Staring down life as an old maid, newly jilted Clare flees to a country home she’s inherited from her grandmother. She doesn’t count on clashing with her handsome neighbor, whose gentlemanly manners and education are at odds with his workingman’s image. As their relationship unfolds, however, she discovers the mysterious Meriweather Holcroft is not at all what he appears to be.
Suzanne G. Rogers is a California native, but she changed coastlines and now lives with her husband and son in romantic Savannah, Georgia, on an island populated by deer, exotic birds, turtles, and the occasional gator. She's owned by two Sphynx cats, Houdini and Nikita. Writing blush-free young adult fiction is her passion.
This was a good read. The romance was light on the 'feeling' side, or I would have given it 4 stars. WHat I mean is when they kissed the author says "they kissed", how sad is that! Give us a little detail and some emotion! Other then that is was a fun story and had two great characters I really enjoyed reading about. I am jumping to another of her's I have on my kindle I never read. Interested to see if I enjoy it as much. It is a clean regency.
Clare and Meriweather are two innocent victims caught up in scandals who think they've lost any chance of love and happiness. Clare has been jilted by her longtime fiance, Sterling, and so she heads off to Stroud to inhabit the house she inherited from her grandmother. She is prepared to spend her life as a spinster.
Meri is her new neighbor and they don't hit it off right away. Meri is hiding from his past and is afraid to let anyone get too close. Just when he starts to let Clare in, all of his dark secrets catch up to him.
Perfect for young adults in search of romance, Suzanne G. Rogers' "Spinster" explores the fate of spinsters in 1800s Britain. Jilted by her fiance', Clare, at the ripe old age of nearly twenty-five, decides to leave the bosom of her family for a small country home left to her by her grandmother. Clare feels it would reflect poorly on her younger sister's first Season by attending balls and events after being put on the shelf by her intended.
What Clare doesn't bargain for, is the intrusion on her property by an unknown neighbor that has dammed up the very spring that feeds Clare's garden and home. Furious at this act, Clare attempts to dismantle the small dam in order to restore her cottage to its former self.
Before long, she begins to feel part of the village and meets Meriweather, a handsome business owner. Soon it becomes apparent that there is much more to Mr. Holcroft than originally meets Clare's sparkling eyes.
Can Clare really adapt to spinsterhood in a hamlet with intrusive neighbors and gentlemanly merchants? Young readers will be treated to a delightful story that illustrates how delicate the social balancing act is in this era.
Such a wonderful story and especially listening to on audible. With the incredible writing of Suzanne G Rogers, who weaves stories that just feeds my craving of historical romance to the nth degree and beyond! Her characters come off the pages or in this case through the amazing narrative of Stevie Zimmerman, who always manages to engulf my senses and make me feel I am there watching the story unfold. The story of a young lady, Claire, who after being jilted, decides to be independent and move to the home her grandmother left her. Unfortunately the house had been neglected for years and feels a little overwhelmed. Her first course of business is to get the stream running again due to her neighbor having damned up the water flow to his benefit. That neighbor, Meriweather Holcroft is not what he appears but there is a lot she slowly begins to learn as they clash then come together, The attraction is undeniable! Prepare to be enchanted and enthralled by the story and narrative. Perfect!!
Clean, fun, and still with enough intrigue I didn't want to put it down. A very enjoyable read, and even better that I found it on the kindle unlimited selection.
The romance part of the story was all right. It was very low angst which resulted in "oh, ok" reactions whenever something occurred or was revealed. Needless to say, this plot wasn't the most exciting. I did, however, empathize with the h at the beginning of the book. She made the best of a bad situation and I had to admire her for that.
The mystery surrounding the H was very meh. It was predictable to a degree and the rest wasn't all that interesting. I think the lackluster quality of it was due in part to the way the story was told and the author's writing style.
Where the author really lost me was when . It just became sort of cheesy after that. I would have liked to seen more of the MCs instead. Overall a fair, clean romance, with no ow/om drama. I probably won't remember it tomorrow, though, so that recommendation's not saying much.
In 1890's England, a jilted woman, Clare, relocates to an abandoned family home to escape the oversight of her family and proximity to her ex. Dwelling in a crumbling house to face independence with little money, transportation, skills, or support is realistic in its hurdles. Fate makes her the neighbor of an attractive man, Meri, with a vague past. When his past fully resurrects, complications develop that must be resolved before their flirtation can be codified as something more. The protagonists and unveiled antagonists are webbed together for additional tension. The story structure is good. Though the points of sadness are many, the tenor of the book is persistently sweet and optimistic. None of my emotions were stirred indicating that the writing is on skates, even the tragic parts, which makes Spinster ideal for those who like untaxing fiction.
I like the characters in the books by Suzanne G. Rogers. Nice story, too. I highly doubted that her father would have let her live in her grandmother's house or travel unaccompanied even by train. I think that was just too unusual for the time and culture. Without doing a spoiler, I have to say that I was also disappointed with the quickness and ease of resolution of one of the conflicts in the story. However, it was still an enjoyable and quick read.
I have enjoyed everyone of Suzanne's books! Her characters are wonderful and the was are engaging! She grabs you from the first page and you don't want to stop until you get to the end!
