quick, easy read that made me smile. I felt like there were some discrepancies in the levels of maturity displayed by Susannah, but apart from that it was a fun read for the most part.

[Jan Kazimi]

Jk

This was a nice book without profanity.
I enjoyed reading.
Liz Adair is a good writer and it is always nice to
Read her books

[Linda Hoover]

Enjoyable short story

Enjoyed reading this short and sweet romance story. It was a little shorter than I normally like, but was still good.

[Debbie Dodd]

I enjoyed reading.

[Judy]

A historical second chance romance.

[Julie]

A story that keeps you reading.

[Phylis Collins]

Good reading

Hidden Spring by Liz Adair is a very good story. I liked the characters they are believable. She had to let go of her late husband and move on. Thanks

[Donna Campbell]

A short and sweet novella.

This was a sweet romance about learning to move on after losing someone you love. The chemistry between these two main characters was really sweet.