Reviews

How to Wake a Sleeping Lady by Bree Wolf

iskanderjonesiv's review

4.0

A forgotten love, a twist of fate, and a second chance at a happily-ever-after.

Book 1 in the "Happy Ever Regency" series is now available. Read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited!

After being swept out to sea, Nessa Barrett, Countess of Wentford, is nursed back to health at an abbey. While her body heals quickly, her mind remains lost to her. Without even the knowledge of her own name, she has nothing and no one to return to.

Three years pass and Martha−as the nuns name her−settles into her new life…until one day a man shows up on the abbey’s doorstep, claiming that she is his long-lost wife.

Grant Barrett, Earl of Wentford, has followed countless leads searching for his wife and, yet, he’d never allowed himself to believe that he would ever find her alive. And then after three years, he sets foot into a remote abbey and his heart reawakens.

Overwhelmed, Grant is shocked to learn that his wife remembers neither him nor herself. Still, after finding his other half a second time, Grant is unwilling to ever let Nessa go again.

What will it take to conquer her heart once more, to make her fall in love with him all over again?

Happy Ever Regency

Book 1 - How To Wake A Sleeping Lady

Book 2 - How To Tame A Beastly Lord

Book 3 - How To Climb A Lady's Tower

erinliztaylor's review

lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

leslieanne1024's review

emotional lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

rhythmofryn's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

ebgracie77's review

Once I learned that the hero had remarried, I couldn’t keep reading. I don’t want to feel horrified by my romance novels and the poor second wife... how could I read a story that cannot go well for her!? It’s fiction. You didn’t have to do that!!

readingratboy's review

2.0

This book was a huge missed opportunity. The outline of the plot is interesting, but the book doesn’t deliver on it at all. There is not a single scene in which the male lead is actually trying to woo his wife? When that’s... supposed to be the main thing? Am I missing something? They spend most of their time apart and then suddenly she loves him.

Just about every paragraph references the female lead’s amnesia, and every character’s thoughts are repeated multiple times. The book could probably be 2/3 the length of all the unnecessary and distracting repetition was removed.

Then, the most interesting conflicts in the book are just weirdly swept under the rug. It was all disappointing and bland for something that sounded so intriguing.

jenmikesmith's review

2.0

This book was predictable. I just couldn't get into the characters. I didn't like that he had remarried. I felt myself skimming just to finish.

esadday's review

4.0

Love will always find a way.

This was a good romance that gave hints to the next book. That’s not all the story was, but I appreciated meeting those characters before we read their story. I am eagerly waiting to see how the lady tames her beast.

This is a story of how bad things sometimes happen to good people, people who choose to focus on hope and joy rather than be bitter about the past. I could understand why Nessa and Grant did what they did, why they reacted and acted to events and even when they made bad choices, I loved them anyway. I also loved the secondary characters: Maynard and his fatherly advice, Milly and her insight and enthusiasm, Connie and her sisterly affection.

Even though I loved the story, part of my felt like it was a union between Regency romance and modern sensibilities. Milly ran about the house and loved to climb trees. Her parents loved her for it. Her mother even considered getting her breeches. The only person who bothered over Milly’s behavior was the Dowager Countess, and she always objected to things. I can’t really see the titled in the Regency era doing this, but I loved her parents for their affection. This incongruence pulled me a little out of the story.

My other reason for not giving the book 5 stars was the Dowager Countess. She was just an antagonist, always there to poo-pooh and object and be angry. Her vitriol seemed unreasonable and a little too 2-dimensional. I would have liked to a little bit of explanation: anger over the loss of her husband, some trauma from her past; like they did in Disney’s live adaptation of ‘Cinderella.’ But there was none. This 2-dimensional quality seemed unrealistic, and yes, I realize that’s a contradiction, since I’m reviewing a romance, but it was just a little too formulaic to deserve a 5.

booksuperpower's review

5.0

Absolutely charming!!

crazychriss93's review

Didn't finish this one...
The plot was just a bit too much for me. It was clear what happened to the heroine from the very beginning, it was clear who had been behind it. Plus, the hero married another woman without knowing for sure what had happened to his wife. He wasn't 100% sure that she was dead so wth?
Def. Stopped when I found out that his now-wife was pregnant and he doesn't have a better idea but to have his best friend marry her. How?? Srsly?