#AdoringAbigail #NetGalley

I love stories about strong woman. Abigail has a speech impediment and is thought of as simple, but in reality she is smart. Robert is an heir to a mansion and doesn't understand why, since he met is great- aunt, when he was very young, and never saw her again. These two characters meet and their lives intertwine together, but someone is determined to keep them apart. What a great story with a wonderful message

This was a charming little romance. I really liked how the author dealt with Abigail's speech issues, and that Robert and his family were capable of overlooking them in a time where appearances were everything.

What a wonderful historical romance. Captain now Mr. Robert Wilkins has inherited a grand estate from his great-aunt, something he never saw in his future. How is he to go about learning to care for such a vast estate with its gardens, orchards, and such? As a second son who spent many years in the military he isn't prepared for such a responsibility. Arriving before his household expects him, he finds a young woman in the garden of Cattersley, and he's intrigued.

Abigail Rutherford misses her brother and sister. Before her mother died she sent Abigail's brother to America to live with a relative and her sister was placed as a governess in another town several hours away. Because of a mild speech issue with the letter 'r' Abigail is unable to be placed as a governess and is sent to live with her grandmother as her companion. Together they live at Fern Cottage where Abigail is treated as simple-minded and ignorant because of her speech impediment. Her one pleasure is a daily walk in the beautiful garden at Cattersley that her grandmother doesn't know of, and must never find out about. It's on one of these walks that Abigail unexpectedly meets the new owner of the neighboring estate.

What a wonderful story of two people falling in love. Abigail has been misjudged by most everyone because of a mild speech impediment. She's labeled dim-witted and stupid and those who should have loved and protected her from such mistreatment did nothing to stop it. In fact, they too treated her as if she had no intellect at all, when in fact, she's very intelligent and quick-witted. Every time her grandmother made a big deal out of a dropped 'r', especially when she'd "flick her on the cheek" I wanted to scream. Grandmothers are supposed to be loving and kind, not so imposing you get nervous and mispronounce words, then berate you for it. The way Abigail was treated broke my heart.

On the other hand, Robert, his mother and his sister Hazel don't seem to notice Abigail's speech issue. If they do, they don't acknowledge or address it, which I loved. I don't know who I loved more Robert or his adorable sister Hazel. She's a godsend to Abigail and the perfect friend for this lonely young woman. I adored their friendship. The Wilkins are the kind of family Abigail deserved and eventually gets.

I really liked that the chapters alternated between Robert and Abigail's point of view. I love when we get to see what each character is thinking and feeling. Every romance has to have a villain, and to me, this came from an expected character but was definitely a villian. Of course he gets his due so the hero can get the girl. Some may say that the book's pacing is too slow, but I think the pacing is what makes it a believable romance. I loved this story.

Thank you NetGalley and Covenant Communications for my copy to read and review. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A truly lovely Regency romance. A noble hero unexpectedly inherits a grand estate and finds it difficult to rise to the challenge. He happens upon our heroine in a charming ‘meet cute’ and things begin to look up. Our heroine, however, has struggled in society due to a mild speech impediment (dropped r’s) which causes everyone to assume a lack of intelligence. That is, until she meets our noble hero...

There’s a definite villain, an unintentional villain, a loving sister and mother, and more that nicely round out the cast. And while the story may have been rather predictable, I enjoyed it from start to finish.

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