After the Shadows + Giveaway

A brighter future awaits — if she can escape the shadows of the past.

Emily Leland sheds no tears when her abusive husband is killed in a bar fight, but what awaits her back home in Sweetwater Crossing is far from the welcome and comfort she expected. First she discovers her father has died under mysterious circumstances. Then the house where the handsome new schoolteacher, Craig Ferguson, and his son are supposed to board burns, leaving them homeless. When Emily proposes turning the family home into a boardinghouse, her sister is so incensed that she leaves town.

Along and broke, her family name sullied by controversy, Emily is determined to solve the mystery of her father’s death — and to aid Craig, despite her fears of men. The widowed schoolmaster proves to be a devoted father, an innovative teacher, and an unexpected ally. As they work to uncover the truth, they just may find the key to unlock a future neither could have imagined.

My Review:

This book is all about relationships — in a fractured family, between old friends…and new, and in a romance that promises hope after a long stretch of hardship. Cabot has captured the essence of frontier life with all its complexities and threw in a mystery to liven things up even more!

I ached for Emily from the very first page. After enduring a horrific marriage she returns home only to find so many devastating changes. I felt as overwhelmed as she did, but this lady has grit and a stubborn streak that just won’t give up. Plus she has innate kindness and a propensity for compassion that has her reaching out, despite her circumstances.

Soon her life is filled with the unexpected when she opens her family’s large home to boarders. Some of them are wonderful surprises –like the new school teacher and his son, who go a long way towards easing Emily’s fear of men and others are…well blood pressure rising nasty and I won’t say more — you’ll meet them soon enough. 🙂

This is very much a character-driven story where we get to really know not only the hero and heroine but some key secondary characters as well. I really felt as if I was one of Emily’s boarders with a ringside seat on all the happenings. I love when I feel that involved in a story!

Then there’s the ever present mystery that grows slowly as the story progresses. I wouldn’t classify this as a mystery read — more like a Historical Romance with a mystery element. It develops gradually, and I’ll admit to figuring it out by the half way mark. Which just made it deliciously frustrating while I waited for Emily and Craig to catch up. 🙂

A compelling adventure in the Texas Hill Country that kept me enthralled to the very end.

Book provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

This giveaway is for a paperback copy.

If you would like a chance to win a copy of After the Shadows, leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoread AT yahoo DOT ca. If you add an email to your comment, remember to use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in order to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email, please add the title to the subject line so it’s easy to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Saturday April 15, 2023. Offer open to International Readers.

32 thoughts on “After the Shadows + Giveaway”

  5. I am not familiar with that author but your review makes me want to!! That sounds really good. Reminds me a little of a Cathy Gohlke book. Thanks for the chance!

    Obertam at gmail dot com

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  6. Love the cover! The driveway seems to open up not only to the mansion, but to so many possibilities as to where the story may care the reader. I’d love to explore them all along side Emily. “After the Shadows” sounds like an absolutely fabulous, can’t put down book that would have me being that fly on the wall. Sounds exactly my kind of book.

    Thank you for the chance to win a copy!
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  7. So, I am not the only one who had originally thought it might be a Regency, based on the cover. But I knew that wouldn’t fit her usual releases. Enjoyed your review! Chiming in only.

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    1. That cover is certainly deceptive. I was disappointed at first, but then I got into the story and I didn’t mind my visit to the Texas Hill Country. 🙂 Happy to have you chiming in, CC!

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  10. It’s been awhile since I’ve read a book by Amanda Cabot but this one sounds like it will be one I’ll really enjoy.

    pmkellogg56[at]gmail[dot]com

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  12. Since I’ve only recently started reading historical romances, this will be another new author to try! Thank you for the review, sounds good!

    Sandyavery at comcast dot net

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