The Echoes of Ashlington by Rowan MacKemsley

This was such a sweet and heartwarming read! There were two love stories intricately interwoven; a second chance one set in modern time between Lillian and her childhood love Nick, and a forbidden m/m romance in the Napoleonic era between the two soldiers Henry and Robert. Now two hundred years later, the two love stories come together, as Henry still haunts Ashlington Manor that Lillian now owns, in his desperate search for Robert.

In 1807 Henry escapes his father’s expectations by taking a commission in the British Army where he meets Robert Westbrook. Standing shoulder to shoulder through the Peninsula War, not only fighting the French but each other’s demons, their bond grows into something deeper. Until disaster strikes…

Now, in 2015 Lillian inherits Ashlington Manor after the death of her father. When returning to her childhood home, she stumbles not only upon the mystery of her ancestor Henry, but also on her childhood love Nick. Now past and present comes together in two stories of lost loves and second chances, and finding out what it truly means to be home.

I enjoyed both romances, but especially the one between Henry and Robert. Set against the backdrop of the horrors of war and the fear for discovery and damnation for being in love with a man, it was so gripping and emotional, and my heart truly ached for Henry. It took me a bit longer to warm up to Lillian, and her part of the story dragged a little at first, with her completely selfish and unemphatic fiancée and their life in London. Even though I wanted nothing more than for Lillian to ditch her fiancée and her London life, for a life at Ashlington Manor with Nick, I didn’t appreciate that she cheated on him. It would have been so much better if she’d called it off before getting involved with Nick. That part really didn’t sit well with me. But that set aside, both romances were sweet and swooning and I really enjoyed the connection to a decedent through history and how the two stories came together in the end.

All in all, it was a wonderful, sweet and highly entertaining read.

Thank you Pride Book Tours for the free review copy! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
4 stars

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Author info:
Rowan MacKemsley