REVIEW: The House on Blackberry Hill by Donna Alward

The House on Blackberry Hill by Donna Alward: Abby Foster was so alone in the world it was frightening. Her parents split up, her father passed away. Her mother was always too busy to really raise her and then when Abby was fifteen she passed away as well so Abby was sent to her last remaining relative, her Grandmother. Then she too passed away. So when several years later she learns that she had a great aunt, who was an heiress, and she has now passed away leaving her estate solely to her, Abby was a little upset to say the least.

Tom Arseneault had his fair share of heartaches and was still suffering from the last one, or maybe from the guilt of who she was, either way he was suffering and didn’t want much to do with people. He did want her though, and by her the House on Blackberry Hill. He wanted to do the work the historic beauty and when he got word there was finally an owner who was willing to do the work he knew he had to be the one to do it.

Tom and Abby’s first meeting really wasn’t the way either one of them would have liked but somehow they connected. The house brings out something in them that neither of them can really explain, but they end up exposing more of their own secrets every time they expose more of her’s. The bigger question is when the house is done and her story has been told what will happen to Tom and Abby are their own secret pasts ever going to be fully revealed so they can move to the future or will they both continue to be control by their pasts?

Ms. Alward has gone into a completely emotional place in this novel. Not only is there the romance blooming between Tom and Abby, there is the history of the house and Edith, not to mention Tom’s guilt laying heavy in the cove. This story is one that covers almost every range of emotions and should be read with a box of tissues and perhaps and adult beverage as it sweeps through like a summer’s storm. The only two issues with this story are getting so wrapped up in the story you won’t want to put it down and the teaser for the next story at the end… when is the next one coming out?

Book Info:

Published April 29th 2014 by St. Martin’s Paperbacks

When a young woman inherits a rundown mansion, the last thing she expects to find is the key to her heart…

Abby Foster is a fish out of water in the Maine coastal town of Jewell Cove. The crumbling Foster estate, left to her by a relative she never even knew, has everyone’s eyes on her—an eerie reminder of the long-buried family secrets that have haunted her…forever. Single, stunning, and sometimes too strong-willed for her own good, Abby’s plan is to sell the house and hightail it back to Nova Scotia. But another part of her is intrigued by the idea of starting over somewhere new—and finally learning the truth about her heritage.

The House On Blackberry Hill

Enter Tom Arseneault. The best contractor in Jewell Cove, Tom is determined to restore the beauty and prestige of the Foster mansion—and maybe even work his charms on its beautiful new heir. The attraction between him and Abby is undeniable, and the more time Tom spends on the house the more he wants to be in it with her. But Abby’s not sure she can trust him—or anyone in Jewell Cove who seems to know more about her family history than she does. Home: Is it really where the heart is after all?