Tag Archives: Norah Wilson

Promise Me The Stars by Norah Wilson – a Review

Posted on by
6

Promise Me The Stars by Norah Wilson – a Review

 

Promise Me the StarsAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM / The Book Depository

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

Save

Save

Share

Ember’s Fire by Norah Wilson – a Review

Posted on by
10

Ember’s Fire by Norah Wilson – a Review

 

Ember's FireAmazon / 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

Save

Save

Share

A Fall From Yesterday by Norah Wilson – a Review

Posted on by
16

A Fall From Yesterday by Norah Wilson – a Review

 

A Fall From YesterdayAmazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / BAM / The Book Depository

Description:
Ocean Siliker has come back to Harkness, New Brunswick in defeat, after failing to set New York on fire with her playwriting. The first item on her agenda? Climbing White Crow Cliff, where her best friend Lacey Douglas died six years ago. If she conquers the mountain, perhaps she can rediscover her courage. But the only thing she finds herself is…lost.

Family obligations have left Titus Standish stuck in Harkness. While his younger siblings went off into the world, he stayed, working the farm and running the local search and rescue. He was there when Lacey fell to her death and blames himself. He dreads the day another mission takes him up there again. But when Ocean’s mother calls, concerned that her daughter is wandering the mountain, he leaps into action.

Ocean is thrilled to be found…until she sees her savior. She’s known Titus Standish all her life, and has loved him almost that long. But at four years his junior, she was just a kid with a crush. When Titus finds her, he’s determined to march her back down the mountain to safety. But Ocean has other plans; she’ll be damned if she’ll give up this trek. Yet all trails seem to lead to one place…straight into Titus’s arms.

 

Review:

Titus Standish is finally ready to do what he has always wanted.  He’s been accepted into the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) program, which has been a life-long dream.  He’s called in his siblings to tell them that not only is he leaving, but that his dad has agreed to sell the farm.  As his brother, Scott, and sister, Ember, both arrive home, there are a couple of people up on Harkness Mountain that are in need.  Titus has been part of the search and rescue team there forever, but there’s no way he can be in two places at one time.  When their dad steps in and says that Titus is to go after Ocean Siliker and Ember will hike in to help a guy stranded at a cabin, neither Titus nor Scott is happy.  But, as their dad point’s out that their sister is no longer a child and that she has her medical degree, they know they’ve lost the battle.  All three head to the mountain with Scott waiting at the base as backup as Ember and Titus head up the mountain.  Little did they know this day would change everything………..

Ocean knows she should not have headed up the mountain without a real plan, but felt like this were her chance to, as the blurb says, rediscover her courage.  Once she’s a ways up the mountain she discovers that not only did she forget her map, but that she is lost.  And, truth be told, maybe a little scared.  Soon she discovers that someone has come to her rescue.  What she doesn’t understand is why it had to be Titus Standish.  When Titus tells her they’re heading back down the mountain, Ocean rebels and makes it know that she WILL climb to White Crow Cliff with or without him.  Of course, Titus gives in and makes the climb with her, even though he knows it’s a bad idea.  He lets everyone know that he has Ocean and she’s safe, but they’re gonna be gone for a little while longer.  As they climb and feelings are given into, Titus can’t help but feel guilty.  He knows he’s leaving, but he can’t fight his attraction to Ocean.  Nor can she fight her attraction to him.  They both seem to be exorcising their own demons as it relates to Lacey’s death, but in the end, it’s inevitable that someone is going to be hurt.  After all, Titus is leaving and Ocean has vowed to help him live out his dream.  He’s been living for his family, not it’s time he lived for himself…………

A Fall from Yesterday is a nicely written story.  Titus Standish is an amazing character.  He’s done a lot for his family, putting his own plans on hold, and has always put everyone else first, until now.  Yet, he still feels guilty.  Ocean was a good one as well.  Even though she came home with her tail tucked, she’s determined to make something of herself.  She’s just not sure what that something is.  The supporting characters are wonderfully written as well, and I cannot wait to read more about them.  I wasn’t a fan of how Ms. Wilson left everything hanging with regards to them, but I know she was just setting up the next book.  A Fall from Yesterday is ultimately a story about making peace with one’s past and preconceived notions about your future to truly forge ahead and do what truly makes you happy.  This is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Wilson, but it won’t be the last.  Well done, Norah Wilson!  Very well done!


Reviewed by Vickie

Copy provided by Author

Share