I like the underlying premise here. Again, Bess is too good to be true and her father is completely selfish, to the point of completely removing himself from her life, even though they live in the same town. I guess I like my villains to be a little more well-rounded.

I like Hugh’s realistic acceptance that his life is limited, and the progression of their relationship. A drawback is a page-long monologue when he is near to death and barely able to breathe.

There are some minor plot twists here, and they exist simply because people haven’t really communicated with each other.

Spoilers here:





Spoilers! Beware!


When Graham is talking about when he fell in love with Bess, he says it was when she was hugely pregnant. But he left Astoria Abbey before her pregnancy was announce and doesn’t appear to have returned until after the baby is born.

Possible objectionable material:
Terminal illness, emotionally neglectful parent.

This book is also reviewed at https://biblioquacious.blogspot.com/2023/08/author-focus-anita-stansfield.html
Thank you to Covenant Communications and NetGalley for providing advanced reader copies in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to the author and publisher, and of course Netgalley for the free book in exchange for an honest review. Warning: you may be displeased. Here it goes

Oh for gawd’s sake! You know how sometimes you might have a faint twinge or a tad of a possible nagging headache coming on , but you have responsibilities to accomplish, so you put off taking anything until, uh oh, it’s too late there’s the migraine? Well then allow me to introduce you to Bess. She is a hypocrite and the longer the story goes on, the more full of herself she becomes. I even had to take a couple of breaks from reading this because this it is just one huge deus ex machinae. One after the other they just keep rolling like tumbleweeds as the pages are turned, and, quite frankly, the more of the story I read, the more I greatly disliked the character Bess. With the snap of fingers her life literally goes from depressive, insecure, and undervalued to rich, and desired in a matter of weeks-TWICE. Suddenly she’s a man magnet. Seriously? And let’s not forget the characters introduced in the beginning of the book that all drop off by about the 60% mark. Did the grow tired of Bess as well? Did her dad die? I have no idea seemed frivolous.

I love Anita Stansfields books!!! Elizabeth White or Bess what she is known by. Lives and works as a nurse for her father Jonas White who is a Doctor. Ever since her mother’s death he has treated her more like a servant than his daughter. So when Agatha Buxton gives her an offer to Live and Work at Astoria Abbey she cant refuse. This will give her a chance to leave her father and have new experiences. She will be able to live. Her life goes from being lonely to full of love.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Covenant Communications and the author, Anita Stansfield, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Lady Of Astoria Abbey in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book provided a good read. The storyline was well written with well developed characters.
Worth a read.

This book was such a fun and easy read! I enjoyed the story and the characters immensely and while there were elements that were predictable, it did not diminish the emotions of the book. I am sad to admit this was my first Anita Stansfield book I have read but I will be seeking out more immediately!

Thank you NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I only regret not reading it as soon as I had access!

Cute story. Very predictable, but still a fun read. My biggest complaint is that there was too much reiteration of the same issues over and over again. It would have been a more satisfying read if the main characters hadn't felt the need to repeat themselves over and over again. Not my favorite of hers, but far from her worst!

The Lady of Astoria Abbey was just a good read and enjoyed it. I am giving it three and a half stars.

Bess is weary from the work she does for her father, who is a doctor. When she is offered the opportunity to be a nurse to a young man who has months to live, she takes it, if only to save herself from her father's indifference. What she finds is a real family and love she never expected.

There is one thing that kept this from being a five star read for me: lack of a build up to emotion. We do not get to see the progression of Bess falling in love or why she does so. It's difficult to explain but it felt like the author jumped from one emotional scene to the next with everything else reduced to a paragraph or two. This kept me from feeling the emotions I was supposed to feel.

Bess is a likable character, although at times she comes across as too good. Perhaps her naivete is her biggest flaw. I think she would have been more memorable if she had made mistakes or if we were allowed to see what changes her feelings.

It was difficult to stay in the story. I found it all too easy to put it down for something more engaging. Still, the story is clean and sweet.

I would recommend it to readers who enjoy a calm story with only a few plot twists.

The Lady of Astoria Abbey is the story of a nurse and her dying patient. Would you start a romantic relationship with a dying man? This story approaches difficult topics with compassion. It's a clean romance with heart and some unexpected events. Overall a good read. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

What a beautiful love story. I love that it encompasses not only romantic love, but parental love, familial love, and even Godly love. It’s not an entirely original story so I did find it somewhat predictable, but I did enjoy the slight twist near the end.

I do, however, wish that more action could have taken place in dialogue, and not just in Bess’s thoughts. Lots of repetitive thoughts.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I wish I could give this 3.5 stars. It's a sweet story. It brings out a lot of emotional moments -- but I wished for more depth in the characters. I spent a good part of the story wondering where all these near flawless individuals had come from. Besides her father and the villain at the end, they all seem a little too perfect.

That being said, it's still a nice read and it did improve over time. I didn't love it, but I certainly didn't hate it either. Give it a shot and see what you think!

**I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my review. The opinions expressed are my own.**

Would you marry someone you know is dying and may have only weeks or months to live?

Elizabeth White or Bess as she prefers to be called, is the daughter of a doctor, Jonas White. She's been assisting him the past eight years since her mother's death when she was only twelve years old. She's also responsible for doing all the cooking, cleaning and other things required to maintain their household, even though there's money to pay someone to come in to cook and clean. She has no time for herself to spend with friends other than when she has choir practice at the church. Lately she's become more irritated with her father--the tone in which he speaks to her, his lack of acknowledging all that she does, let alone showing appreciation for it, and his lack of even having conversations with her even while they have dinner.

Lady Agatha Buxton lives at Astoria Abbey with her only son Hugh, who was born with a heart defect and was not supposed to have lived to adulthood. They've been in London for several years, but are back at Astoria Abbey because he's nearing the end of his life. Lady Agatha hires Jonas White to be his physician and offers Bess a position as Hugh's nurse. She would live at the Abbey and monitor his condition in between her father's visits. To Bess, this is the lifeline she's been praying for, as she's felt as if she's been drowning.

Bess moves to the Abbey (against her father's wishes) and begins to take care of Hugh. She finds ways of easing his headaches so he can rest better and his condition does not deteriorate as quickly as the doctors in London predicted. Spending so much time together each day Bess and Hugh develop feelings for each other and decide to marry. They aren't married very long when his condition starts to worsen and he dies. I won't say any more about the story because there are a couple of surprises.

Bess is a lovely young woman who's missed out on so much because her father made her assume all the duties of his wife, when the wife died. She played a mental game of "imagining herself surrounded by an impenetrable shield of light, as if she were standing in the center of a bright sunbeam, and nothing and no one could penetrate her barrier of protection. When hurtful words came out of her father's mouth Bess simply imagined them bouncing off the light that surrounded her." When the story begins it seems as if Bess' mental game isn't working as well as it used it. When she goes to Astoria Abbey she's surrounded by people who notice her and speak to her kindly and she becomes the person she was meant to be. There are a few times when she remembers her mother's words to her and she stands up for herself.

Jonas White may have been a very good doctor but he was an awful father to Bess after her mother died. He stopped being a father to her and made a child take on the responsibilities of an adult. It seems the only time he ever spoke kindly to her or acknowledged anything she did was when they were in the company of others. Even when Bess hires two people to take her place--one to cook and clean the house and the other as an assistant to her father--he remains angry at her for leaving to take the position at the Abbey. He ignores her when he makes his visits to Hugh, and it only gets worse when Bess and Hugh decide to marry. Her father basically disowns her. He may have been grieving his wife but poor Bess was never allowed to fully grieve the loss of her mother.

Lady Agatha is a lovely woman and I thought of her as a surrogate mother to Bess, since her mother died when she was only twelve. She listened to Bess and gave her counsel when asked for it, but never told her what to do. Her character is not as fleshed out as much as Bess or Hugh's since she's a supporting character.

I really enjoyed this clean romance. I've been a fan of Anita Stansfield's books since the 1990's when she wrote LDS romances. Thanks to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for allowing me read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I forgot why I do not read romance books...
I love historical fiction and I love a bit of romance in it. However, outright romance is another story.
However, this book is written very nicely if you are loving the genre. It's 'Me before you' set in the nineteenth century but written recently. And it feels like it.
The main heroine is more at ease among my friends and colleagues rather than in English country medical practice of they century long gone.
The story is very romantic and very tragic. The setting is adding to the overall effect: loving mother, grand house, a very nice young man, demanding and selfish father and a young girl who is all the things nice, good, modern and nice.
This book will be a good read if you are into romance. But if you are not... find something else to read.

This is an unusual love story between a nurse and her dying patient. Their interactions are sweet, intelligent and thoughtful. No insta-love here, for which I'm profoundly grateful. While I was expecting a twist, the way it played out was surprising. There was another development that I was not prepared for. The inspirational messages were gentle and thought-provoking. This is the first novel of Ms. Stansfield's I have read. It is both well-written and well-edited. It is also clean. I will read more by this author.

#TheLadyOfAstoriaAbbey #NetGalley. My first Anita Stansfield novel which I found it a bit different than my usual reads. I liked it, the ending was pleasant, but the mid section of the book needed to be more lively.
The first third of the book was quite entertaining and I enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC and I will try another from this author.

Thanks so much for this review copy! I enjoyed this very much and am now checking out the author’s other works!

I was quite surprised, by this book. I loved the story line and couldn't put it down.
I felt for Bess, her father seemed disconnected from his daughter, and treated her like a servant. Being a nursemaid, at Astoria Abbey opened up doors for Bess, and gave her a sense of worth.

The Lady of Astoria Abbey was by an unfamiliar author and an unfamiliar publishing house, but the book blurb sounded most interesting and like something I would enjoy. Historical romances is a favorite genre of mine and I rarely read a book I don't like.

As I read The Lady of Astoria Abbey, I did enjoy it for the most part. I found the book a little tedious at the beginning while author, Anita Stansfield, set the stage for the story. After the setting and characters were established, the pace of the plot picked up some. Due to the book blurb, I anticipated a great deal of the plot. There is a significant twist that occurs toward the end of the book, but astute readers will not be surprised by the direction it takes. The main character, Bess, is likeable to both readers and the fellow characters but is almost too good to be true. Readers are drawn to her character due to the hardships she has experienced. I found myself glad when she allowed her true feelings to show and stood up for herself on several occasions. None of the other characters are as well-developed.

While I enjoyed Anita Stansfield as a writer and would read other books by her, I do not see myself running out to read every book she has written. After receiving the book, I looked up Covenant Communications to learn more about this publisher. I found that this publisher is a leading LDS publisher. As such, the book was very wholesome in terms of romance and language. The characters attended church and prayed as appropriate to the time period, but there was not any discussion of faith. As such, I do not hesitate to recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre. Readers who enjoy a clean read but do not a book that is preachy would enjoy this title.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book, The Lady of Astoria Abbey, free from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Initially I found myself drawn into this book and found it really interesting. I did feel like it started to drag a little in the middle and become a bit repetitive. The last part was rushed and felt unrealistic and undeveloped.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since her mother died, Elizabeth "Bess" White has taken the role of maid, cook, and assistant to her apathetic physician father. Despite her many years of hard work, her father has always seemed to take for granted Bess' role in his life, leaving her dissatisfied with her life. When Lady Agatha Buxton offers Bess the job of nursemaid to her dying son, Hugh, things for Bess being to look up. She never expected Astoria Abbey to become such a safe haven for her, nor could she have anticipated falling in love with her patient, Hugh. Regardless of the fact he is dying, the two decide to marry, realising they don't want to spend what little time he has left apart. Soon the two must truly face the fact that Hugh is dying, and Bess must find a way to move on with her life.

The Lady of Astoria Abbey was the first book I have read by Stansfield, and I can definitely see the appeal. I really admired Bess as a character, and she easily became my favorite part of this book. I loved her journey from unappreciated physicians assistant to independent nursemaid, and later wife. I loved the secondary characters in this story as well, especially Agatha, and loved the relationship between Bess and Hugh. My one complaint, unfortunately, is that the writing style just was not for me. The third person point of view added a sort of disconnect between the story and readers. It often felt as if I were hearing a story secondhand, as opposed to being immersed into the story. In addition, the fact that this whole story encompasses about three or so years of Bess' life, I felt as though the relationship between Bess and some other key characters never had the time to develop naturally. The pacing was too fast to really connect with the secondary characters and romantic interest. So, while I loved Bess' story, I just didn't really connect with the way it was told.

Overall, I truly believe anyone looking for a quick and clean historical romance will really enjoy this novel, but it wasn't the book for me. Despite my incompatibility with this novel, I would definitely recommend it to any fans of the genre!

3/5