The Elusive Miss Ellison

Miller, Carolyn

Feb 2017 · Regency Brides: A Legacy of Grace Book 1 · Kregel Publications

About this ebook

"Handsome appearance counts for naught unless matched by good character and actions."  

That's the firm opinion of not-so-meek minister's daughter Lavinia Ellison. So even though all the other villagers of St. Hampton Heath are swooning over the newly returned seventh Earl of Hawkesbury, she is not impressed. If a man won't take his responsibilities seriously and help those who are supposed to be able to depend on him, he deserves no respect from her. In Lavinia's pretty, gray eyes, Nicholas Stamford is just as arrogant and reckless as his brother--who stole the most important person in Livvie's world.

Nicholas is weighed down by his own guilt and responsibility, by the pain his careless brother caused, and by the legacy of war he's just left. This quick visit home to St. Hampton Heath will be just long enough to ease a small part of that burden. Asking him to bother with the lives of the villagers when there's already a bailiff on the job is simply too much to expect. 

That is, until the hoydenish, intelligent, and very opinionated Miss Ellison challenges him to see past his pain and pride. With her angelic voice in his head, he may even be beginning to care. But his isn't the only heart that needs to change.

These two lonely hearts may each have something the other needs. But with society's opposition, ancestral obligations, and a shocking family secret, there may be too many obstacles in their way.

Fans of Georgette Heyer, Lori Wick, and Julie Klassen will enjoy the spirited exchanges between the bluestocking minister's daughter and the bruised war hero as they move past pride and presumption to a humbled appreciation of God's grace and the true strength of love.

Ratings and reviews

This book has a tremendous amount of religious overtones. The author is obviously a devout Catholic and felt the need to preach to her readers to the point where I was seriously considering not finishing it. It is a lovely story but I felt like I was in church listening to the priest drone on and on. I couldn't get through two or three pages before the author started preaching again. It is most definitely not a book for anyone who is not very, very Catholic. I really would love to read more of her books but I simply can't take another lesson in Catholicism. I've read Regency romance novels with religious overtones, but I've never read a romance novel that is so cleanly bent on cramming religion down the reader's throat. It really was surreal

I loved this story by Carolyn Miller! It transports you back to the Regency period that so many of us love and adore after reading books by Jane Austin. When the seventh Earl of Hawkesbury returns to the village after being gone for fourteen years many of the town folks are excited and impressed by him, but Lavinia Ellison finds his mannerisms off putting. They soon develop a witty banter when they see one another, but both of them soon feel led by the Lord to find neutral ground and make peace while finding similar interest and causes. The more they are around one another the more they both realize how they have misjudged each other and their feelings soon change, but being from different stations in society makes their relationship uncertain. I was given an ARC from the author/publisher. All conclusions are mine and mine alone.

I really loved reading the first book until this series by Carolyn Miller. I've read all 3 books in 2 days. I haven't been able to put them down!

About the author

Carolyn Miller lives in New South Wales, Australia, with her husband and four children. A longtime lover of Regency romance, Carolyn’s novels have won a number of RWA and ACFW contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers.