This book was such a delightful surprise! Going into this book I thought it would be a run-of-the-mill regency era books that have become popular since Bridgerton came out but I was wrong! This book surprised me at every turn! When I thought the plot was going to go one direction it would go another and kept me on my toes! This book follows Hannah, the eldest daughter in a sibling set, who happens to be blind. Hannah meets Jonathan Carter at the beginning of the book and following a series of misunderstandings they come to hold one another in high esteem. If you want a clean, regency romance with a different perspective than one normally gets I would definitely recommend this book!

Thanks to Mrs. Kelley Stones, Covenant Communications and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in advance!

Love Unseen by Rachel Kelley Stones, 248 pages. Covenant Communications, 2023. $16.
Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Despite lingering effects of an illness that make her family believe the contrary, Hannah (22yo) is sure that she can continue to live her life without being a family embarrassment. Even if she never marries. Jonathan (26yo) is the son of a merchant who worked hard to be successful, raising his family into the gentry. But the transition is only accepted by those ignoring him and looking at his wealth.
Stones wowed me from the very beginning—I had to read the first chapter twice because it was so well done. The twists and turns of the story were unexpected and often adorable. Furthermore, Hannah and Jonathan’s story shows readers that capabilities and dreams are only limited by what we tell ourselves.
The characters are English. The mature content rating is for mentions of alcohol and for sexual harassment.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

I loved this story by Rachel Kelley Stones, such amazing characters, great storyline. Loved it!

I just reviewed Love Unseen by Rachel Kelley Stones. #LoveUnseen #NetGalley
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4.5 stars
I enjoyed this book. Particularly good for a first time publication as I believe this is. I liked both Jonathon and Hannah but they sure had a rocky start. As awful as Jonathon was at the first, he was also really good with a sincere apology. Hannah was a very forgiving person, even with people who maybe didn't deserve forgiveness. She has been handed a difficult loss and then abused by those who should have protected her. Instead the rancor and cruelty keeps getting worse.
Since Hannah was really the only person that treated Jonathon well, it is no wonder that he fell in love with her.
The only complaint I have about the story is that I would have liked to have seen consequences for the actions that were taken against Hannah. Her brother says there will be changes but we don't see any evidence of that having happened. I don't know what the consequences should be but maybe the worst of villains should have been sent away or something. I would have liked to have had more people stand up for Hannah in the moment.
Even so, I enjoyed the story and the happily-ever-after.

Potential triggers: toxic family
Sex: no but some lewd behavior
Language: no
Violence: physical & emotional abuse

The two main characters try to navigate the restrictions placed on them by society and whose first meeting is less than desirable. Blind at the age of seventeen, Hannah must deal with the limitations of her disability and the view of people around her. She was a strong and determined character despite how she was treated by those around her but doesn’t see herself as being able to have a family of her own and will probably remain a spinster. Her family, who should be her support, are more a hindrance; a brother who is indifferent, and a sister and mother who are ashamed of her and want to hide her away from society.

Jonathan, the male lead, is wealthy and just returning to England from the West Indies but his wealth comes from trade. He is not accepted by all in Society and is having trouble finding his place. He does have a few supportive friends who are willing to stand by him. He is a bit of a grump.

Initially, their first few meetings didn’t go well and were full of misunderstandings. What I appreciated the most was that Hannah didn't let her disability stop her from being useful and living her life as fully as was possible. Eventually, Jonathan came to see her as a person, admiring her courage. As their friendship grew, they were both able to see the depth of each other’s character. This was a lovely story with likable characters, and I really enjoyed the book. I highly recommend this book to those who love historical romances.
My thanks to Netgalley, the author and to the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Rachel Kelley Stones spins a unique tale with her debut novel, "Love Unseen". This Regency Romance features a blind heroine (this is not a spoiler), which is singular in and of itself. Add in the hero who actually has worked for his money, and a cast of interesting secondary characters, and the result is a lovely read.

Beautiful and kind, heroine Hannah Hadley is a curiously independent woman. It's wonderful to see how she's adapted to her disability. However, one must suspend disbelief to a certain point with a few of the novel's events. However, I'm no expert; these happenings may be entirely feasible. Jonathan Carter is maligned because of his "new money" from *gasp* trade. His gruff demeanor quickly improves to one of thoughtful compassion after a few meetings with the lovely Hannah.

Even though the characters are not particularly well-developed, for the most part they are appealing. The primary villain is one-dimensional, and this person's motivations are shallow. The secondary villain has everything but the twirling mustache.

As a personal preference, I usually don't care for first-person narratives. Here, however, are two alternating points of view, rendering the narration more enjoyable. The book is clean and well-edited.

There are a few secondary characters who deserve their own tales. I do look forward to reading more from this author. 3.5 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Covenant Communications for an ARC of this pleasing read.

I absolutely loved this book from Rachel Kelley Stones. The characters were so well written and I couldn't help turning page after page. Hannah's fears and dreams were very applicable even though her illness is not something that I have personally gone through. I loved that both were trying to overcome their stations that they weren't ready or prepared for, but together they were each other's strengths. I also loved that it was written in first person dual POV. I always enjoy seeing this from both people's perspectives.

This novel would definitely fall into:
Enemies to Lovers
Sunshine and Grump
Alpha Hero

I would totally give it 5 stars and so happy to be able to read an advanced copy. Thank you to Netgalley and Rachel Kelley Stones for the chance.

This was a very enjoyable and different regency romance. I’m very impressed that this is Rachel’s debut novel and look forward to her future books. Here’s a few of the things I loved about this story:
• A heroine who allows those close to her to really see things and to know what is actually important. Hannah was so sweet and optimistic despite her circumstances, she’s the best kind of character in that she helps the others learn more about themselves.
• A bumbling idiot hero who eventually learns the right thing to say. Jonathan is a hard worker who is trying his best not only to improve his life, but to help out his mother and sister.
• A good variety of characters that helped the reader either love or dislike them. I personally love when an author can create characters that help readers feel such a wide range of emotions.
• The transition from friends to lovers was done so well, it felt believable and I loved the interactions between Hannah and Jonathan. Neither one of them ever dreamt of being where they are, but they both make the best of life as best the can.

There are a few things I struggled with that prevented me from giving this the full five stars, and those are:
• Sometimes I felt the things the characters said didn’t match up with the time period, it seemed too modern.
• In some instances I felt there wasn’t enough description of events, or sometimes even a total lack of explanation. The reader is thrown into the middle of a scene without knowing what happened and the explanation comes after. Some people might not mind this but it happened enough in this book to be a bit of a bother. And other parts, which I think would’ve been good to have more info about, were completely missed.
• This might seem stupid to many readers but at one point I found a part that’s completely inaccurate, and only because I know about it I was able to pick it up, but it did bother me.

Overall I did enjoy this book and it was a fresh new take on regency romance.

4.5 stars
This was quite a sweet book to read. Hannah has a disability that makes her life quite different from others. Hannah and Jonathan’s first meeting doesn’t begin as pleasant, but slowly they become friends. It was nice to see her neighbors/ friends concerned and looking out for her ( did not like some of the family members though). I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone who likes regency romances. This book was clean with some kisses.

*Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for the ARC and for the opportunity to post an honest review.

I loved this book. Hannah and Jonathan are great character leads. The story reminded me of elements of Pride and Prejudice . I loved their story and how they grew together. I enjoyed hearing both of the leads perspective of their life and relationship . It kept me turning the pages. The book reminded me how clear communication is so important in relationships as misunderstandings happen . The book made me want to research more about blindness during the time period . As a special part of the book I love the flowers on the pages . Beautiful !
I highly recommend this book.
I

WOW! I loved this book!!! I love when main characters are different. Hannah is blind since about the age of 17 from a case of measles. The way she navigates her world is inspiring. She is kind, courageous and generous with her patience. Her siblings and Mother are a different story all together,
Jonathan is not quite sure how to navigate Society with him being away in the West Indies for so long and also having his money come from trade. He is not welcomed or accepted by many but does have some friends who are willing to defy the others of Society. His first few meetings with Hannah are full of misunderstandings and apologies.
There are some sweet characters and some villainous characters in this book. I was captivated throughout the book and could hardly put it down.
I would highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more books from this author.

