Dawn Crandall: Enchanting Nicholette

By Kelly Bridgewater

In this captivating novella by Dawn Crandall, Nicholette Everstone is already a widow at the age of twenty-two: her husband was murdered on their wedding day. She has just returned to Boston after two years of mourning in Europe. Although her husband was loving, the marriage was an arranged one, and Nicholette would like to wed again--this time for love...and to someone safe.

As she acclimates to life in Back Bay again, Nicholette meets someone she can't help but fall for. But when she learns of the danger and sacrifices Cal Hawthorne takes on for the safety of others, will her heart be strong enough to keep her fears of "what if" at bay?

From Goodreads

My Thoughts:

I have read all of Dawn Crandall's The Everstone Chronicles series and have loved the majority of them. With each successive addition, Crandall improves her writing craft and shows why she will be in the publishing business for a while. Enchanting Nicholette is a novella, but it reads like a full length historical romance novel. With returning characters and a familiar setting, fans of Crandall's previous four novels will be excited to see returning characters come back into the fold.

Her writing has improved with this novel from the first novel. The novel is still written in first person which allows me to get closer to Nicholette's emotions and feelings all throughout the novel. With any good author, it is hard to tell a novel in first person without wanting to intrude on other characters' point of views, but Crandall does a fabulous job at staying in Nicholette's perspective throughout the entire novel.

The romance moves pretty quickly, but it is a fifty thousand plus novella, so it does have to move quickly. I really enjoyed the first scene in the novel at the bookstore. It captured my attention and set the tone for the romance to follow. Crandall is not too mushy like some contemporary romances can become. Instead she allows the emotions and thoughts to flow naturally.

The plot is different, yet predictable. I enjoyed seeing the element of mystery surrounding the hero, Cal, and learning more about Nicholette's past. Her wounded past transformed into something beautiful by the end of the novel. Even Cal had to transform and change his past to become who Nicholette needed. It was a captivating novel and captured my attention the whole time. I hope Crandall writes more novels. I love  reading her novels in the first person.

One last thing to mention is her element of spirituality. Crandall does a fabulous job at allowing it to flow from the hearts of the characters, not force a theology down the readers' throat. I admire that.

Overall, Enchanting Nicholette by Dawn Crandall is a interesting and captivating historical romance told in the first person. I enjoyed journeying with familiar characters and seeing the transformation of the hero and heroine. Fans of Crandall's previous four novels should definitely buy this novel and add it to their collection. I eagerly await what else Crandall decides to write.

I received a complimentary copy of Enchanting Nicholette by Dawn Crandall from Whitaker House Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

About the Author:

From Amazon

Dawn Crandall's debut Gilded Age Victorian romance, "The Hesitant Heiress," was a 2015 ACFW Carol award finalist in the debut category and received the 2015 Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, the 2015 Write Touch Reader's Choice Award and the 2015 Romancing the Novel Reader's Choice Award. Her follow-up novel, "The Bound Heart," received the 2016 Laurel Award from Clash of the Titles. Dawn earned a BA in Christian Education from Taylor University. She's been balancing books and babies lately as her two sons were both born as the four books of her Everstone Chronicles series were being released from Whitaker House from 2014 to 2016. Dawn lives with her husband and two young sons on a hobby farm in her hometown in northeast Indiana. (Taken from Amazon.)

Dawn Crandall: The Cautious Maiden

By Kelly Bridgewater

Violet Hawthorne is beyond mortified when her brother Ezra turns their deceased parents' New England country inn into a brothel to accommodate the nearby lumberjacks---but when Violet's own reputation is compromised, the inn becomes the least of her worries. In an effort to salvage her good name, Violet is forced into an engagement with a taciturn acquaintance---Vance Everstone.

As she prepares for a society wedding, Violet learns that her brother had staked her hand in marriage in a heated poker game with the unsavory Rowen Steele, and Ezra had lost. Now Rowen is determined to cash in on his IOU.

With danger stalking her and a new fiance who hides both his emotion and his past, Violet must decide who to trust---and who to leave behind.

From Amazon

 My Thoughts:

Dawn Crandall is definitely making her way in the Regency Romance category. I have read all of her books, The Hesitant Heiress, The Bound Heart, and The Captive Imposter and enjoyed them. I knew what to expect when I read The Cautious Maiden, and Crandall doesn't disappoint. She creates meek heroines who become strong, redemptive heroes with a hint of mystery. If all possible, I think The 

Cautious Maiden is her best book in The Everstone Chronicles.

Writing a novel in first point of view is hard for most writers because we have the tenacity to want to jump into the other character's point of view. But not with Crandall. She does a good job at staying in Violet's perspective and staying there. Everything I learn about Vance or the supporting characters, who appeared in the three previous books, I see through Violet's viewpoint. Because of the story's perspective, Crandall invites me into Violet's internal monologue and watched her growing feelings for Vance.

The romance and plot were woven together well. The romance started pretty early on in the story, but their feelings for each other really started in The Captive Imposter, so it doesn't come as a surprise that their romance was shoved to the forefront of this novel. Crandall handles the sparks and chemistry between Violet and Vance as they fly throughout the whole novel. Boy, do they fly. There are moments of passion that I would be worried about the non-mature audiences reading.  As for the plot, it moves along nicely. The story didn't drag, and I enjoyed being lost in this novel for a couple of hours.

Crandall invited me back with familiar characters and setting. It was nice to see Nathan and Amaryllis, Estella, and Dexter return and welcome Violet with open arms. Violet may not be an Everstone when the story starts, but she fits in quite nicely and is accepted in no time with the rest of the Everstone crew. The last Everstone that I met in The Bound Heart finally becomes the hero. I really enjoyed that Crandall made him a "new creation" where he wanted to do the right thing by Violet and run away from his old personality. My favorite scene of Vance was when Violet walked in on him reading his blue Bible in the library. Made me sigh! As for the setting, I really enjoyed returning to the massive Everstone estate and seeing more parts of the home that I wasn't familiar with in previous books.

While the story wasn't original and completely predictable, I do like the suspense aspect that Crandall used to throw Violet and Vance together. It captured my attention and didn't let go. This novel reminded me a lot of Julie Klassen's The Painter's Daughter. If you enjoyed Crandall's other books in The Everstone Chronicles, then I highly recommend you pick up this book.

Like a Regency novel, Dawn Crandall's conclusion to her Everstone Chronicles The Cautious Maiden shows a story of a redemptive hero who woos a woman with a less than honorable current existence. The mystery element woven in the romance was a nice touch.

I received a complimentary copy of The Cautious Maiden from Whitaker House and the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars