Question for Readers: Esther is dear to my heart - what did you think of her? I find that readers who have struggled with grief, depression, etc., are those that connect with her the most. ❤🩹🫂
@@AuthorSallyBritton We all change during our lives. Cappies grow into wonderful, caring people in the latter part of their lives :) I would love to get to know her at 40 :)
I was surprised by how much I liked her - no - I loved her! I really have no patience at all for the "poor pitiful me" type of characters - but the way she is written made her endearing - and I don't know why... all the way through the book, I was like, why don't I hate this girl? But you, I don't know, made her speak to my heart - it's so hard to explain - but I felt for her, even cried for her, I loved her - lol.
I have dealt with those things but I’m afraid I don’t warm up to Esther as much as I have those in others of your books. She takes offense at the drop of a hat. Not sure I’m going to finish this one without skipping through much of it. Maybe she’ll grow up some.
Living on a fixed income with horrifically rising costs makes it impossible for me to pay for extras. Being able to listen to these brilliantly written books feels like being given a gift that takes several hours to open and enjoy. May the peace of the Goddess be ever in your heart.
I am so thankful to this Author. I Loved this book. It was so nice to listen to this book minus all the sex and foul language. To top it off free to us who are suffering through inflation as well as post covid. God Bless You!!!
Listening to this is a treat for me this valentines day, with a great meal, plus dessert as I settle in (my partner is working late, so 💃🏾'I am my valentines date,' and this is my treat. ❤
Temporally disabled, I felt so guilty just sitting around while waiting for a series of surgeries. Discovering this author and her wonderful characters, has enriched my life. I do different crafts and needlework while I listen, and have joy and a sense of accomplishment. Once I’m through my surgeries and physical therapy, I’ll still listen while I work. I’ve cancelled television forever. Thank you for the gift of such great entertainment!
I am so glad my stories could help you through that. :-) More and more of my author friends are interested in putting their audiobooks on RU-vid. I hope there will be entire libraries available soon!
I’ve done the same thing when my parents died. I wasn’t able to draw or do anything that brought me joy. But when you have a strong spirt in time with the help of God and others that love you, you come back to your real self. Keep writing this way Is extremely beautiful. Thank you!
I really enjoyed the narrator. Her soft and calm voice perfectly fits the story and the kind and gentle Esther. Thank you for uploading this audiobook.
Sally Britton is one of my absolute favorite authors! She writes beautiful stories that captivate and entertain, with appealing characters and low-angst for the reader. I can always count on Sally for a fun escape! Loved this series! (THANK YOU for sharing the audiobook, Sally! ♥️)
What a powerful story. This is my second time listening. I saw so much of myself in Esther, that I read all night, and cried through most of it. Now that i am a widow, my family thinks they know best what i need and want. Thank you, i needed that night of tears. I feel stronger now.
I'm sorry for your loss. Truly. Losing the other half of our heart - I can't imagine it. It's strange that people think we revert to someone who needs direction when a change like that happens. As though you're not an adult and haven't made your own decisions for years and years without them. I hope you find the strength and peace you need to carry on. I'm grateful Esther could help.
I like Esther the most of all of Britton's heroines so far. She has realistic emotions, both good and bad, she feels like a real person. I enjoyed this story.
I enjoyed the book and the lovely narration. I have felt alone and lonely in a crowd like Esther… especially in my childhood. As I grew older and learned more about myself and to trust my husband’s love … I realized it was all self pity and low self esteem. Frankly Esther was annoying at times but then so was Silas. Constant self doubt and mistrust of those that love us is tantamount to self sabotage. I’m glad Esther and I finally figured out how to love ourselves and trust others to do the same. Thanks Sally.
Sally Britton books combined with narration by Marian Hussey = unbeatable entertainment. Absolutely brilliant 👏 The characters always seem to pull at my heart strings and oddly, though set in the early 1800's, mirror many of my own obstacles I'm faced with in life.
What a powerful story! One of your very best. I loved the angst and the tenderness. Thank you for the happy ending. The narrator did a great job with different male and female characters and emotions.
