Secrets of Stonebridge

by Anita Stansfield

Since the untimely death of her young husband, Regina Everleigh has been consumed by her grief. After more than a year spent sequestered in her rooms at Stonebridge Manor, the once lively young woman is encouraged to venture into town—her first small step toward healing. But Regina is shaken out of her stupor when she makes a most unexpected discovery: a foundling baby girl. Regina is instantly enthralled with the infant and determines that she will claim the child as her own—a deception that seems, in the moment, to be harmless. But when her husband’s cousin Radcliffe comes back into her life, Regina quickly becomes entangled in a tenuous charade.

Radcliffe is immediately taken with both the charming baby girl and the woman he believes to be her mother. As Regina and Radcliffe are drawn together, first as friends and then as something much deeper, the future is bright with unspoken promise. But when the truth of the baby’s parentage is revealed, Regina stands to lose all that she has come to cherish.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Historical Romance

204 pages, Paperback

Published July 1, 2021

About the author

Anita Stansfield, the LDS market's #1 best-selling romance novelist, is an imaginative and prolific writer whose romantic stories have captivated her readers.

"With sales approaching a half million, Anita Stansfield has clearly found a niche in this market," said Nicole Martin, Publicist for Covenant Communications. "Her popularity stems from her ability to empathize with and write about the issues that LDS women deal with on a daily basis."

"I always write for women like me. It's through my interaction with other women that I've found there are some personal and emotional struggles that are typical," said Anita Stansfield. "I hope my writing makes women feel better about themselves and shows them these real problems can be solved through gospel principles."

Reviews

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anita Stansfield's latest book isn't your ordinary Regency romance. Regina Everleigh (Gina) has closed herself in her rooms at Stonebridge Manor since the death of her husband months before. When a couple of her servants finally get her to make a trip into town via coach, she discovers an abandoned newborn girl. She can't leave the poor thing there, so she, her two maids and coachmen come up with a story that Gina has given birth. Everyone at the Manor accepts the story and Gina breaths a sigh of relief until she and her late husband's cousin, Sir Radcliffe Everleigh become closer than mere friends. She has to tell him the truth about Janine's (the baby) birth, but worries how he will take the news.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the author did a wonderful job showing Gina's depressive state after the death of her husband--closing herself in her rooms, the overeating, lack of enjoyment of activities she'd previously enjoyed, etc. I liked her relationship with Radcliffe, how he supported her and the Janine, and the way their relationship progressed from friendship to something deeper. I really liked Gina's relationship with her maids Emerald and Ruby and the baby's nurse Elaine, and how they supported her.

This is a story of healing not only from a period of depression, but also of past hurts and moving forward. Families come in many shapes and forms, and it's not necessary to share the same blood to be considered family.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher Covenant Communications for review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

[Emily Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put this story down. I found inside its pages a flawed person who was hurt and needed healing. She was forced to reach outside herself in ways that may have been flawed, but were the only way to handle a situation given the restrictions of the time period. I found two people that were able to heal because of their ability to eventually reach outside themselves. I saw honesty and I saw forgiveness.

Anita Stansfield has always been one to write a story that is outside what is normally expected. She has perfected her craft through the years and brings yet another story of redemption and overcoming some pretty steep odds and situations. She is an automatic buy for me and I have loved her historical fiction. This romance is sweet and hits all the right notes. Her heroine is scared to move forward but finds the courage and safety to do so. Her support system is so beautiful and shows what can be.

I received an early copy of this book from the publisher and this is my honest review.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Secrets of Stonebridge's premise and story is unique for the Regency romance genre. The focus is mostly on Regina trying to get past her husband's untimely death by adopting a baby. The plot and storyline felt unique and different. I felt like the author did a good job at showing Regina's depression and the effects that it can cause. The author isn't afraid to let the characters have flaws or make poor decisions, which I feel makes the characters more dynamic and realistic. The story is more character driven than action driven. The characters were interesting, however, I felt like the author did a lot of "telling" rather than "showing" and some of the names didn't seem to fit the location and time period of the story. Overall, I liked that it was an easy read that I could easily just sit down and enjoy. It wasn't a very fast read for me, but I still found it relaxing to read.

Please note that I received a free copy of this book, however, this is my honest opinion.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book with a new and intriguing storyline. It was great to watch the character development and relationships. I loved the servants’ relationship to Gina. I loved the Father daughter relationship. And I loved the courtship relationship. There was a little too much repetitive inner dialogue, but overall a good read 3.5 stars

[Kim - Inside the Wong Mind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secrets of Stonebridge
by Anita Stansfield
Rating: 4/5

With such an interesting premise, I knew I had to read this book right away. I don't think I've ever read anything like this story before. The miscommunication and hidden secrets were not new but the Moses arc was new for a regency story. I have never read anything from the author before and was surprised at how quickly I became invested in Gina's life and her secrets. For this book, I kept wanting to read Sir Radcliffe's perspective but the book was only written from Gina's point of view. I always think the most frustrating part of these stories is when there's a secret that needs to be revealed but the main character keeps putting it off. The romance between the leads was very sweet and gradual which I liked. The characters were full of their own backstories and baggage which gave them depth and motivation. The story gives me the feeling of Jane Eyre due to some darker themes but it still stands on its own.

PG content.

Highly recommend if you enjoy clean, regency romance with endearing characters and lots of heart.

My thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. I really enjoyed this book. Less repetitive than her last book, more dialogue, and a unique story. I enjoyed the characters and the love story, I thought it was cute. I would like still more dialogue, but, as I said, there was more than her last book, so at least there's that. But I did enjoy this story, it drew me in from almost the beginning.

