Could the beloved retired housekeeper in another story be Gideon's natural mother?

❤❤❤

Another beautiful story you have written! Thank you! So many regency romances (clean ones- I can’t vouch for others) are just brain candy and leave nothing substantial afterwards. Your books contain beautiful messages that are worth savoring and internalizing. Thank you for making these available 😊

Wow love your writing I can tell your research really made this story a great read thank you❤

Oh excellent I am back for a second listening yes looking forward to the journey again

I've enjoyed several of M. A. Nichols's books, but I'd give this one a miss if you value chastity. Firstly, there were attempted debauchery/rape scenes in flashbacks, which have way too much information in them. Rape fantasy is a common form of lust for women, and I don't want it in a "clean" book. Maybe the author thought she was just showing us how bad it was, but what she's done is given us all the gross details to elicit lust. If you've got to include it in a book, less is more: you can powerfully show us the shame and terror on the receiving end, without showing any of the bodily details. As soon as you've made us voyeurs of it, with all the carnal body-touching-body details, you've ruined whatever lesson you meant to be showing. Secondly, partway through she ruins her main heroine by having her decide to randomly ruin her own reputation. It doesn't work with the character's age and background, though: if she were a stupid 15-year-old, I'd cut her some slack, but if I remember correctly, she's 24! She deliberately chooses to let a foul and licentious man start to make out with her, flirting with him and inviting him into a room with her, and she doesn't even start to freak out when he takes her hair down and is touching her and messing up her clothes. I just don't believe it: even if she doesn't know that this man tried to rape her friend, she does know that he "compromised" her friend. She's not in love with this man; what sort of virgin who hasn't been touched by a man, lets some random man make out with her? I can see a debauched girl who has lost her sense of her own value, and has had lots of men kiss her, doing this, but I cannot imagine a virgin allowing herself to be groped like this for some really, really stupid and naive idea that she'll have "freedom" by doing so. She doesn't evince any sense of panic or dirtiness from it; she's annoyed that she gets interrupted! This is unbelievable. Her selfishness and willful adolescent blindness does not suit the character created. Then, even worse, when that doesn't work, she decides to come on to her oldest friend who's in love with her, so that she can ruin her own reputation by being seen kissing him, and getting HIM blamed for the state of her clothes and hair. I cannot imagine the vicious selfishness in her that would do this to a guy, as if it's okay for him to be seen kissing a girl with her hair down and her clothes all mussed up -- what about HIS feelings? What are people now going to say about HIM, forever after? I realise that part of the story is that she's selfish, but when someone is that deliberately stupid and selfish when the circumstances haven't earned it, I lose my suspension of disbelief. She does not deserve ANY man at the moment; there wasn't sufficient lead-up beforehand to make this believable, nor sufficient pain and repentance afterwards. She's acting like a prostitute, and I mean that in the clinical sense rather than as a slur: she's already at the point of being very nearly in love with another man, yet she has no value for the sacredness of her own body, no sense of the sacredness of touch between a man and a woman, no sense of revulsion in being groped by a man she doesn't love, and is willing to sexually prey on the man she does love without much sense of guilt or sense that their first kiss should be something special; she's so fixated on using his attraction to give herself a future of "freedom", that she's not holding sacred the possibility of their future together. I. Don't. Buy. It. She doesn't even have the excuse that she was badly treated by men when she was still a child, and doesn't know any better. And unlike girls today (who may be technical virgins but not chaste in their minds), she hasn't watched tons of movies and TV shows of people making out and hopping into bed together to train her brain to want to try to copy it. The sort of woman who has such a lack of values by 24, is the sort who ends up as a courtesan entirely by her own choice. I don't want this sort of woman anywhere near this sweet, good, conscientious man who loves her. M.A. Nichols has written some great books. "A Holiday Engagement" is a great example of a book where both characters need to repent and grow, and it's done really well. I doubt she meant to make this story elicit lust in the reader, but sometimes an author relies on tropes and doesn't think through them enough (the compromise plot), and sometimes an author thinks she has to hammer a point home if we're going to get it, not realising what the negative effect will be on the reader (the lechery & attempted rape plot). Because Nichols's stories have more depth than most, this kind of romance plot done for shock value and lust-value really doesn't mix, and its unbelievability stands out more than it would in a story that was just shamelessly p*rn, and not even trying to be a good book. I wish she'd been more careful about the rape fantasy in this book, and spared us the titillating details. I wish she'd given us a more believable backstory for the main character if she was going to still be so stupid at her age (or have made her younger); if the main character was going to be so naive about being "compromised," she should've been more shocked and frightened by the situation getting out of hand; and if she was going to be so selfishly cruel towards her love, I wish there'd been a more believable fallout afterwards. There was promise there, and it got ruined by a lack of restraint and too much of an appeal to the lust to debauch.

Thank you. I enjoyed listening to all your novels. I hope there will be more.

Beautiful & very satisfying, many thanks for so much enjoyment xx

Listened 31 Jan 2025

👏👏👏👏👏

Great classic. ❤

Listening 29 Jan 2025

I just finished the Ashbrooks series omg I'm so in love with these books

Nicholas wife annoys me

Oh poor Emmeline, she has caused herself such grief. Poor Norman who loves her so.

Refreshing and enjoyable! Beautiful and well written! Thanks so much for sharing, LOVED THIS BOOK💗

Please introduce these characters into another story just to let us know how their lives progress.

I’ve loved all your books. I have listened to all of them several times. It’s wonderful to get to know the characters, and watch them change and grow. I loved this book. I really love to peek into their lives. Well done. I’m looking forward to more.

One of my favourites so far❤

Oh my God.. this is the best book ever. Thank you so much for creating this gem ❤❤. Could you recommend any other books please?

Such a delightful story! Two truly engaging, unique and likeable main characters!

I enjoy listening to all the your novels. I tried to listen by family. I like the way your story link to the previous story characters. I enjoy it a lot. Hopefully you have more stories coming. Thank you.

Very interesting info

Very interesting.

Listened 27 Jan 2025

loved this book!

This is the second time I have listened to this audiobook story. I marvel at the words you used to describe every scene. It's like being truly there! This is one of my top rated books! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Will someone please turn this into a movie!!!

BEYOND FANTASTIC My 46-year-old mother (on this account) is obsessed with your audiobooks😊

Peladillas in Spain Koufeta in Greece Confetto in Italy Dragée in France and colación in México

Amazing, thank you 😊

Madlyn Brolly is the best narrator ever. i totally love her.

I am a huge fan of your many stories, and have thoroughly enjoyed listening to the uplaoded books on KZbin (thank you so much)... but I had to comment on this one especially. It is such a beautiful journey that winds between two very complex characters. The evolution of their personalities and their many different relationships was so enjoyable to follow, though I admit I actually was crying in several parts (sometimes sad and sometimes happy tears 😂). Beautiful work. Thank you! Signed, one tired SAHM who loses herself in your novels via an ear bud ❤

Enjoying the thoughtful insights this book offers. Bookmark 4.32

This should be a movie! That's all i can say! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another lovely story.

❤adore your work. Totally binged on all your content

ONE OF MY FAVORITES!

Brava! 👏👏👏 This book was my companion through a very long & sleepless night. Thank you, thank you, thank you!❤

Just started. I understand “weary”. I’m going to enjoy this novel - I’ll restart it later, too late in the day right now. 😴💤

I stayed up until the wee small hours with this one! Such depth of character! An intricate storyline and a well told tale. Plus a really good narrator! Thank you.

Lucas is Ambrose.and Marys.son.!!!

I really loved it ❤

Love your books. Bless you for giving them to us for free!!💕

One of the best stories I have read. I love these characters.

👏👏👏👏👏

Hi! @m.a.nichols First, this book was phenomenal! I related to Charlotte in so many ways and i hope i find a love like hers! Second, I was wondering if you were going to have the audio done for the book A Light in the Dark, the 5th book in the Ashbrook series? Thank you for sharing your talent!

Really enjoying my 2nd time listening, of Ruby and Conrad's gentle falling in love. I just realised just how lovely each of the delicate 'book cover illustrations ' actually are. They match each book so beautifully. Congratulations on the choices of the art work.

I'm listening to this one a second time. We'll done!! I love this story!

Mrs Webb's last words made me really laugh.

I absolutely love your new book. Thank you so much for posting it on KZbin and sharing your beautiful talent. I love the families and the intricacies of their lives and your weaving of their tales together. Thank you, once again. ♥️♥️♥️