Romance done Sophie Barnes style. A cute story even though I felt it highly unrealistic and at times the characters behaved a little like perfect robots. Not a lot of emotional content in this story and the pacing moved along a tad faster than I prefer.

An enjoyable start to a new series - I only hope the rest of the series adds more romance.

3 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 3 Flames 🔥🔥🔥

Calista Faulkner has fled to England to be married. But he has died in the time it has taken to cross the water. I thought this was a sweet Novel. Mr. Donohue tried to take care of her. Originally, she was hired to work as a scullery maid. But she needed to save her parents. She had come here hoping to marry the Englishmen she had been writing to for the last year. When she arrived, she found out the true state and how she would get no help. He had died and no one offered help. So, she did the best she could.

I thought this was a lovely story. I was surprised but the fact that no one paid her any attention. She was just trying to survive. It could shatter anyone. But she kept fighting. I thought of the two youngsters as being compatible. Truly a beautiful story.

I received this ARC from Net Galley and voluntarily reviewed it.

She's having a CInderella moment...

As in Calista is working as a scullery maid in a fancy hotel. She is unskilled, working to pay her way back to America, but is a pound short. Pretty, clearly a gently bred lady, Steven, the owner of the hotel is intrigued by Calista "Jane Smith."

I really liked that there were no dukes (so over that). Instead, they are working class people and Calista is from America. The cattiness and pettiness and just plain mean co-workers are spot on. Steven and Calista are good together. Steven is a great leading man.

Recommend.

Calista Faulkner escaped to England in the hopes of saving her father from being ruined via blackmail. However, on arriving in London, she finds herself penniless and without the husband she’d pinned her hopes on. In an attempt to return to America, she finds work as a scullery maid in a hotel, where she meets the hotel’s owner, Mr. Stephen Donahue. Stephen realises that she is not who she appears to be and does all that he can to take care of her. Yet the more time they spend together, the more Calista’s return to America poses an issue.
Stephen is an honourable gentleman who is instantly captivated with Calista, but not demanding of her affections. They both enjoy each other’s company, and it was lovely to see how their friendship grew into love. This was a sweet romance, with no villains involved. I must admit that I got to the end, without finding any cliff-hanger or drama that is normally involved. I did find myself wondering if there could have been something more.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sweet story with likable characters

Calista is an American, a senator's daughter, who's down on her luck after traveling to England to get married only to find her intended had just died. They weren't in love, but he was a better option than the man who's blackmailing her father unless she agrees to marry him.

Steven, an earl's son, invested his inheritance in an exclusive hotel, in which Calista finds work as a scullery maid. Once he finds out that she's "high born" he rescues her from the inappropriate placement and vows to help her get back home. This part didn't set well with me, because it was made extremely clear that she was only deserving of his help due to her obvious good breeding. If she'd been just an ordinary girl from London, her situation wouldn't have been something he'd have thought she needed to be rescued from. Privilege in its most unabashed presentation.

Once I accepted that this was de rigueur for the time, the story was nicely paced as Calista and Steven get to know each other and fall in love. There's a bit of conflict with some of his social peers and with his brother, but ultimately Steven solves all of Calista's problems as only a respectable gentleman can. The HEA was neatly handled, with happiness spread about for everyone. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

A delightfully sweet Cinderella retelling!

Calista Faulkner had such high hopes of saving her family from ruin by attaining an advantageous match across the pond in England, only to have her hopes dashed upon arrival. With no fiancee, she finds herself in need of funds to book passage and return to her family in America. A practical miss, Calista looks for employment. Too bad she is too genteel or lacks references for any job she applies. Desperate hand destitute her luck takes a turn when she is hired as a scullery maid at the Hotel Imperial…

Mr. Donahue takes prides in his hardworking that has taken his inheritance and created the luxurious Hotel Imperial. He provides top notch service and treats his employees better than other establishments… or at least he believed he did. He found a genteel woman working as a scullery maid in his kitchens being treated terrible by his staff! He is bound and determined to make this right by her and reunite her with her family- its the least he can do…

While Calista and Steven await her departure to Americas they strike up a friendship… but nothing more can come of it. His home is in England and he is devoted to his hotel… while she must return to America and save her family…

I love a good Cinderella story and this one delivered all the story highlife that I wanted, while providing a fresh historical romance take on the tale! I loved that this tale takes place in a hotel and features an upper middle class heroine and a working third son of a lord- so refreshing compared to the common duke and lady.

Though Mr. Donahue didn’t seem like much of a scoundrel to me, I am eagerly looking forward to seeing who the next enterprising scoundrel will be!

Mr. Donahue’s Total Surrender by Sophie Barnes is scheduled to release January 25th, 2021.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Sophie Barnes through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#MrDonahuesTotalSurrender #SophieBarnes #NetGalley #pinkcowlandreads

I received a copy from both Booksprout and NetGalley; this is my honest review.
-The beginning of the book is both funny then really, really sad when Calista's hardships were revealed.
-Cute picture at chapter 10: "it took all the strength he possessed not to sink to his knees ... like a medieval knight swearing allegiance to his queen".
-Not true: "it allowed her to compete against a man on equal footing". Donahue had experience playing billiards; Calista did not.
-When I read about Nigel liking to cheat to win and he'd used that against his brother I took note. I really didn't want him to win Calista - she wasn't made for him at all - and didn't want Calista to fall for him. She saw right through it and put him back in his place. Bravo.
-I did have to bang my forehead when I read she gave plenty of advice how to deal with him to Steven. In a real marriage, you don't talk good or bad about your in-laws. Keep the peace.
-Loved to see Steven and Jane working together in the office, making plans for the day or just dine away while having smart conversations.
-Loved how Steven took deliberate time to decide where he stood with Calista.
-Good story, good descriptions, fun read.

I normally love Sophie Barnes, but this one fell flat. The premise was really far-fetched - what woman the heroine's age just takes off across the Atlantic to meet a man she's never met and gets away with it? Like she would have married him, except for the fact that he was dead upon arrival. The ensuing actions by her were just comical. It felt more like satire when it obviously wasn't meant to be. The book was short, which also didn't help. I think the story would have felt more serious if things had been a bit more drawn out, given more explanation. There wasn't enough time for the relationship and chemistry to develop, so I didn't understand why the two MCs were interested in each other. Didn't make sense. Zero steam too, when it was very much needed to at least add some physical chemistry.

I also took several days to read it. In fact, at one point I forgot I had been reading it at all. This is never a good sign. Maybe if some angst had been thrown in? Alas, it was almost too sweet and perfect. Other than the heroine being TSTL (in my opinion), neither person had flaws.

It wasn't terrible. It just wasn't great. Maybe next time!

Calista Faulkner had a plan: go to England, get married, and save her father from ruin. Instead, she’s now stuck in London & penniless. Desperate to return home, she seeks employment at a hotel & is offered a job as a scullery maid. But when a chance encounter with the hotel’s owner, Mr Steven Donahue, leads to a change in fortune and her acquaintance with him deepens.
A well written quick read, the story flowed well but the ending seemed rushed so I would have preferred a longer story, probably because I was enjoying it so much. I really liked both Steven & Calista & how their relationship grew & changed. A charming romance
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I received a free copy of this from NetGalley and this is my freely given opinion.

This is the first book of a new series by Sophie Barnes. Calista Faulkner is a young American girl from New York who travelled by herself to England on the hopes of marrying someone she had developed an acquaintanceship through via mail. The marriage was her way of helping her family out of a great debt, which, if it was not paid in time, would end up being paid through her marriage to a 3x widowed real estate mogul. However, when she arrived, she found out that her fiancee had passed on, and as their relationship was not known, she was rejected by his family. Through this and other mishaps, she is now a young middle-class American woman in a foreign country, with no money, needing to seek a way back to New York.

She ends up at the Imperial Hotel, seeking employment, and having no real work history or references, and being American, she was about to turned out by the manager, except he is taken aside and told to give her a position. He chooses to make her a scullery maid, and has her bed down in the pantry, rather than find something suited to her abilities. The other employees feel she is taking on airs, and take their lead from the manager. They bully and abuse her during her time working there. Finally, she is called to the owner's after someone complains about a hair in their food, that appears to be hers.

Mr. Steven Donahue is the third son of an Earl. He took his inheritance and turned the Imperial into a luxury hotel, with the plan to expand to other regions. He takes pride in his hotel and is appalled at the complaint and on his investigation, finds out about Calista and her treatment by the other staff. It seems that someone planted the hair to get her fired. He realizes after speaking to her, that there is obvious issues with his staff and it is affecting his hotel, and that she has been poorly treated. He finds out more about her story and works to fix his staffing issues, but also help her situation, to make up for her ill treatment as well.

Calista is resolved to get back to New York as soon as possible, and marry the real estate mogul, to help save her family situation, as she feels that is the only resolution left to her. Donahue helps to smooth her way, and also to treat her to a few nice things, such as staying at the hotel, and some tours of areas of London. During their time together, he develops a respect and liking for her, and realizes he does not necessarily want her to leave.

This was a rather sweet story. Calista was a brave, but foolhardy young woman (IMO), to travel across the ocean by herself, to a foreign country on the hopes of marrying essentially a stranger she only knows by mail, to pay her father's debts and for her to marry, rather than the other marriage option. She could have just as easily ended up with another terrible marriage option - moot point though, since he ended up dying before she made it to England. There were some holes to the story there too - it felt like she knew that he was ill or possibly dying? Perhaps he was giving her a lifeline of marriage and early widowhood?