So glad I discovered this series! Honestly I like them better than most of the Regency novels by MC Beaton that I paid for on Audible! The plots do not drag, excellent narration with no vulgar language or graphic sex. A big thanks to this talented author. You definitely deserve more views! 🎉💛
I have been binging so many of Sally Britton's stories, my mind thinks like Marian Hussy's voice! Except for some oddly worded emails, stilted as though I were in Recency England, I am enjoying everything about these stories!
I'm so happy to find your audio books! I had Eye surgery and have had to lay face down for 10 days. What a blessing to find these books. I will continue listening when I am recovered 🥰🙌
I hope you have a smooth recovery! Audiobooks have saved me many times, through illness and other points in life when reading physical books was impossible.
Thank you for this beautiful story. I identified so much with Esther and have struggled with similar challenges as she did. I just wish I had found someone like Silas. Thank you for sharing this. God bless you 🙏💜
WOWWWW!!!! I have love it all through!!! What a complex, beautiful and REAL character Esther is! Congrats Sally for your amazing talent as a writer, you are brilliant! and thanks so much for your generosity in sharing this literary gem with us.
I have lost both my parents my grandmother and just two months ago my younger brother I understand how that grief can weigh on your heart and soul this is a sweet story
Loved this 📚. Loved the narrator..Esther is a beautiful talented woman. Grief is a terrible thing, but if you have someone to help you through it, it seems easier.❤
God, I've been sitting at work trying not to cry. I've felt such a connection with the emotions this book made me feel. Thank you so much for writing this.
As many others I also relate to Esther. That feeling not feeling wanted by others is horrible to live with and hard to get others to really understand. Thank you for uploading this audiobook
I have read all of the books in this series. I am very grateful that you put them on RU-vid! I love listening to them while gardening & on long car trips. My husband and I cross several states to go visit our Son & his family….this is such a wonderful treat to revisit these books through RU-vid.
This was such a touching book. So well written. Honestly I think that if I hadn't been through deep grief a couple years ago I wouldn't have grasped how realistic this was. Thank you for sharing such talent and emotions miss Britton.
Being left behind is the story of my life. Maybe that's why I didn't find this story depressing at all. I very much related to Easter and was happy that she found love and acceptance in the end. These books are so wonderful in so many ways, thank you from the very bottom of my heart.
A beautiful book, such character growth in the main characters. I can’t say enough good things about this book and the whole series. I’ve read all the books and can’t wait to listen through all of them as well. Such a lovely author note as well, this book touched my heart. ❤️❤️
So enjoyed listening. Sally Britton writes the most sensitive, lovely stories with great understanding of the regency period as well as an understanding of the delicate tugging of heartstrings. I'm very glad, I've "accidentally" found this channel. Can't wait to start part two of Lord Inglewood. ❤
I love this story and understand Esther's frustrations as she goes thru life feeling alone and struggling with loss after loss. Awesome story and was written and read in such a way that I was drawn into the story completely. Thank you
Thanks for listening. Esther is such a complex character. I felt like I was telling the story of a lot of my female friends while writing her. I'm so glad you loved the story.
Thanks for this book... I loved this book on the re-read, but it made me thankful for living in this time period where I'm allowed a LOT more freedom. Sure, I'll never be forced to marry my brother's best friend like Esther but hey, my sister already married him, and sadly, my brother doesn't seem to have a second best friend for me. I felt for Esther. She is 20-years old and living with her stepbrother and his wife in London. Her parents are dead and her older brother decided to go join the Napoleonic wars even though everyone thought he should stay at home. Esther is observant and watches. Which means, when a rope frays while workers are hoisting a heavy statue, she runs to save a man who obliviously is walking in the danger zone. While the man (who turns out to be her brother's best friend) is thankful for her saving his life, the ton starts to gossip that she lay atop him for quite a while out in public. Sure, she was knocked out and unconscious, but how scandalous! And Silas, after another event, decides he's going to marry her and makes it happen. And doesn't think to ask her or consult her about what she wants. And that's one of the times I cried in this book. She's so used to be shuttled around as if she doesn’t have any opinions of her life. She has no agency in this and it’s rough to see him make choices for her and her to feel like this is just the ordinary part of her life (though she’s not happy about that). This is a pretty short book. While we get to see Silas realize his fault in this and we get to see Esther grow into her worth, both of those happen pretty quickly in the book once they happen. I would have liked to see them both grow and change over time. But, it’s still satisfying to see. I love that Silas tries (even if he’s being mostly a dodo at the time) by writing letters to her while they’re separated. And I love that Esther sends him back paintings as clues to how she really feels. There are some fun family friends in this as well as a kinda villain that gets his own book and redemption story later. Once again, this book is REALLY light on that part and stays very much on the surface. On the re-read, I listened to the audiobook and I feel like the narrator was very easy to listen to and created voices that were distinct for each character. Lovely book and I highly recommend. Safety deets - HEA… they are married and have declared their love. But we get no glimpse of their future. There are no epilogues. However, this is part of a longer series and as you get into the other characters’ love stories, you do get to see this couple again happy and together. - No OW. Silas hasn’t even looked at any other woman. He’s been too busy. And once he sees his best friend’s sister all grown up, he’s very interested in her and her alone. There is a small amount of jealousy on her part when he’s talking to another woman during the time he’s trying to figure out how much gossip is getting out about their incident, but there’s no bad behavior on his part. - No OM. Esther isn’t interested in anyone else… but there is a man that comes to visit her a lot and it’s pretty obvious that he wants to start an affair with her. I appreciated that Silas didn’t suspect her and that didn’t become dramatic in their relationship. But he does warn the man off. - Consent is questionable… I mean, she’s not even asked whether she wants to get married or when she wants to get married. But Silas doesn’t pressure her for sex once they are married… but waits until they are both in love before more intimacy. Any sex happens after the book ends cause the story ends really close to when their declare their love for each other.
I read this book a while back, and found your channel recently. I have to admit that I struggled while reading it. I did enjoy it, and I do suffer from anxiety and depression, however I haven't suffered similar experiences to her, as you said, perhaps this why I struggled while reading it. I'm so sorry to hear you went undiagnosed from your depression 😔 but I'm glad not anymore. It doesn't make the depression go away, but knowing about it helps, in my opinion. At least for me it's good to know that it's just an illness in my body, and that maybe tomorrow will be better day. I came to this video just to hear your author's note after listening to another book of yours. I really wanted to understand better the characters and the story, and your note helped a lot, and helped me appreciate the story more. While reading the book, I felt myself suffering along with her. While I couldn't relate to the particular things she was experiencing, I did empathize and I felt her pain and anxiety deeply. I think that may be why I didn't enjoy it as much. But I am also glad that books like this exist. All of us experience different things, and we deserve to have characters we can identify with. Just last year I read a book that touched me deeply, as I related to each and every aspect of the main character. I felt as if it was me in the pages. Then I was surprised to read many reviews of people who didn't enjoy it, who found the character annoying or frustrating or just disliked her. That made me all the more thankful to that author who had taken the risk to write about a charcater who would be disliked by some, just so a few could find a heroine like themselves. So even if I can't relate to Esther, I'm grateful you wrote a character so many have been able to identify with 💚💚💚💚💚 and thank you for your author's notes that helps us as readers to understand better
This is one of the most thoughtful, kind, understanding comments I've read on one of my audiobooks. Thank you for taking the extra time to listen, process, and understand Esther and those who love her. I truly appreciate it.
Ok I'm late to reading this series. But I think I like Lord Neil lol 😂 He strikes me as someone who understands depression and grief but also likes jabbing Lord Inglewood.
I have enjoyed listening to this delightful story. Thank you. South Australia 🇦🇺. I too suffer depression and these stories help me sleep at night . 18.10.22. 📚📚🙋♀️🙋♀️⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Awesome! Thank you! And I tried SO HARD to make sure the books could stand alone, so there should be minimal spoilers even out of order. :-) I'm glad you loved this one!
Thank You for sharing your books. This is the first one I have listened but I will definitely listen to the rest of them. I loved Esther, I found her human, not more and not less. Besides, I thought she was a great human being trying to do the best she could in every situation. I hope my message is clear, English is not my mother tongue. Thanks again❤
I'm so glad! I've been creating the audio author's notes as I get ready to upload, revisiting the characters and books a little before I record my thoughts. I really do love Esther.
Wonderful story. I had read this sometime ago. I appreciate your authors notes. As someone who has had much loss, depression, anxiety and trauma, Esther reacts the way many have. Everyone greaves differently. There are those who laugh in grief. So many keep it bottled up inside. I do that more now as I’m older. Keep it more inside. But your story was wonderful! Looking forward to the next one. Thank you Sally, again for your beautiful storytelling abilities! You bless this heart of mine! ❤📖📖❤️ I have always felt like I was looking through a window on the outside of my home or family. I told my daughter that I’m a misfit person…I don’t fit anywhere! Like the misfit toys from the Christmas movie. So your story I can relate!
I think a lot of people feel out of place, or left behind. I love when those people find each other, though, because they make the best of friends. Thank you for your kind comment.
I could easily understand Esther, because about 15 years ago, for the next 8-9 years, i was in her shoes. I especially related to her character in terms of painting. Im an artist as well, and there was a lowest period in my life, when i wanted to burn all of my work too. I felt useless, taken for granted and incomplete. Thankfully this is no longer the case today. This was a wonderful story, i throughly enjoyed it. In fact, the Inglewood series has been my favourite series so far.
I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'm so glad you made it out to the other side. Creative people can't create when they're in those periods. I hope you continue to create beautiful things. :-)
I loved the story so much and the narrator is awesome. This story with that voice made me cry in two instances. I hope i love the other stories of your's. Moving on to discovering grace...
When people have had a smooth life, no abuse, no poverty, no losses, they can't understand, & I think they purposely don't want to understand, what it's like to suffer from depression & lack of emotional control. Thank You for the story & it's my hope & prayer that depression is in your past, & not in any of your future. ☮️💞🙏
Thank you for wanting me to be 'seen.' That strikes a warm note. What a heart tugging, lovely story. Esther is a beautiful woman who deserves the best life has to offer. Overcoming hardships such as hers gives hope to one that understands all too well the sense of aloneness she faced. Listening to this novel the second time around is more enjoyable than the first. Due to my Sally Britton playlist I possessed the information needed to watch your video on this title beforehand, and appreciate your insight to weather setting the mood for a particular scene; thank you for the heads up. I cannot wait to start the next book in this series. Thank you for another beautiful journey. Kudos to you, again, and again, my new favorite author. 🌷🌷🌷
Your words are so kind. Thank you for sharing them. I agree that so often we overlook people, or when we feel overlooked and lone, we just need that one person to really SEE us.
What I find odd is that the heroine hasn't bothered to ask the staff at the estate about the apparent constant trespassing of the oily neighbour and have the groundkeeper hunt him off if necessary
Given that Neil's father outranks Esther's husband, "running him off" isn't something she can really do without risking giving offense to someone her husband is connected to politically. Of course, Silas would be fine with it if she did, but she doesn't know that yet. So she's "playing the game" that noblewomen had to play, sadly.
@@AuthorSallyBritton 🥰 yes and unfortunately for Esther she was not brought up to be a higher ranking noblewoman & was very sheltered ( I am sure many gentle & very ignorant ladies found themselves in a very similar situation in the real Regency era and with not such young or decent husbands)
Wonderful story. So heart-warming. Such a great ending. I started with discovering Grace !! But. I have sorted out your books in order now. Looking forward to extra joy that this talented author produces .WCL
I wish I would have know how sad it was going to be most of the time I had shed so much tears you would have thought I was in morning. I can't handle these kind of books
@@AuthorSallyBritton I knew Isaac would return before he was reported dead & I was sure there would be a mix up with him & someone else...I can sortof predict these things so rarely does a book catch me off guard (but those are delightful when they do)
I love this book. Your characters are so well defined. I have listened to this book for the second time and still enjoyed it immensely. This was the first audio book of the Regency era that I have listened to (excluding Jane Austin’s books) and have led me to search for more books of that era. I also like the narrator of the book (and narrators of your other books). Keep up the good work and wish you all the success.😊
Goodness, thank you! I am delighted you found me. If you are ever looking for more suggestions, Mindy Strunk, Martha Keyes, Ashtyn Newbold, Deborah Hathaway, Sarah Eden, Arlem Hawks, and Megan Walker are all delightful authors of Regency romance. Mindy is even starting her own RU-vid audiobook channel!
