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Those Autumn Nights
Previously published in the anthology A Gentleman For All Seasons
All’s Fair in War…
Raised in wealth and privilege, Eliza Greenleaf was a dutiful daughter—until she met Bertram Gage. The dashing young cavalryman swept her into a passionate affair, winning her body and soul. But low-born Bertie wasn’t good enough for the Greenleaf family, who thwarted the headstrong couple’s plans to elope. Chastened, Eliza threw herself into the whirl of polite society, while Bertie returned to battle on the Continent until a bullet ended his career and almost took his life.
…And Love
Ten years after first meeting Eliza, Bertie is hunting for a sense of peacetime purpose—and a subtle revenge on the Greenleaf family that once shunned him. Their fortunes now fallen, the ever-proud family must let their ancestral home, and Bertie takes the lease that shoves them from their doorstep. When Eliza crosses his path again after years apart, their passion is as strong as ever. But the wounds of the past still have power, and family honor and secrets might ruin their second chance at love.
All’s Fair in War…
Raised in wealth and privilege, Eliza Greenleaf was a dutiful daughter—until she met Bertram Gage. The dashing young cavalryman swept her into a passionate affair, winning her body and soul. But low-born Bertie wasn’t good enough for the Greenleaf family, who thwarted the headstrong couple’s plans to elope. Chastened, Eliza threw herself into the whirl of polite society, while Bertie returned to battle on the Continent until a bullet ended his career and almost took his life.
…And Love
Ten years after first meeting Eliza, Bertie is hunting for a sense of peacetime purpose—and a subtle revenge on the Greenleaf family that once shunned him. Their fortunes now fallen, the ever-proud family must let their ancestral home, and Bertie takes the lease that shoves them from their doorstep. When Eliza crosses his path again after years apart, their passion is as strong as ever. But the wounds of the past still have power, and family honor and secrets might ruin their second chance at love.
99 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 19, 2016
16 people are currently reading
137 people want to read
About the author
Theresa Romain
41 books661 followersTheresa Romain is the bestselling author of more than 20 historical romances, including the Holiday Pleasures series, the Matchmaker trilogy, the Royal Rewards series, and the Romance of the Turf series. Praised as “one of the rising stars of Regency historical romance” (Booklist), her books have finaled for the RITA® award, received starred reviews from Booklist, and been named to the Best Books of the Year list by NPR. Theresa is hard at work on her next book from her home in the Midwestern USA.
To keep up with all her book-release news, please visit her online at theresaromain.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, or find her on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/there....
To keep up with all her book-release news, please visit her online at theresaromain.com, where you can sign up for her newsletter, or find her on BookBub at https://www.bookbub.com/authors/there....
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 13, 2017
Very few authors in my experience are able to create a believable romance in the short span of a novella; Theresa Romain proved that she is the exception with Those Autumn Nights. After parting on less than ideal terms, former lovers Eliza and Bertie are reunited via circumstance (in this case a matchmaker minded sister) and it’s not long before old feelings of hurt and passion resurface.
I really liked both leads and the fact that this second chance romance was not at all irritating as is usually the case whenever I encounter this particular trope. Here, the setup often reminded me of Jane Austen’s Persuasion as it was disapproval from Eliza’s family of lowborn soldier Bertie that ultimately led to the end of their relationship. Bitterness and broken hearts festered through the years, as did regrets of lacking the courage to fight to be with the one they loved. The fact that Romain was able to accurately convey all these very complicated pent up emotions, as well as show Eliza and Bertie’s individual character growth, mostly off page too, was remarkable. I was completely invested in Eliza and Bertie finding their way back to each other, despite all the pain, distrust and time that had long separated them. By the end, I knew and they knew that they were meant to be.
Bertie’s sister Georgie and Florian the very French butler made for wonderful supporting characters. I also really liked how Friar’s House itself acted as a character throughout the story. Its secret passages were especially put to good use by our hero and heroine. Bless Theresa’s continued propensity of setting romantic scenes in out of the norm locales. I cannot recommend this novella highly enough. Go read it!
I really liked both leads and the fact that this second chance romance was not at all irritating as is usually the case whenever I encounter this particular trope. Here, the setup often reminded me of Jane Austen’s Persuasion as it was disapproval from Eliza’s family of lowborn soldier Bertie that ultimately led to the end of their relationship. Bitterness and broken hearts festered through the years, as did regrets of lacking the courage to fight to be with the one they loved. The fact that Romain was able to accurately convey all these very complicated pent up emotions, as well as show Eliza and Bertie’s individual character growth, mostly off page too, was remarkable. I was completely invested in Eliza and Bertie finding their way back to each other, despite all the pain, distrust and time that had long separated them. By the end, I knew and they knew that they were meant to be.
“Maybe she and Bertie had both needed to live in the wrong way before they were so certain of how right they were for each other.”