Loved this book. Has a very good story line was easy to read and made me want to finish it as quickly as possible just to see what was going to happen.

Love Unseen was a sweet and enjoyable romance. I really liked the characters Hannah and Jonathan. I enjoyed thinking about how being blind would affect a person during this point in history. The story is well written, engaging and heart warming. There is a bit of a damsel in distress vibe towards the end but it's a fairly mild and believable one. He heroine isn't totally hopeless in trying to make change for herself. That's a good thing!
Definitely worth reading!

A delightful read that kept me captivated.

Hannah is a wonderful character that you can't help but feel for. She's kind and cheerful despite her terrible mother and selfish siblings.

I wasn't keen on Jonathan to start of with, but he grew on me. Especially with the lengths that he went through for our heroine.

I can't see any other titles from this author that I can explore but will definitely be on the lookout for future releases. Would love to read about some of the side characters.

What s beautiful and heart warming story. I really enjoyed seeing how Hannah and Jonathan’s friendship grows. I really enjoyed it and stayed up late trying to finish it because I just couldn’t put it down!

The premise of this book caught my attention so I decided apply for a copy.
I like the story. The characters have their own problems, one because of her dissabillity and pooly helped from her family, and he with the distate from society about being rich with new money.
The characters are well written the style a bit modern but well executed

Interesting, unique premise.

Thank you to the author, Covenant, and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

"Love Unseen" is a romance set in 1815 in England. Jonathan's pride got him into trouble from beginning to end, but at least he knew how to apologize sincerely and gave thoughtful, meaningful gifts. Hannah was kind and determined, despite how her family treated her and the challenges of being blind. She didn't let her disability stop her from living fully and being useful. Jonathan came to see her as a person (not a disability or burden) and admired her character.

However, some foundational parts of the story didn't make sense. For example, Hannah's mother stated several times that Julia would make a good match and that Jonathan was too 'new money' to be socially acceptable. Yet when Jonathan started a friendship with Hannah, the mother kept claiming that Hannah was getting in Julia's way of making a match with Jonathan. Huh? The mother's reason for hating Hannah also was warped.

The ending really pushed things beyond belief for me. Hannah's mother treated her like a slave to be sold and her social equals didn't censor or stop her. Then Jonathan's horse tripped, and he fell off. I've done this many times with no injury, but he's severely injured. All so our blind lady can devotedly clean his wounds. Seriously? There's no way for her to know if the wound is clean. This is absurd.

The historical details were often wrong, from points of etiquette to acting like broken bones were a simple, safe fix at that time. There was no sex. There was one use of British bad language.

3 1/2 elevated to 4.

Better than I expected for a first book, but I do agree with other reviewers about the language being a bit too modern in some parts. I'm sure it could be edited to reflect a more appropriate language to the time period.

Hannah's disability has put her on the shelf despite her age and she's content with her life until she overhears a conversation in her own home. This is only the beginning of her troubles.

Jonathan comes from new money which is not accepted well in the ton. After an almost disastrous meet-cute between him and Hannah, he apologizes and they become friends.

The villain is truly villainous and keeps at it several times, and I'm glad Hannah and Jonathan show their happy ending.

It kept me reading until the end, hence the rating.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

4.5 stars
This was a sweet read! I was so impressed by this book and I have to say it was a wonderful debut novel. Love Unseen is written by Rachel Kelley Stone and it was an interesting historical read.
Jonathan was an intriguing character. He was a proud man but he was trying to figure out this new position of life he was in. I loved Saathar's relationship with his family. Jonathan had to learn to truly see Hannah and to fight for those he loved.
Hannah was also lovely. Life had not been easy for her, but she tried to be kind and have a good attitude. Hannah had to learn to stand up for herself and to hope for a better future. I felt for Hannah and I wanted her to get her happy ending.
I adored reading about Jonathan and Hannah falling in love. They complimented each other and helped make each other better. Hannah and Jonathan were such an engaging couple. I loved their banter and their wit. They both had to grow but it was wonderful to read about them.
I would definitely recommend Love Unseen. It was a sweet romance with a wonderful message. Love Unseen is a clean historical romance.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.