Promise Me The Stars by Norah Wilson – a Review

Description:
Scott Standish has been a rambling man since his mother got sick way back when he was eighteen. Unable to watch her die, he left home after graduation and kept roaming.

But when he goes home to Harkness, New Brunswick for a Thanksgiving visit, he discovers he’s got a stowaway—ten-year-old Sid the Kid, his sidekick from the job he just left. For once, moving on had been hard, and not just because of Sid. The attraction between him and Sid’s mother, chef April Morgan, is electric. But she’s a single mom needing stability, and he plans to keep moving.

When April comes to Harkness to retrieve Sid, she does so in a car packed with all her worldly possessions, having been fired from her position over her daughter’s behavior. When Scott realizes her predicament, he offers her domestic employment.

With no place to go and no one to turn to, April and Sidney make a home at the Standish farm. Her daughter is thrilled, rapidly becoming attached to the dog and the family despite April’s reminders that it’s only temporary. Scott Standish might be tied to the farm for a few months, but she knows he’ll settle nowhere, least of all in Harkness. April can’t afford to take a chance with her heart, or her daughter’s. So she has no choice but to fight the yearning that grows stronger inside her every day.

Review:

Promise me the Stars picks up after book number 2, Ember’s Flame. Normally, I kind of give a lay of the land, so to speak, about the book and its premise, but the blurb does that perfectly. I’m just going to tell you why you should read this book. IT. WAS. AWESOME. The characters are well written and well developed. With the previous two books, we already knew that Harkness was a place that we’d all want to grow up and we already knew the supportive nature of most of its residents. We also knew that the Standish clan, each and every one of them, had a heart the size of the moon. Enter Scott Standish. Having lost his birth parents, he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. He was truly a member of the family: a beloved son and brother. He tried to calm his restless spirit, but no matter how hard he tried, he just could not stay put.

April Morgan is a strong, hard-working and very independent single mother who has struggled in life, but has always made things work for herself and Sidney, aka, Sid. Both of these characters will absolutely steal your heart. Sid is a typical 10 year old in a lot of ways, but is wise beyond her years in a lot of other ways. She’s bound and determined to get her mom to see reason and stay in Harkness.

With all of that said, what will take your breath away, and leave lots of tears in your eyes, is watching Scott realize just why he’s always been so restless. When the realization hits him, he truly knows peace and contentment for the first time since his birth parents died in that horrible accident. As he lays everything on the table with April, you can feel her hope and their absolute devotion to each other, to their family, and most of all, to the fabulous Sid the Kid. I really liked the first two books in this series, but this was by far my favorite. This is one of the sweetest and most endearing things I’ve read in a long time. So, grab your tissues and get to reading! Well done, Norah Wilson!! Very, very well done!!!

Reviewed by Vickie

Copy provided by Author

Ember’s Fire by Norah Wilson – a Review

Ember's Fire Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM / The Book Depository

Description:

Ember Standish and Jace Picard had their lives together planned before they graduated high school. But that was before he cheated on her. Ember went on with her life, and their paths never crossed again…until now.

Home for the Thanksgiving weekend, she’s dispatched to carry meds out to an injured hiker holed up in a hunting camp on the Prince River. Newly certified as a doctor, she plans to put her skills to work on that sprained ankle. Yet when she finds out who’s at the end of that long hike, it’s her heart that may be in need of repair…all over again.

When a storm blows in, she’s forced to stay the night. Jace, who has habitually hermited himself away during her holiday homecomings, can no longer dodge her. It soon becomes obvious that what happened that long-ago night is shrouded in more mystery than either of them knew.

Ember’s mission of mercy to a faceless hiker turns into a quest for answers with the one man she could never forget. The only thing they know for certain is that the long-buried passion between them is still there, just waiting for a spark.

Review:

Ember’s Fire has a timeline that runs parallel with book #1, A Fall from Yesterday. The Standish children were all called home by their oldest brother, Titus, for Thanksgiving. Ember thought that a little odd and knew something was probably amiss, but was glad to be home with her father and two brothers. As the blurb states, Ember was dispatched to carry meds to an injured hiker at a place she knew very well. It’s the very cabin where, as teenagers about to embark on college, she and Jace Picard were to cement their relationship. Only after she gathered what the injured hiker had requested did she learn the identity of the person she was to tend: Jace Pikard, whom she had not seen since that fateful night years before. The night that changed her life forever.

When Jace saw that it was Ember there to aid him, he was stunned beyond belief. After all, it was why he made his way to the cabin in the first place. He knew that Ember came home for most holidays and made it a point to get out of town to negate the chance of running into her. Yep, he hurt as bad as she did over what happened.

Ember treats her “patient” and tries to distance herself from the fact that it was Jace, failing miserably. As a storm blows in and she’s forced to stay the night, they have a real conversation about what happened all those years ago. When one revelation leads to another, a series of events unfolds that will leave them at a crossroads. Secrets are revealed that have Ember wanting to run, just like she did years ago. Jace is determined to prove to Ember that she can trust him again, but after being burned so badly, she has to decide if she does truly trust him, or if it’s truly over.

Ember’s Fire is a great addition to The Standish Clan storyline. Ember is a wonderfully developed character who the readers will instantly like. She’s fiercly loyal and has a very kind heart. Even though I was prepared to not really like Jace (based on the first book), he sneaked up on me. His determination to gain Ember’s trust, as well as do the right thing by her family, will have everyone firmly in his corner. Once you read the reasons for what happened all those years ago, your heart will break. For both of them. Ember’s Fire is ultimately a story of young love, betrayal and understanding that leads to full blown grown-up love and forgiveness. I have to say too, I have sooooooo enjoyed getting to know some of the dialect, phraseology and things in general about this Canadian region. This is such a fun, sweet and sexy read! The next book is for the third sibling, Scott and I can’t wait to dig in! Well done, Norah Wilson! Very well done!

Reviewed by Vickie

Copy provided by Author

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Promise Me The Stars by Norah Wilson – a Review

Promise Me The Stars by Norah Wilson – a Review

Ember’s Fire by Norah Wilson – a Review

Ember’s Fire by Norah Wilson – a Review