Also what was with the hotel staff? Why was the manger and the hotel staff so terrible to her, as a group. That sounds like a very toxic work environment and that doesn't develop just suddenly out of the blue like that, especially to where staff feel confident enough to pull stunts like ruining service for customers; how could Donahue be ignorant of that kind of behaviour to where it gets to the point of one of his staff being bullied and harassed to that level, up to a management level. This really bugged me. I am glad to see that some of the perpetrators got their just desserts, but felt not enough was done.

The relationship between Donahue and Calista was sweet, but I also did not feel connected strongly to them; that it was rather tepid. I enjoyed it, but was not enthralled by it. I was more curious about the relationship between Steven and his brother Nicholas. The brotherly love there felt like it was more based on brotherly obligation, and they definitely had some antipathy that I felt needed to be explored and explained more. On the other hand, Nicholas was very hostile and contemptuous towards Calista and his perception of her as an avaricious nobody American, out to get her claws into his successful hotelier brother. Rather a bit hypocritical as it sounds like Nicholas is a gambler and hits on his brother for cash infusions when he can too. This could make for interesting family gatherings in the future.

So ultimately, I felt this was an enjoyable, light read, but it was not a story that really gripped me, or had me really caring for the two main characters or what happened to them too much.

Three out of 5 stars.

Sophie Barnes knows how to craft a sweet, well paced romance that is an enjoyable and comforting read. This novella is the first in a novella series and I found it to be absolutely charming and delightful. Barnes has a wonderful understanding of the period and the inner workings of society. She know how to create an interesting world with characters that feel real and natural. This new series looks like it will be the perfect, quick reads if you are looking for a low angst romance that is light on the steam but absolutely adorable in its our rights.

This novel opens up with Calista, the heroine, who is down on her luck. She has traveled from New York to England in hopes to marrying someone who will help her rescue her father from ruin, as well as save her from an unwanted marriage. Calista finds herself with out a husband and with out any money to return to her home, so she seeks employment at a luxury hotel, where the staff things her a prostitute so they give her a very low paying position. When Stephen Donahue discovers her and realizes she is in need of help he does everything in his power to see that she is safe and well taken care of.

I love that Stephen is so charmed by Calista that he is generous with not only his time but his money in seeing that she has all the comforts she needs. He works above and beyond to make sure that he is able to provide he with safe passage back to her family. He is also extremely generous with with time and how we finds himself draw to getting to know her. Calista is independent and a hard worker, she does not shy away from what she needs to. do in order to rescue herself and when she finds some reprieve with Stephen she takes his help with grace and gratitude. Calista always takes the situations she finds herself in stride and Stephon sees this as a strength of her character. I love that Calista and Stephen are able to work together and get to know each other in such an open and honest way. I love that they are both are hard and independent people in their own rights and I love that they build a friendship of respect and understanding which blossoms into love. Their journey to love might be swift but it is absolutely endearing and even though this is a romance with very low steam I really enjoyed the sweetness of Calista and Stephon's romance.

This is the perfect quick read that will sweep you up in a simple and gentle romance that will have you smiling with joy at the hero and heroine's love story.

Sophie Barnes has written a feel good novella, filled it with characters that come off the pages and pull you into their tale, sweet romance, a story that is well-written and a enjoyable plot that will keep you reading until the end.

2.5 stars.
A cute novella that struggles with more telling than showing. Calista is definitely in Stephen’s debt-even if he would never say so-and her interest in him seems to come out of that obligation. He appears to fall for her simply because she is in front of him. Their mutual attraction is illustrated well, but even in a novella there’s room to build and explore their relationship a little more.

Page time was wasted explaining Calista’s situation twice and there were two time jumps at the very end that were awkward and made the ending feel rushed. That time would have been better spent on the LI’s relationship.

There were a few awkward sentences that jolted me out of the story. There were mistakes with double negatives. Things like “No, but that doesn’t make the notion less unappealing” while talking about something that is actually a bad thing. It made me check to see if anyone had edited it.

A kisses-only quick read that isn’t worth reading again. I received an ARC from NetGalley.

