[The Blog of Sid Love & Dreamspinner Press comes together once again to make this Valentine’s Day a special one for you! As DSP releases each of its books in their “A Valentine Rainbow” Anthology, you get to read their reviews right here from us and also get a chance to win them. A whole set of this anthology plus individual books will given away during this event. And all you need to do is leave a comment to every post that is tagged “A Valentine Rainbow Event” as this one. You will also find it on the Home Page. Contest Ends 15th February, 2014]
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Reviewed by Elizabetta
TITLE: Aunt Adeline’s Bequest
SERIES: A Valentine Rainbow
AUTHOR: Amy Rae Durreson
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 51 pages
BLURB: One snowy evening, wounded WWI veteran Jasper Pritchard arrives at Valentine Nugent’s sweet shop with an unusual request. Jasper’s deceased great-aunt has left him a fortune, along with a box of indiscreet letters she wants returned to the writer, and the only clue is a tin sold in Valentine’s shop over twenty years ago. As they search the shop’s records and uncover a love story from long ago, they find far more than the answer to the mystery.
REVIEW:
What a sweet little gem of a story. A gentle Valentine’s Day romance set in sweet shop in 1920’s England. And how wonderful that the main focus isn’t about the hiding and shame of being gay in this era — when one could be imprisoned for ‘unnatural’ relations.
No, the focus is more about the ravages of war. It’s just after the end of WWI, the ‘war to end all wars’ and Jasper Pritchard is a veteran who has suffered terrible injuries that have left him disfigured. His just deceased Aunt Adeline has left him an inheritance which includes a mystery surrounding earthy love letters stored in a distinctive sweet shop tin.
Valentine Nugent, the young owner of the sweet shop, feels an immediate connection when he meets Jasper. He can see beyond the scars and shyness. I especially liked the subtle flirtations. Valentine says to Jasper at one point…
“Good chocolate lifts your spirits and lingers on the taste buds. When you eat a chocolate, you can think of nothing except the feel of it filling your mouth and its flavor on your tongue.”
It all happens very fast, but it works for me. Considering the time, and just coming out of a horrific war, it’s easy to imagine reaching to grab onto any happiness and lightness that might come one’s way.
“The world had been through horrors enough in recent years. Let happiness come back to the world and love shine out.”
This author has a lovely way with turning a story.
Aunt Adeline’s Bequest is one of fourteen stories in the Dreamspinner Press 2014 ‘Rainbow Valentine Set’ and if the other offerings are anywhere near as strong as this one, it will be a fine collection.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: Dreamspinner Press
I am enjoying reading the reviews of these stories. Thanks so much
sounds really interesting!
Reading all these reviews I am still waiting for one not to pic my interest…this one clearly is not that one.
Set in a time almost a hundred years ago it sounds promising to me.
I love historicals and this sounds wonderfully sweet.
It sounds so touching and sweet!
romance and chocolate….perfect for Valentine’s day!!
I want to read it!!!
A WWI historical – sounds great! Great review.
Sounds lovely. Thank you for the review. And that quote about chocolate? 100% in agreement!!
This author was new to me until 2 days ago when I read her freebie, The Lodestar of Ys. I really like her style. 🙂
Yes, a very nice style. She’s one to look out for, I think 🙂
Wonderful review. Sounds like a great read.