In answer to your question Sally, I can totally relate to the feeling of being abandoned, alone, being talked about in third person even when I'm in the room..., Pain deep inside. I totally relate with her. I'm not as lucky as her in the end.
I'm sorry you've been through that. My hope is that this book helped you feel seen. There are many of us who have been through this. You're not alone. *hugs*
@@AuthorSallyBritton Thank you. You are kind. Its life, I was not complaining, just saying why I understood Esther. My God Sees me, and that is enough. 💕
This was a beautiful story, filled with growing change, honesty and falling in love, and a surprise all I can say is, there’s gonna be haters and people that are negative and just know that manifesting positive and knowing that you’ve done a great thing for many people it is much appreciated I disagree that she is a selfish at all. She is a young woman and a very hard time and I think you do a beautiful job of bringing out her true person and the people around her with understanding him becoming mature if anybody is to be a little hesitant, it would be Hope and her actions but understandable is that as well keep up the good work love the inspiration of your bucks.
I think this one is my favourite so far. And I do relate to the female MC because l too suffer from PTSD, abandonement issues, and a little stress and anxiety as cherry on the top.
Yes. There really is a hard divide between the readers who understand Esther and those who cannot stand her. The reviews on GoodReads are very strongly worded on both sides. I think those of us who have been there can relate to her character. Virtual hugs to you. You're not alone.
Loved Silas in this book, felt he had more of a character change and really thought about his actions and set about trying to rectifing them.. i felt out of Silas and Esther, silas was more committed to makkng the marriage work. Thar being said although i found Esthers negitivity and maladaptive thought process a tad annoying i could also relate to her feeling unwanted and an afterthought . Overall a very good story and hope to see how they get on in the next book 😊
1:47:51 - I am really liking this book so far. The story feels thoughtful, but thoughtful in a way that is organic to the characters - like the characters are propelling the direction of the storyline, not the author. I like this kind of book best of all! :) 6:07:42 spoiler - at times I felt Esther was so immature and had a poor pitiful me attitude... But here - where she's throwing all her paintings away broke my heart for her. I am crying for her. and the narration is so emotionally beautiful. 7:48:48 - OH! Hurray! I love how Silas stood up for Esther against her brother! It made me want to jump up and cheer! awwww what a sweet ending! I really enjoyed this book. At first Esther was a bit annoying, but the more the story went on, I felt so deeply for her and her exclusion from the group of friends - but Silas turned into such a fantastic husband - it just gave me all kinds of warm feel goods! This was a really good book and I loved getting to know the characters. I started listening to this series out of order, I'm guessing... I started listening to Discovering Grace, right after listening to A Haunting of Inglewood, which I loved, then went to the one about Grace and it felt so jarring - because Grace was portrayed as a snobby spoiled boring woman. In this book, Grace is better developed. and it will be easier to listen to the one about Grace now.... it really helps, I think, to listen to them in order. Anyway - loved this book - it was such a sweet story :)
The scene where she throws out her paintings is inspired by something I witnessed someone do in real life, while grieving. It broke me when I witnessed it, at a young age. It's stayed with me all my life.
Is it just me or does anyone else feel sorry for Cyrus. He tries so hard to be attentive & thoughtful to Esther but all his efforts meet with anger & resentment. Hopefully his wife wakes up to what she has.
I really enjoyed this book. I had to check few times as I was listening to it if it was you who wrote that book. It was a little different to the ones I listened to before, however it was brilliant nonetheless. I also would like to add that the narrator did a marvelous job! So many different voices and she remembered which one goes with whom! Ha ha ha. It was truly enjoyable. Thank you so much for writing such a lovely story and choosing such a great narrator. 💜💙💚💛🧡
I have a different flavor in each series, don't I? Clairvoir is my gentle romance series, the westerns are heavy on describing the land and time in which they're set, and this series is more serious than the others. It keeps things fresh and interesting for me. :-)
Thank you for writing this marvelous book. I could identify with Esther, as well, and appreciate your character development. A sister Oklahoman :) Off to listen to the second book …
Esther seems a very clear case of someone struggling with impulse control following a head injury. I was surprised that wasn't intentional on the author's part.
You're not the first person to mention that, either. I think I personally have such a problem with looking before I leap that it transferred to the character quite naturally. 😅 But maybe the unintentional explanation of her head causing the problem works just as well.
Hi. I see that you put book one on the video but not with the description. I try not to read the comments first but on my laptop it shows part of one comment, which lead me to believe I was reading a series, so I read the whole comment and had to go online to search for a series list. Not to tell you what to do, but as a suggestion, it would be so helpful for the series title and book number to be included in the title not just on the "video screen" so that as we are suggested books down the side of the one we are listening to we can see the number and select it. Unfortunately as it is, I thought they were stand alones and started a different book first and it will look weird on your algorith, like someone didn't like it enough to finish. I love clean regency books!! I am SO very excited to find these books! Thank you so much for sharing them with us 💖
Thank you for the advice! I'm new to all of the RU-vid fun. It's actually quite common for people to read my books out of order, as they are made to stand-alone as much as possible, even when they are clearly labeled as book 4/6 in a series. But making things easier for my readers is absolutely a priority. I'm glad you found me! Happy listening!
@@AuthorSallyBritton Thanks for making it free to hear your books. I end up buying them and recommending them. It's a good business model, seems like. Yay!
This was my second time through the story, first time listening. I loved it again :) made my dish cleaning so much more enjoyable! Thank you! I have a question. Esther seems so nice and you start the book with her trying to befriend another girl, why didn't she gain any friends from finishing school or some other means? Is there no niece or nephew from her step brother for her to love and be loved by? Is it have to do with part of the history or culture of the time that I don't understand?
The thing is, Esther DOES have friends. Friends she would have liked to stay with when Silas and her step-brother decide to pack her off. She hasn't had much of an opportunity to make really close friends, though, because of how often she gets moved around at the whims of her family. I think she loves her nieces and nephews. In this story, though, my goal was to help the reader understand that Esther feels very alone, overlooked, and lonely. :-( She wants a place to belong, a position that is hers alone. By the end of the story, she's found that. I think readers get to see how well she's doing in the 4th book in the series. :-)
I love your books. The characters and behaviours are really explored and I love to listen to them. I have just one or two comments which I hope you do not take as criticism. The vocabulary you use is quaint and has been used with care. From a UK English point of view, however, gotten is not the past participle ‘got’ is correct. I do not think in 1814 a small rowing boat would have been referred to as a dinghy, although I understand the word has been borrowed from Indian origins and Great Britain was in that period trading with India. In one of your other books you referred to biscuits by both cookies and biscuits. In Britain historically these were biscuits. Thank you for posting your books.
Oh, I LOVE the history of words! Thank you for this comment. Let me share with you my findings. I've certainly made mistakes in the past, but I'm thrilled when I get to dive in and do deeper research. Let's first note that historians and editors alike agree that when a word appears in print for the first time it has most likely been used for up to twenty years prior. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, which I use religiously when I write, the following is true: Gotten: It's actually period-appropriate and has been used in the British Isles since Middle-English was common. While it is used more often by Americans today, it's a hold-over from when the British controlled the 13 Colonies. We didn't make it up. We kept it. British people moved on from it. Much like "Merry Christmas." It actually appears in a grammar instruction manual published in 1807 by a London publisher as the correct past-participle for "get." The author is William Turner and you can look it up in Google Books. The grammar exercises in his book are fascinating. Dinghy: Earliest appearance in print is 1818 in the book "Adventures of Johnny Newcome" which was published in Britain. (A small rowing boat or (later also) a similar vessel propelled by other means, frequently an outboard motor; esp. (a) a small boat carried on board, or towed behind, a larger vessel (such as a man-of-war, merchant ship, or yacht) for use as a lifeboat or tender) Cookies vs. Biscuits: This is a matter of how certain things were cooked. I absolutely refer to both, because both existed in Britain at the time. Of course, biscuits are what Americans call "cookies," but only one variety. I likely didn't point out what was being consumed, but "cookies" were a popular sort of small cake in Scotland and enjoyed by one of the King George's on his birthday (cannot remember which George at present, though it wasn't the 3rd). My research indicates that British Isle "cookies" were similar to chocolate-chip-cookies in terms of texture, and often included things like raisins and caraway seeds.
I'm hoping you found it! If you click my name on the video, it will take you to my channel, and all my books are there. Book two is called Discovering Grace.