A sweet story of Calista, who in search of helping her parents and avoiding a unwanted marriage, sails off to London. She accepts a marriage proposal from a gentleman she has been writing to the last year. Peter will settle her father debt and marry her, but he passed away before she arrived in London. This go from bad to worse for Calista when she is robbed and now has no means of returning to New York, Finding employment is her only hope, but doors are slammed in her face till she finally gets a job as a scullery maid at the Imperial Hotel. Where being a pretty young American did not sit well with all who worked there.
Steven is the proud owner of the Imperial Hotel, who finds out how unjustly Calista has been treated by his staff. And is determined to right the wrong, but finds himself falling for her.
This a novella so for me seemed to be lacking in comparison to the authors other books. A fast read if you want to read a sweet story.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story. #NetGalley #MrDonohuesTotalSurrender #Sophie Barnes

Another great story from Sophie Barnes! The length of the story is perfect, but I would not have minded a few extra chapters just to stay with these characters. I was immediately drawn in by Calista's predicament and how well she handled herself despite being in a situation that was nothing like anything she had ever experienced. My petty side would have loved to have had a scene where some of the people who were so terrible to her apologized - we are told it occurred, but I wanted to read it for myself. She's such a kind person and never deserved what they did to her. Steven was also an easy character to like and to root for. He treated everyone fairly until they gave him reason not to. It was nice to see how the relationship between these characters grew from employer/employee to friends to being in love. This was a great start to the series and I hope we get to see these characters in later stories. I'd also really like to know more about Nigel - he's kind of a jerk in this story, but I have a feeling there is more to him.

Can their determined journey find a common path …

What a lovely fairytale retelling the author offers us for the beginning of this year.
Callista is a sweet mix of Little Princess and Cinderella entering a life of drudgery and hardship all because she has looked for a different future and means to save her family from a scheming villain. Now she must accept her fate. Despite every new ordeal, she keeps her head held high and faces it without backing down.
Steven is the godmother turned Prince Charming of this story, granting Callista a roof and a way of paying her return fare to New York. He moves to hero when upon discovering how ill treated she has been, he tries to right the wrong done to her.

There are a cute couple, Callista by looking for a way to rescue her family with a better outcome for her than her present option and Steven for digging his own path to success with funds his other brother dilapidated as many peers have done before him.
A quick fast paced lovely read.
4 stars

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 kisses and behind closed door love scene.

I have been granted an advance copy by the author, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

This author rarely fails to deliver, and this story was unique.
The heroine is an American Senator's daughter. She was supposed to marry a man her father owed money to, but she started a written correspondence with the son of a nobleman. She had been writing for a while when she told him her circumstances. He suggested they get married because he was ill and needed a wife to care for him. He would pay off her father's debts, also. So she lied to her parents, ran away, sailed to London and her fiance-to-be had already passed on. She was not welcomed by his family and her money was stolen from her in the first boarding house she stayed at. She is desperate for a job and is begging the manager of a hotel for a job and is being turned down when the owner says to hire her. So she is hired, using a fake name, as a sculley maid and has to sleep on the floor. She is treated horribly and when she is about to get fired, the owner actually listens to her, hears the quality in her voice and she is treated as a guest when he hears her story. She sends for her parents and since he is the child of an aristocrat, he provides a maid and clothing for her. The hero and heroine slowly fall....
I can't give away all the details.
This story drew me in from the start. I enjoyed the heroine actually working and doing what she needed to do and the hero had a job and worked for a living. The story had its highs and lows and it all went well together. The characters grew and matured. I recommend reading this book with 5 stars.

This is Steven and Calista’s story. Calista came to England to get married. Unfortunately when she arrives, she finds that her fiancé has died. His family refuses to help her. She is forced to find work, but she is from the upper class in America. She has no skills. She is hired as a scullery maid who sleeps in the pantry. Steven Donahue owns the hotel she works in. He finds out about her and the poor working conditions. He decides to help her get back to New York. He gives her a prime hotel room and money. They get to know each other. There is something between them. Can they make it work? I loved the story. Sophie Barnes is a wonderful writer.

I usually like this author's books but this one wasn't for me. It was "clean" and I wish I had known that before reading. It was also a novella which means the story was fast and not as fleshed out as it could have been. There were 2 time jumps in the book and that made it feel a bit stilted. I thought if this was a full-length book it would have been up to this author's standards. The writing was good but the story needed more to keep my attention.

Hello! I absolutely adored Mr Donahue's Total Surrender. I could not put it down, and I found this book magical. I had just recently finished reading Sophie Barnes's Mr Dale and the Divorcee and was super excited to have been granted an ARC copy of Mr Donahue's Total Surrender by NetGalley/the publisher. I found Steven's and Calista's story enchanting. The Cinderella/love-at-first-site story was so uplifting. I love Stephen's character...he is a third son who has made something of himself and, as such, has become both established and independent... independent enough that he will not stand to be controlled by his brother but also enough, to his early detriment, of vowing never to marry. When Calista, of upper middle class New York, enters his life, both characters transform each other and themselves. She has been controlled in a way by a potential marriage she does not want. Steven and Calista are perfect as hero and heroine, and I love the conversation as well as flirtation between the two. The protectiveness Steven showed Calista was so romantic. And the chemistry between the two was electric. Sophie Barnes has a way of drawing one in from the very first word, and her descriptions of place and people are so engrossing. It is like watching a Victorian-era romance movie whilst reading (and I read this in about two hours!). Absolutely worth it!! Thank you!! :)