Bertie’s sister Georgie and Florian the very French butler made for wonderful supporting characters. I also really liked how Friar’s House itself acted as a character throughout the story. Its secret passages were especially put to good use by our hero and heroine. Bless Theresa’s continued propensity of setting romantic scenes in out of the norm locales. I cannot recommend this novella highly enough. Go read it!
July 12, 2016
Not a great fan of second chance romance but since it was a short story it actually worked better for me. It didn't give them time for the usual misunderstandings and noble idiocy. Plus, we even got nice secondary characters, like the French butler or his sister. I wish we could read her story. All in all, Theresa Romain continues to delight me! ;)
November 12, 2017
3.5 *** :) I love novellas most of the time because the pacing is always fast and there's no time for nonsense. This is one story that I wish was a full length novel because it would've been so angsty given the history and the second chance romance between the two. It really worked for me since Bertie and Eliza never met other people. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading the rest of Theresa's next works.
August 30, 2018
I read this as part of the anthology A Gentleman For All Seasons.
My full review is here.
My full review is here.
October 14, 2018
Ten years earlier, Eliza Greenleaf and Bertram Gage were all set to marry, but her father disapproved of the match and Eliza set Bertie aside to please her family. Now, Bertie has money and means and is renting the Greenleaf family household. When Eliza shows up to help with Quarter Day, Bertie is resentful and struggles to forgive Eliza for her past actions. But she's determined to show him that she has changed and that her love is stronger than ever, but she holds a secret that may cause him to suspect her true motives.
Second chance romances are always dicey for me. I like them...or at least the potential of them. They can be great, angsty little pieces with very satisfying endings, when done right. But this didn't really work for me, mostly because I didn't feel the connection between the characters. Bertie was very clearly still hurt by Eliza's actions, but neither of them really felt like they loved or was all that hurt by ten years of separation. Eliza was especially carefree and unconcerned. She had a few moments where she apologized, but she didn't seem to feel any remorse...and her idea of making it up to Bertie, by lying to him about the fact that she'd make a boatload of money by marrying him, didn't really help her case. And I disliked the fact that she blamed him for having those suspicions instead of realizing that her own past actions were partially to blame...and of course the fact that she lied about it. The angst here was fairly decent, but I think I would have enjoyed this much more if I really felt like these two were in love and reconnecting. I did like the fact that both characters were celibate during their ten year separation - that at least reinforced the idea that they loved each other, even when it didn't come across on the page.
Second chance romances are always dicey for me. I like them...or at least the potential of them. They can be great, angsty little pieces with very satisfying endings, when done right. But this didn't really work for me, mostly because I didn't feel the connection between the characters. Bertie was very clearly still hurt by Eliza's actions, but neither of them really felt like they loved or was all that hurt by ten years of separation. Eliza was especially carefree and unconcerned. She had a few moments where she apologized, but she didn't seem to feel any remorse...and her idea of making it up to Bertie, by lying to him about the fact that she'd make a boatload of money by marrying him, didn't really help her case. And I disliked the fact that she blamed him for having those suspicions instead of realizing that her own past actions were partially to blame...and of course the fact that she lied about it. The angst here was fairly decent, but I think I would have enjoyed this much more if I really felt like these two were in love and reconnecting. I did like the fact that both characters were celibate during their ten year separation - that at least reinforced the idea that they loved each other, even when it didn't come across on the page.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2016
A sweet second chances story that seemed to be inspired, in part, by Persuasion, but not completely. It is short, after all, and doesn't try to do too much. The hero does have to overcome his bitterness about the past in order to move on to happiness.
June 9, 2017
bertie sucks
January 27, 2022
Entertaining and includes a crumbling architectural house.
November 9, 2023
Short and sweet. Just couldn't get into it as I had hoped
September 26, 2016
3.5 stars. Read in the anthology - "A Gentleman For All Seasons" Well written with a lovely romance.
June 22, 2016
THOSE AUTUMN NIGHTS by Theresa Romain relates how Bertram Gage and Eliza Greenleaf, who were once lovers, are reunited ten years later. Bertie and Eliza are simply sublime, and Florian, the French butler, is an outstanding secondary character. Ms. Romain’s prose is luminous and very eloquent, making everything comes to life before our very eyes. It’s a wonderful story tinged with melancholy, where shadows give way to light, and hope replaces regrets, showing that love can be as fragile as a dry leaf.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Read
September 8, 2016Read as part of anthology "A Gentleman for All Seasons"
December 4, 2016
Sweet historical
Eliza and Bertram over come the class distinction of the times and find their way back to each other after her family's interference and his military service.
Eliza and Bertram over come the class distinction of the times and find their way back to each other after her family's interference and his military service.
August 20, 2017
Read in the anthology A Gentleman For All Seasons.
3.5 Work-thru-the-old-hurt-to-trust-again stars.
3.5 Work-thru-the-old-hurt-to-trust-again stars.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews