Lovely feel good read. It was well written and flowed well. I enjoyed it very much. The plot was good and interesting. Hard to put down

SPRING HOUSE is a wonderful continuation of WINTER COTTAGE but nowhere could I find that they are part of a series or even a connected story. Lucy and Megan are the main characters, but there are many supporting characters who play important roles. This is a tale of family and friends as well as the family history behind the homes.

The prologue is set in the present day and introduces us to the drama to come. Adele, at almost one-hundred-years old, plays a very important role in the story, and we just get a glimpse of it here. Megan, who is pregnant but a single-mom-to-be for a multitude of reasons, begins the tale. She is a historian and will be overseeing the renovations of Spring House and Winter Cottage for the new owner, Lucy, who we’ve met previously in WINTER COTTAGE. I loved all the historical details given during the telling of the story.

The story flows back and forth between the present day and the early 1900’s and Megan and Lucy are trying to find out what happened to Diane Hedrick, one of the Hedrick sisters of whom not much is known. She was given to a rich family to raise once her mother died, as were her other sisters, but more is known about the other sisters and their brothers who were kept together by a local family. This is important as Megan in the present tries to piece together the history of the families as well as the importance of some of the treasures they uncover.

There are many threads to the story, and they come together nicely. The story takes place in Virginia, Baltimore, and France. There are mysteries to be solved, history to uncover, some sinister dealings, and romantic interests. Rick, Megan’s ex’s best friend, is always there for her, but as a friend or something more?

The story ended abruptly, but there was a potential happily ever after. It definitely didn’t go far enough for me, and an epilogue would have given me the type of closure I look for. I would love to visit Cape Hudson, Virginia again since since there seems to be more story to tell.

I’ve read WINTER COTTAGE by Ms. Taylor, and I look forward to reading more of her books but hope for better closure. She’s also written suspense novels under the name of Mary Burton. I may give some of those books a try as well.

I love this series by the author of the charming "Union Street Bakery " Series. This is a dual timeline story that transitions between present day and revelations that bring the past to present day. It is a story of Meagan today who is renovating a old family hunting lodge and finding mysterious secrets hidden in old letters that take her on a quest to find out about past family lives and people she hopes to understand.
The writing has a nice pleasing flow, the two timelines mesh perfectly. I enjoyed this book and it's historically accurate story. I look forward to further books by this author. Thank you for the ARC. My opinion is my own. A very enjoyable read.

Pregnant and still grieving the death of her fiancé, historian Megan Buchanan is forging ahead on a dream project: to restore to its original glory the landmark hunting lodge her own great-great-grandfather built on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. With the help of her fiancé’s caring best friend, it’s sure to draw much-needed tourist revenue to Cape Hudson, a town rich in southern history.

However, it’s Spring House, the caretaker’s cottage on the grounds, that holds the most intriguing history for Megan. In a cache of old letters, she’s drawn into the captivating life of a young woman who embarked on her own dream adventure a century ago. With each one, Megan is swept away into her enthralling world—and all its secrets. But Megan has secrets too.

Now, as one woman’s past unfolds in each revealing letter, Megan will discover more about herself and about the emotional tides of family that can be weathered with those you love and trust the most.

I loved this so much!! The dual perspectives throughout history were such a nice touch and it really added to the reading experience.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I found this title slow to start... but by the end I was so invested in the characters and their story that I actually found a copy of the first book in the series.

My only "complaint" was keeping track of the family lines - I was so confused at times. I understand that some of that confusion was needed to bring the story full circle, but I had to reference who was who on occasion.

The dual timeline was well executed and the love story was sweetly written. I enjoyed this one and will be adding the author to my watch list.

Customer Review

Scarlettleigh
3.0 out of 5 stars
Much too melodramatic
July 22, 2019
Format: Kindle Edition
I loved the Union Street Bakery books so I was excited to see that Mary Ellen Taylor had a new series out. Since I hadn't read the first book, I started with it, and had trouble getting into it, causing me to skim.

Then I started this one. First, strike and really not the author's fault, but I just not fond of a romance developing when a heroine is pregnant. In my mind, they have too much going with the pregnancy to think of romance. I don't think I would have started it if I had known that.

These books just seem very melodramatic and yes I know that the Union Street Bakery books were too, but with the gothic undertone, I expected it. In these books, I wasn't. In addition, I wonder is every book going to have a storyline that your ancestors are not really your ancestors.

I suspect if you love a large dose of historical fiction and two different time periods, then this book will appeal to you more than it did to me.

Megan Buchanan’s fiance, Scott, has recently died in a Marine helicopter accident. They had broken up just weeks before he died and she’s pregnant with his baby. His mother is angry with her blaming her for the accident and does not believe the baby she is carrying is Scott’s.

A longtime resident of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, Megan's family goes back for many generations. She has recently been hired to oversee the renovation of a historic hunting lodge named Winter Cottage that her own great-great-grandfather had built. Megan even wrote her PhD dissertation on Winter Cottage. The Cottage has recently been passed down to Lucy Kincaid. Lucy had been a bartender and is now very happy to be the owner of the Cottage, and is excited about the renovations. Firstly, they will renovate Spring House, then the Cottage itself. Lucy has hopes of making the Cottage a wedding venue. Her new boyfriend owns a local winery and is a cousin to Megan.

The story delves into the history of the house and the people who resided there. It switches back and forth in time as we see what happens to these people and where they end up in life. In addition, we watch Megan as she immerses herself into all of the historical things she finds as they clean out the enormous amount of papers, books, and furniture in Spring House.

This is a nice book but the "historical switching” and all of the characters involved became a bit overwhelming. But, I stuck with the book and I’m glad I did. I read the author’s novel, “Winter Cottage,” and found that one to be a bit better than this one.

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I liked this story and the cover is beautiful. This books has two parallel time lines. Megan who is restoring an old family hunting lodge on the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Claire who was the caretaker in the early 1900's. I'm not a huge historical fan and this book seems to dwell in the past a little more than I cared for. We visit the Eastern Shore quite often and it was very easy to visualize the small town setting and characters. This is book two in a series, book 1 was Winter Cottage and some of the characters appear. It can be read as a stand alone. She appears to have several series available. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I loved so much about this book - hidden secrets and long lost letters are elements of a book that are almost guaranteed to get me hooked! Especially when combined with the dual timeline, a feature I love but that can sometimes be utilised to poor effect. Luckily, it worked beautifully in this case.

The unfortunate thing for me was how confusing the characters were. There are so many of them! i struggled a bit with working out who was who and who fit where, but I believe that might be due to this being a sequel, and I've not read the first novel. I've since heard that if you've read the first one, you have a better grasp of who everyone is.

Overall, I was very impressed. I loved the blend of past and present, and seeing the complexities in how they tied together made it truly a lovely beach book.

This is the story of Megan and Diane, two strong women, born generations apart, but whose lives converge. Megan Buchanan is in Cape Hudson working on the restoration on a landmark building once owned by her great-great -grandfather. Megan will uncover some intriguing history along the way in the form of some letters written between sisters years before, which is discovers during the restoration. She is instantly drawn to the young woman in the letters and how she forged a new life for herself. As she reads more letters, she will learn of a family's secrets and sacrifices made to ensure those secrets remain hidden.

Spring House contained the right balance of past and present and the storyline was good. However, I had a hard time keeping the characters straight and who was related to who. Upon further investigation, I realized this is a sequel to Winter Cottage, which could explain why I felt like I was missing something and couldn't keep track of the characters. Although the two stories do contain some of the same characters, it doesn't seem as if they must be read in order, however, it may solve this problem I had. I, also, found the ending extremely rushed. The story was a bit drawn out at times, and the buildup took about 3/4 quarters of the book and then it just ended abruptly. Despite this the book is well written. If you enjoy historical fiction and complex family situations, this is definitely the book for you.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. A special thank you to NetGalley and Montlake Romance for the opportunity to review.

Pregnant and still grieving the death of her fiance, historian Megan Buchanan is helping to restore Spring House to it's former glory and hopefully bring in some much needed tourist revenue to Cape Hudson, a town rich in southern history.
Let me first say that this story had WAY too many characters. I spent more than half of the book confused trying to keep up with who everyone was and how they related to each other. The story was good, and I found the historical part of the story fascinating. I just wish the vast number of people mentioned in the book hadn't detracted from my enjoyment of it.

I really loved this book the first time I saw the cover, I am so glad the story is as charming as the cover. I was hooked from.the first word. I loved the way the author wrote in both past and present tense. I was invested in the characters, and the story. So glad I read this book. Thank you netgalley for the arc of this book. The opinion is my own

Spring House is Mary Ellen Taylor’s follow up to Winter Cottage and she does a wonderful job moving between generations with both Megan Buchanan’s story in present day Cape Hudson and Diane Hendricks’ story moving between Cape Hudson and France during WWII. Ms Taylor also writes Romantic Suspense/Thrillers with truly evil characters and she throws one into the mix quite well in this story as well as a domineering pseudo mother-in-law….plenty of characters to root for as well as hate in this book. It was an in depth look at the trials families went thru during the harsh conditions of pre-WWII as well as during the war both in the US and France. This was also a nice visit with characters from the previous Cape Hudson book, Winter Cottage. I hope Ms. Taylor will be continuing to write for the other characters in Cape Hudson. I was given an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the ARC.

This book was such a good read. Megan is pregnant and missing her fiancé. She is working on a project of restoring a lodge built generations before by her family.
Finding so many letters written years ago, Megan is so blown back by secrets of the past.
I very much enjoyed this book, and felt swept away by Megan and her story of secrets, love and adventure.
I received a copy of this book for an honest review. I love the way this author writes and the way this author writes and the way you are pulled into the story and you don’t want the story to end.

You should read Cottage House first. This book goes from past to present. Lucy inherits the Cottage houses. Megan persuades her to renovate the house. Which leads to more secrets uncovered.

A well written perfectly paced story pulling you in from the start. This one about Megan who has been hired to oversee the restoration of Spring House. Another captivating book, which you cannot put down once starting.

Ok peeps....SPRING HOUSE is a MUST READ!!!! This book deserves TEN stars on a five star scale. If your looking for the PERFECT beach, summer, lake anytime read, spring house is it!!! Winter Cottage was my first read from Mary Ellen Taylor and I equally LOVED that book too. They do NOT have to be read in order, it’s nice to do so, because you’d learn a lot, but, you won’t be lost reading Spring House first. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!
This book is written in the current time and historic. I have never been able to get into historical, but this one is PERFECT!!! I seriously LOVED reading about the history of the town and people that originated years and years ago. Seriously people....if you haven’t read this...WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? I guarantee you’ll be asking yourself the same thing once you read this.
Ok in Winter Cottage we learned quit a bit about Lucy and Natasha. Now in Spring House we learn more about Megan and Rick. Megan loves history and all things that came from Winter Cottage. She, like everyone else is fascinated about the history of this home and the residents that resided back in the EARLY 1900’s.
GREAT-GREAT-GREAT READ!!!!

A heartwarming generational story featuring strong women characters. The blending of past and present day draws the reader in and makes you invested in the characters lives. If you haven't read The Winter Cottage some of the past history and family connections may be confusing. Megan is going through a lot with a huge weight on her shoulders. Watching her grow and realize her path is an amazing journey. Seeing the past through Diane's eyes makes you feel like you are in the pages. Poignant and powerful, beautifully written. Highly recommended!

While Spring House follows on the heels of Mary Ellen Taylor's Winter Cottage, I read it as a stand alone and it worked perfectly well in that regard. In fact, it wasn't until I was part way though that I even realized that this novel might be following up on another book.

Spring House tells the story of pregnant historian Megan Buchanan who recently lost her fiance. Set of the Eastern Shore, Megan works to restore the old caretaker's cottage with help from owner Lucy while delving into the home's history through a series of letters from the past (while Megan resolves the present).

From the first page, I fell in love with this book. The blend of the past and present was perfect. The development of the characters was interesting and they kept me invested and reading on. I could not put this book down. Once it was finished? I immediately picked up Winter Cottage just to read more about the characters I loved so much in Spring House! Overall, I highly recommend this book!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

My first book by the author and quite a great story.
Although it can be read as a stand-alone I personally felt like I’m missing something because I haven’t read the first book in the series and I have some unanswered questions about some characters that apparently are more predominantly in the first one.
I enjoyed the writing, made me read it in one sitting, I enjoyed the characters and the interesting twists of the past and present were very clever done.