[Charity Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to an Anita Stansfield book this wasn’t bad, but it could be better. I felt that parts of the story were rehashed more than it needed to be. I still loved the different characters and the overall plot. I still think it’s worth the read.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I nice story that had something different in the plot.

[Sheila (sheilasbookreviewer) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anita Stansfield's newest book, Secrets of Stonebridge, is a story of hopes, dreams, love, and secrets. Regina Everleigh was in a complex marriage when her husband died suddenly in an accident. After grieving in bed for a year, her friends get her out of the house. A miracle occurs for Gina when they go into town. She finds a darling baby girl in a basket. The one thing she always wanted is right there with a note, saying the birth mother hopes whoever finds her baby will take care of her and love her. The biggest secret goes into play and only her good friends know the truth.

I really liked when her departed husband's cousin came back into Gina's life. Radcliffe assumes this baby girl is his cousin's child and he soon becomes an active part of this baby's life. From this point on is where the secrets start to make life stressful and interesting. Then Rad has his own secrets he's been hiding from Gina. These two main characters have always had an attraction for each other but as each secret is revealed problems arise. I was actually surprised by some of the things that were divulged in the end. Overall, this sweet but angst-filled romance is well written, full of many darling moments, and guaranteed to keep you reading to find out about all of the secrets hidden away at Stonebridge.

[spanz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book more than I actually did. I thought that the plot was clever and smartly laid out. I think my main issues with this book are with the writing itself and with the main character. She was very emotional all the time, which makes sense given the circumstances. But there were times I thought she was being needlessly dramatic. I just wanted to tell her to "get over it" or "tell the man already!". She was very frustrating to me. My issues with the writing were nothing too extreme, but did drag out the story so it was unnecessarily long. The main character often times had to confess the beginning of the story to multiple people, such as the love interest and her father. When she explained it, she always said it in the longest way possible, practically restating the first 50 pages of the book. As a reader it was tiring to get through, and I wanted the story to continue moving along rather than rehashing everything I knew already. Though, I do like the concept of the story, I personally didn't love the execution of it.

[J Weekes · Rating 1 out of 5]

Painful Read
This book is so poorly written. The author is long winded and drags on paragraph after paragraph going over the same things. The chemistry between the the two main characters is superficial with no real depth. I did push through to the end because I wanted to see how it ended but it was so painful to keep reading. Would never want to read it again.

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This plot had the potential to be an interesting read... But, alas. It was a 5 hour read that took 9 hours... Way too wordy, far too much explaining and re-hashing. It dragged on and on with little happening. And the characters were all so saccharine sweet... It was cringe-worthy. I struggled to finish it.

[Emily S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is so redundant-the barely there conflict is continually shoved down your throat.

[Amber (Allgood) Jensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

My main complaints are an overly simple conflict resolution and characters who are too perfect.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many repeated phrases and over descriptions my the author. The plot was good at the beginning and ending but it could have been 1/2 as long. Lots of unnecessary, repetitive, boring sections.

[Apzmarshl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love that these stories are easy and clean. In this one my biggest complaint is lying and secrets.

[Jt Furbay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Regina is a young widow who has spent most of the past year hiding in her rooms at Stonebridge Manor. She has been emotionally confused about the short marriage and relationship she had with her husband. She wonders if she really had loved him as to how he treated her badly after their marriage. On her first outing from the manor her friends find an abandoned baby which she eventually claims as her own and plans to raise it as her own. She let it be known that she had been pregnant and had the baby prematurely in the carriage in town. Eventually the child's real mother gets a job at the manor. Her husband's cousin Radcliffe come back and meets the baby. She and Rad develop a close relationtionship but she hasn't told him about the truth of Janine's birth. She thinks it may destroy their close relationship.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Secrets of Stonebridge is not my favorite Anita Stansfield book. It tells the story of Gina who is mourning the loss of her husband when she discovers a newborn infant in an alleyway and decides that fate has brought them together. It’s an interesting storyline so I’m curious if I’d like the book better if I’d read it instead of listened to the audiobook version. I wonder that a lot. How much does the narrator affect my enjoyment of a book? So much. If I can’t get in to a narrator the book itself suffers in my eyes. Sad but true. Sorry Anita!

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I always enjoy these kinds of books when I’m tired and don’t want to think much. I have to say the first part of the book was a little slow with some narratives a little repetitive. Yes we know everyone likes to walk with the baby and she needs her wet nurse often. I did think Janine’s secret should have been shared with Elaine since she was practically family in the end. And it was implied that Gina is expecting so I’m sure it would be difficult to act like you’ve given birth before.

[Claudia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay, I’m not a big fan of romance novels. Even given that fact, I found this narrative to be painfully slow and repetitive. I’m glad I listened to the audiobook instead of reading it so that I could do other things while listening.

[Angieluila Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of Anita Stansfield's better novels. I have a love hate relationship with this author to the point that I hesitate to read her books anymore. I needed something to read and she did not disappoint this time.

[Lindsay · Rating 1 out of 5]

The narrative of Gina’s mind was repetitive. I actually yelled at her to to just get on with it. The idea of the story too contrived. There was not much substance.

[Marnee Lemon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly predictable

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audio. Quick read (listen)

[Josephine M Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I truly enjoyed this book. I loved how everything turned out the way I hoped I .If only we could all experienc. that much love for everyone

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Lindsay Orme · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slow-not much romance

[Carrie Jacobs · Rating 2 out of 5]

This adoption storyline is sooooo problematic. 🤦‍♀️

[Kandyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

So… the main character feels guilty about her deception? 🤦‍♀️

[Julianne Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good but not great. It kind of rambled on and on about the same thoughts. It felt like it could have been cut down from 200 pages to 100.