Where to start! So much about this book drew me in and made me want to read it. So many aspects I loved, so many small details that MADE this story.

Entwined in each story is a curse, an English Castle, the garden, secrets, war and all its tragedies. Love, strong women and dark tales, are all woven beautifully together.

The audiobook quite literally brings the characters and times to life, adding so much more to this book. Fantastic narration that really has you drawn in. The authors note at the end is definitely worth a listen for insights into how this story began and historical background.

The cover -
Talk about radiating strong women, historical romantic vibes . And it so delivered on all of that!

Three novellas in one -
Written by three different well known historical fiction authors. Set across 75 years from 1870 to 1945.

Each novella focusing on a different member of the Alnwick family. Honestly, this concept is brilliant and carried off perfectly. You feel right there with everyone of them at different points in time.

Tales of love -
Each women's story weaved perfectly onto the next. Following three very different women as they meet and fall in love with a 'cursed' male of the Alnwick family.

Think dreamy, old style romance described the way it was in Austen and Brontes time.

A beautiful captivating read perfect for fans of historical fiction, womens fiction and storytelling that will capture your heart.

Good story, but it was so slow. The first portion of the story flew by and I loved everything about it. I wish there was more. But that need feel first thru the rest of the book. It was lacking and drawn out.

The Castle Keepers, Three Stories, Three novellas somehow connected by a family and castle that had many memories to hide.

1870 Beatrice, was an American married to a British whose family was not what she really expected, she lived through many disdains and rejections as well as many secrets that kept lurking behind the castle walls.

1917 The story of Tobias who carry the scars and the evidence of WWl. wanting to keep himself hiding in a castle from the rest of the world, his parents try to help him by hiring someone to somehow fix what he detested the most, that side of his face that made him lose all confidence and happiness in life.

1945 The story of Alec, is a survivor of WWII, he also carries the scars of what that terrible episode left on him, leaving him crippled and unable to move forward with his life, seeking help to be able to maybe see some of that hope he once had, by opening a place where similar cases and people can come and have decent and proper care with a therapist that can help many but mainly Himself.

This was a great ride, I really enjoyed each story and character, and I love how they connected even if the stories were so far apart in time.

The Narrations by Ann Marie Gideon were great, I enjoyed so much her voice and the way she brought the characters to life.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Muse, for the advanced copy of The Castle Keepers in exchange for my honest review.

I loved how all three stories were connected through a family and a curse, but each were from the POV of the women who came to the castle and had a huge impact on the men. All the stories were heartwarming, and I liked how the theme was carried out through all three. Self-discovery post war, trust, and love are major themes.

The Truth Keepers (1870) – I love how it started as a marriage of convenience, but they grew to love one another. Beatrice truly wanted to help Charles and I admired the way she stood up to his family even when she was worried to do so. I enjoyed their conversations and the added mystery involving the death in the family.

The Memory Keepers (1917) – This reminded me a little of a Beauty and the Beast retelling. Finding love from who the person is rather than what they look like. I loved Elena and her passion for painting. Elena wants to travel the world and paint. Having no interest in finding romance allowed them to really get to know the other. She was calm and patient with Tobias as he opened up to her about his time in the war and fears going forward. The tension came from Elena’s father pressuring her to marry and it took some unexpected turns. The epilogue was a perfect way to wrap up their story.

The Dream Keepers (1945) – The idea of a home for war veterans to help them adjust to life outside of war without all the ranks and rules was a great way to end this family’s story. Brigitta came to help by offering the men someone to talk to in hope to better understand the effects of war and to help her research. She was good at getting the men to open up by asking questions in a way that made if feel like she wasn’t analyzing them. I loved that this also had a mystery involved.

Thank you to the authors, Harper Muse, Netgalley and @suzyapprovedbooktours for the gifted copy

This is a short story collection that follows the Alnwick family through three generations. Each author wrote a generational story but ties each together through flashbacks, memories, or stories. The first story of Charles and Beatrice was lovely and reminded me of so many gilded age tropes and traditions. My favorite story was the second that followed Tobias and Elena through the worst of circumstances. I think this story showed that sometimes people love you solely for the soul and person inside and have no ulterior motives to love. Although, in the third story, their reputation suffered due to them being basically non-existent parents. Maybe this is why the third story didn’t capture my attention. It did feel more stand alone and almost in a different genre than the previous two. Overall, I did enjoy this collection and thought it was seamless enough. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys historical fiction, gilded age traditions, and light romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Muse for an advanced copy of this book to share my humble thoughts and opinions.

Castle keepers tells the story of 3 generations, in 3 different eras, 1 family. They each fought in their era warn and had life altering paths. The hero's of these stories go through their own obstacles to overcome the tragedies and along the way fall in love with their spouses. They are well written, the narration is excellent

This was a unique way to have three authors share one book. Each author wrote a different short story set in a different time period but all centered around the Leedswick Castle and different generations of the Alnwick family.

Since each novella is just over 100 pages, they are easy to dip in and out of and yet you get a complete story with each one.

Thank you Harper Muse for an ALC through NetGalley. .

This is such a good book. I truly loved seeing how this story unraveled. Having it show three separate generations while still making the stories intertwined was amazing. All the characters were relatable, and the relationships between everyone were believable. I truly loved the love stories and how each one took help from the past story/generation. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a feel-good, romance, historical, family book. The scene stays in the same place but skips years, and it's nice to see the Keepers of the Castle.

Great collection! I can't believe this was so cohesively written by three authors. Loved the story of three generations of castle keepers. So interesting to see how the care of the castle changed through the ages. A delightful historical novel.

The Curse

An interesting collection of stories about the Ainwick family and the Leedswick castle. A saga through the years of the heirs and the supposed curse from the times of the first owner Charles Ainwick. How the war changed each of them and how the curse of the castle was started and kept going , the war always in the background and always a catalyst.

The story of Charles Ainwick and Beatrice, the story of Tobias Ainwick and Elena and finally the story of Alec Ainwick and Brigitta. The men damaged by war, the poison garden tended by the wives, and the curse that follows them until the journal is finally found that solves the riddle of the curse for them all.

How they all dealt with their experiences with war and the scars both physical and mental. How each of the Aimwick men were helped by the females that came to help them either physically or mentally. How war cripples minds, souls and bodies. How mass hysteria and unfounded rumors can have an effect on a whole community and damage the mental and social status of an innocent man.

It captures the advancements in medicine, the masks for the disfigured returning from war with facial deformities, the psychological advancements made in helping those returning from war with "shell shock" which we now know as PTSD. The early days of these trial and errors with the writings and beliefs of Sigmund Freud.

Then we have the social benefits of someone to listen, someone to believe in one and of course the cat named Sigmund Freud who even played his part in the story.

The audio book was easy to listen to, the narrator's voice was pleasant and easy to understand.

It was an interesting read in human nature and a sad read in the effects of war. It was one families life in the castle chased by a curse. It was three stories written by three wonderful author's of historical fiction.

Thanks to Aimie K. Runyan, J'nell Ciesielski, and Rachel McMillan for writing a great story, to Ann Marie Gideon for the wonderful narration, to Harper Muse for publishing the story and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audio book to read and review.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
The narrator did an excellent job. I really enjoyed all three stories, and how they were interwoven. The second one by Ciesielski was my favorite, but they were all good. I loved the story progression. You could tell that the voice was slightly different, but it worked since the main character also changed.

3 predictable Hallmark stars

“Burgess sipped from his cup and made a face. ‘A bit stale.’”

Three historical romance novellas set in an English castle. The first one, (1870s) reminded me of Downton Abbey – with formal stilted dialog and everything centering around status, with each character playing a prescribed role. The romance is prim and proper, without even conjugating the marriage – because of love and protection. Ridiculous. Come on.

The second novella takes place during World War I. The vivid colors in this one with the red-haired painter made it the strongest of the three romances. “Perhaps it was the rain against the medieval stone, or the way the firelight danced in her hair, or the fierce pull to protect those who could not protect themselves, but he wanted nothing more than to slay dragons for her.” Over the top. Not my cup of tea.

The third section did not hold my interest. It might appeal to readers who cherish unsurprising romantic historical fiction more than I do.

Ann Marie Gideon’s voice was lovely and easy to listen to. Male voices were done well. A minor gripe – I grew up around German accents, and Brigitte’s accent was just OK, but German was not used often, ja?

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The story of the three generations of the Alnwick family, their family curse, and one magnificent castle.

The book is written in three chapters, each dedicated to the next Marquize of Northridge. The book focuses on the Almwick men who have fought in the war, and their lives in the castle after the horrid past. The war is not the only part that unites the marquises. It is the women that come into their lives, stand by their side and help the men to fight the generation curse.

The Castle Keepers is a great story of broken spirits, healing, and finding a new path for the future. I've enjoyed all their stories, although must admit that the story of Charles and Beatrice was my absolute favorite. This is a heartwarming novel, perfect for any lover of historical romances.

Thank you, NetGalley and the author for a free and advanced copy of the novel.

I enjoyed all three novellas in this collection. The authors did a masterful job of depicting the effects that war can have on those who return.

I also enjoyed the way they wove the curse that supposedly hung over Alnwick Castle through each story, showing where it began and the beginnings of the family moving away from it.

The Castle Keepers will remind readers that people will form opinions about us that are sometimes erroneous, but we get to choose how we will respond to it. We can strive to change it, barricade ourselves away from it, or choose to live in spite of it. Ultimately, the choice is up to us.

I listened to an audiobook version of The Castle Keepers. Ann Marie Gideon did a great job portraying the characters and I enjoyed hearing her read.

I received an advanced reader's copy from the publisher through NetGalley; a positive review was not required.

The perfect blend of three novellas over the course of 80 years. What a lovely concept and three stories that took you back in time. For those that enjoy historical romances, I highly recommend. Great narration in the audio book.

I have been on a historical fiction kick lately, and this did not disappoint. This is the story of Leedswick Castle, and the family that resides in it. I loved the uniqueness of this, as it is about one family (the Alnwicks) but written by three authors - each of whom put their own twist on the misfortune and supposed family curse. They did a fantastic job of tying all of the stories together, and seamlessly transitioning from one generation to the next.

I listened to the audio book, and the narration was great. The tone and diction of the narrator fit the story well, and she was very expressive. It kept my attention and had me very curious about what was going to happen next.

My favorite of the three stories contained in this book was the one of Elena Hamilton, who helped to create lifelike masks for those soldiers that were wounded in the warm. I am so intrigued by history, and did not even know that this was a thing! I love when I learn from a piece of fiction, especially when it is something like that!

This was a sweet combination of three novellas that told a generational story of a family. I liked how each novella would reference their relatives from previous novellas to bring in the family connection. The stories were well told and the characters were likable. I had no idea that mask painting was a think for soldiers. So that was an interesting bit of historical fiction. The only complaint was that maybe the stories themselves weren’t overly thrilling or had something that made them stand out.

I received an ARC audiobook from NetGalley and Harper Muse publishing. All thoughts are my own.

I enjoyed this one. I enjoy stories about royalty and regency romances. It wasn't my most favorite audiobook. However the first story was for me my favorite of the three stories. The other stories kind of lost me. The first story had some mystery to it which I really enjoyed.

These stories follow royal families and there dramas and lives. Each story is pretty different so that is nice when stories are paired together.

Read/listen if you like:
💜Romance
🕵️Mystery
🙈Drama

I enjoyed this collection of stories from 3 different authors. I loved the setting of Leedswick castle. The characters were well developed and the plot moves quickly. I appreciated the sweet, closed door romance. I love reading stories from this time period. The only thing I didn't like was the narrated audio book. It made some of the lines overly cheese, I think I would have liked this one better if I had read it instead of listening.

"The Castle Keepers" is a collection of stories written by different authors. These stories are connected by one family and one castle. All these stories are related to wars. In the first episode, Charles has injured his leg, in the second episode, Tobias has lost half his face, and in the third episode, Alec has severe PTSD. But all of them are rescued of brave young women from the outside, in the first part Beatrice, the dollar princess, in the second Elena the mask artist, in the third Brigitta the psychoanalyst from Vienna, who do not see them as human wrecks who do not deserve anyone's pity, they see strong men whose self-esteem has been wounded, but physically they are healthy and strong, and they will be healthy again if they have someone by their side to help them see and feel healthy. Neither of the girls have had an easy life before coming to Leedswick, but they find their backbone next to the right man.

In addition to love and family drama, each story also has a bit of crime related to a corner of poisonous plants in the castle garden. Whether the reason for the crime is human jealousy or past actions, it is these pivotal events that confirm the relationship of a couple in love.

These stories are written by different authors, but they are not very different. Each story has its own emphasis, its own background, its own voice, its own historical gem, but at the same time they sound well together.

An exciting book.