Beautiful, fantastic, engaging, awesome! A first in a new series that is sure to be a huge success, the story of Julian and Antonia is a fast moving one about second chances, deceit, smuggling, villains and an entertaining family of loyal siblings. Come meet the Vale family! Their laughter, adventures, craftiness and genuine love will fill your heart with passion and pleasure. Don't miss the opportunity to start a new series by a fanominal author.

This is the first installment of a brand new and captivating series : One Night in Blackhaven.
Mary Lancaster never disappoints. I always enjoy her books and “The Captain’s old Love” is no exception.
We go back to the town of Blackhaven and reconnect with old friends from Mary Lancaster’ s delightful series : “Blackhaven Brides”.

A beautifully written second chance romance with all the pain, the past hurt, the rekindle of old love. Julius and Antonia are likable and well layered. The side characters, especially Vale siblings, are vibrant and spirited, and will keep you interested and entertained throughout.
The story has a nice combination of romance, drama, humor, tension, suspense and intrigue.
The storyline is well-written and is nicely paced, with twists and turns that kept me turning the pages. The writing is pleasant and makes it much easier to read and enjoy the romance, the plot and the suspense.

A wonderful start to what looks to be an exciting series. I can't wait for the next installment!

Throughly enjoyable read. I do love a good period romance and this one was really good.
I absolutely loved all the Vales. They’re an interesting family and I’m looking forward to more.

In this one Julius and Antonia were engaged to be married. The engagement was broken and both of them were left feeling wounded and disillusioned.
Ten years later they meet again. Despite the hurt and anger and against their better judgement attraction still sizzles between them.
Could they possibly have a second chance at love?

So why not 5*?
In a word Antonia.
I know period romances tend to be a little longwinded. They don’t have access to the easy excitement modern books do. Although the story here was good and entertaining. But I couldn’t believe she didn’t tell Julius the truth. It’s a pet hate of mine when a character sits on something that they know is going to come out eventually. This was frustrating to say the least.

I voluntarily read a review copy kindly provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

A welcome return to Blackhaven!
Round two, continues in the same engaging vein as the Blackhaven Brides series. The romance, escapades and delightfully original personalities of Blackhaven, marked my first introduction to Lancaster as an author (many pleasurable moons ago), one where I fell in love with, not just the stories that unfolded but, the free spirits who lived and breathed the mystery, scandal, smuggling intrigue and beauty of the spa town she created. So, to be swept back to its shores and hugged by so many favourites of old, in this exciting new series, is a very welcome and extra special one! Let the fun begin!
The Vale tribe, a new family of facet-rich siblings to cherish, with all their delightful differences, yet so heartmeltingly protective, loyal and affectionate as a unit, are headed by the dashing, retired Navy captain, Julius, as he is reunited, not just with family life and the need to rebuild his ancestral home, but the fiery burn he has for his first love, Antonia.
Humorous and poignant in banter and 'twin'-shaped antics, the heartpounding, clarity deducing, passion rekindling, fun of a second chance romance immerges, that conjures a "storm of old pain, regret and a thousand tangled emotions" of a first love, never forgotten, but ripped so painfully asunder, as they come to realise all was not what it seemed 10 years ago.
Now just as sparks begin to reignite, can a soul destroying web of, hidden in plain sight, scheming pull them apart again? Or, will they learn to trust in their love and not fall prey to the greedy manipulation afoot?
Loved the captured moments of reconnection and romance, as mysteries and misunderstandings lead to the threat of history repeating itself. Julius and Antonia, a couple so easy to get behind and root for!
Looking forward to unraveling many of the subcharacters as it's clear they are brimming with scrummy secrets, teasing and haunting insecurities, that already simmer with great promise, beneath the happy go lucky smiles of the so easy to adore Vales.
A great introduction to a new series, against the backdrop of much loved Blackhaven. Where, I'm looking forward to enjoying revealing the passionate twists and life altering turns as they unfurl, with hopefully many an interwoven cameo from good friends. Glad to be back!

I truly enjoyed the book. I would recommend reading it. I would definitely read it again. I enjoyed the ups and downs of the book. I loved the adventure of the book.

5 stars

A Very good read. Julius is livid when he sees his ex fiancee. She jilted him and he was devastated. He returned to see and after ten years has beome just retired as a Captain in the Royal Navy. He has returned to the family home which contains his older sister, his brothers and the young twins. Some are legitimate offspring of his baron father others not. This includes Julius's elder sister, Delilah who isn't pleased to see Antonia again. Antonia is a companion to an eccentric lady, who allows her to bring along her son. Lady Talbot, her brother, Antonia and her son are staying in Blackhaven to take the waters. Antonia's brother-in-law is a malevolent presence and she doesn't like Tim's friend, Mr Dunnett either.

There is intrigue with suggled horses and rifles before Julius and Anthony are able to find out who initially betrayed them and why. I liked the story and the twins were delightful.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

If this first book is anything to go by this should be a very enjoyable series. Each of the Vales is so different, I can't wait to find out what happens in each of their stories. If you've read enough historical romance you know there was some big plot that kept Julius and Antonia apart when they were young. I was so glad the author didn't do what so many others do and wait forever for the characters to talk and discover what happened to keep them apart. There are a few false starts here - I kept thinking they were going to tell one another the story from their perspective only for them to get interrupted. I was also so glad that each character accepted the truth of what they were told and started to put that past behind them. I wasn't 100% sure why Antonia's parents agreed to break them up and turn her over to Macy with such an awful wedding contract. Another part I didn't understand was why Antonia didn't tell Julius about the threats that were making her leave him in favor of Dunnett. I know she was worried about what Timothy would do to Edward, but if she really didn't want to break Julius's heart why didn't she tell him why she had to break their almost-engagement? And although she does redeem herself before the end of the story, I was still so mad at her for her part in Timothy & Dunnett's plans. The side story involving the smugglers added a little extra intrigue and ended up pulling everything together by the end. That ending also gave Antonia the chance to feel like she wasn't just letting things happen to her and that she was starting to take some control again. Her reunion with Julius at that part was a nice bit of levity after the events of the previous chapters. I am very much looking forward to the next book - partly for the romance and partly to see what the twins get up to next!

It’s an excellent romance book.
It has different twists and turns, some suspense and strong, loyal and loving main characters. I did not want to put the book down until the end. If you like strong independent ladies and brave and handsome gentlemen this is the book for you. I recommend this book to anyone who likes romance and adventure.