Clare Ladd's fiancé jilts her for another woman. From that moment on, she's determined to start a new, quiet life, away from wagging tongues and her embarrassment. She moves to the town and cottage where her Grandmother lived. Fate is not about to let her fade or become a spinster. Clare and the owner of the estate next to the cottage, Meriweather Holcroft are thrown together at the stream behind their properties. They have a rough beginning over water issues. Shortly after, an attraction takes root. In this sweet historical romance, Clare and Meriweather have to work hard to get their happily ever after. There's family drama, nobility expectations, intrigue, and carefully guarded painful secrets that kept me turning the pages to see what would happen next. I truly enjoyed the beginning, the ending, and everything in between.
Spinster immediately drew me in, and I finished reading it in one day – when I should have been doing other work. Suzanne’s stories are so compelling that I have to make deals with myself – if I finish this one task, I can read another chapter. Anyway, this is the story of a Clare, who’s been rudely jilted by her fiancé. She decides to go off on her own to the cottage her grandmother bequeathed to her and make a life for herself. She promptly meets her neighbor, Meriweather Holcroft, under less than ideal circumstances, but as time goes by they become friends, and Clare helps him overcome his own tragic past.
A clean English late 1800s romance. Clare is jilted by her neighbor Sterling Yates. She moves to Stroud to live in the cottage her grandmother left her when she died. Clare meets Mr. Holcroft. Meriweather Holcroft has a secret regarding his identity. He is a gentleman but he runs a livery stable. He and Clare clash but then develop friendship followed by love. Details of his last become clear and the couple eventually find their happy ending. Clare took action and didn't want to feel sorry for herself once jilted and nearly to spinster status. She is spunky and well developed character. I enjoyed this story.
When I first started this book I really liked it, but halfway through the story started to feel a little flat to me and I had a harder time finishing. Content: clean Language: clean Religious: not at all Overall story: This would be fine for ages 12 and up. This is a cute story with mystery, suspense, and romance. I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot. But there were several editing errors in the second half. This is a story with a happy ending for all the characters in the book.
What a relaxing, enjoyable book! The heroine, jilted by her longtime beau, moves away to the home left to her by her grandmother. The hero is the handsome neighbor in her home. However, she discovers he has dammed up the creek between their properties to create a pond and their relationship gets off to a rocky start. However, they soon realize they would sooner be friends. He helps her with her situation and she helps him with the trauma he has lived with since the tragedy that took his parents when he was a young boy. All in all, a good book with wonderful characters-good and bad.
I got this for free for kindle and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It had a different story arc than a lot of romances that I’ve read (not that I’ve read a lot— mostly Austen), and I liked that it would switch between his and her perspectives (as well as other characters once in a while) so it gives a more complete picture of what’s going on. There were occasionally things that struck me as odd or out of place but I thought it was a solid story with interesting, likable characters. It has more in it than just romance and it wasn’t cheesy in my opinion.
This is s solid, clean historical romance. There are little tidbits of historical facts sprinkled throughout that lend credence to the story and the romance is one built on affection and care rather than passion. While both characters make note of the other's physical appeal this isn't a sexy romance at all. So as long as you don't mind the absence of any sensual elements, this is a comfortable well-written read.
This was a sweet novel. I’m dropping two stars for two reasons.
1. I concur with other reviewers about the inaccurate language for the time. The ‘moving truck’ reference was the one that annoyed me and took me out of the story.
2. The ending about who Meri turned out to be and how that story was ‘resolved’. Without giving anything away, I would have appreciated the story more if he persevered as it was and not remembered what actually happened.
You care about these characters! There is a mystery involved, as well as wonderful characters that you get attached to! Many good scenes described, and some depth of thought reflecting the personalities and time period. Recommend to take you out of your life and make you grateful for good friends and family.
Staring down life as an old maid, newly jilted Clare flees to a country home she’s inherited from her grandmother. She doesn’t count on clashing with her handsome neighbor, whose gentlemanly manners and education are at odds with his workingman’s image. As their relationship unfolds, however, she discovers the mysterious Meriweather Holcroft is not at all what he appears to be.
I've read a couple books from this author with varying satisfaction. In general, I like this genre and her style. This book is probably my favorite so far. The characters felt alive and relatable, and the overall feel of the story was very fun. I thoroughly enjoyed this read all the way through.
4.5 the writing was excellent. I loved this book! The characters were wonderful and funny and I loved spending time with them. I did feel as though the pace of the story picked up a bit too much there at the end as the mystery unfolded but I loved the pace of the majority of the story. The editing needed a little help but otherwise it was wonderful to be part of Meri and Clare’s story.
I enjoyed this clean read, although it was hard for me to believe her parents would let her go off by herself. Loved how she handled herself and stood up to her jilter ex-fiancé! That was a happy dance scene.
Excellent story about the social status of women in the 1800's, and how the heroine dealt with her situation. Also, I enjoyed the suspense surrounding the hero's situation, the tangled web, and how it worked out. Good characters.
3.5 stars. This was a nice little story, although I was a little confused as to the time period; my brain assumed Regency, but with bicycles and bowler hats mentioned, I don't think so. The leads were interesting and you hoped they'd get their happily-ever-after.
This story was sweet, clean and interesting. I could barely put it down once I started. Definitely recommend and I can't wait to read more from this author.
This was an interesting read. We have a girl that has been jilted in the worst way. She leaves in order to make her own way. Her story tugs at my heart strings. I enjoyed it a great.