Reviews for Autumn in April

The average rating for Autumn in April based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-09-30 00:00:00 Arthur Wittwer It was okay, but for some reason it just didn't grab me like her other books. A young woman is a compere for a local designer. The story opens with her hosting a fashion event. She notices an older gentleman in the audience who seems to be more interested in her, than the fashion models. After the show, he introduces himself as the man who was once in love with her grandmother but separated by an OW's vicious lies. (He happened to marry the OW and spent a rather unhappy long life with her) The heroine is enchanted by this man and finds herself offering to host him for a tour on the "Isle of Wight". Unfortunately hero (his grandson), catches them in a very tender moment and decides that the young woman is out to trap the old man. I felt that the transitions in this story were a bit abrupt and were not like Essie Summers normal writing. One moment they are enemies, the next minute they bury the hatchet and are best friends turning to lovers (well lovers as defined by the early 70s). Then they are back to hating each other over a rather stupid misunderstanding, then they are back to liking each other, etc. My head was spinning from one page to the next. These rapid and abrupt changes made it hard to get any depth to the story. I also felt that the character development and chemistry were weak as compared to other books that I have read by this author. This was an ok read, but I think she has penned much better stories.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-03-28 00:00:00 Michael Harris The book should be entitled "The Mischief/Taken Out of Context/ Do Not Jump To Conclusion"! The first time Rosamond and Matthieu MacQueen set eyes on each other, she thought he was a nasty stranger she'd never meet again, while he thought she was a disgusting gold digger having an affair with his 70 year old grandfather Gaspard (based on something he heard and the kiss on the lips she gave grandpa which he witnessed .) As she left before grandpa saw Matthieu they were never introduced. As luck would have it, or fate, he turned out to be her boss! What a nightmare! Since Rosamond was the granddaughter of his youthful love, grandpa had given instructions to provide her with luxuries like a grand apartment, company car, and for her to be well looked after while she worked for MacQueen's the family department store. This further enhanced the image of Rosamond being a kept woman! And Matthieu was blunt in his condemnation of her and was rather mean in his words. Rosamond was quick to defend herself and tried to clear the air without giving away all of grandpa's secrets; afterall the mischief maker all those years ago was Matthieu 's beloved grandmother Ellie! Ellie had lied to Gaspard in their youth to break up Gaspard and grandma Louise, so that she could have Gaspard herself. It was only after decades, and a near death experience that Ellie had confessed... I was glad this initial misunderstanding did not get dragged out as Matthieu was able to see for himself she's a talented professional, and that she really was a good clergyman's daughter; she could not have been the gold digger he thought he saw. Matthieu made known his interest in her pretty quickly, but as history repeated, there was a mischief maker, and a damning phone convo taken out of context, made Rosamond flee. She thought Matthieu courting her was just a ploy to lure the gold digger away from his grandpa! Afterall Rosamond was told by the supposed friend and Matthieu himself that grandpa himself had done the same when Pierre fell for a gold digger! Pierre was Matthieu's elder brother. Rosamond had planned to go back to university or enroll in teaching college in order to pick up her dream of teaching history; a dream she had given up when her father was crippled. But in the meantime, she got a job as governess in a remote sheep station. SPOILERS For some strange reason never explained, Matthieu was called Hugh in and around Strathdearn! And he owned the sheep station and called it his real home! He had only gone to the family store to cover his brother and grabdpa during their absence. What a small world... Thankfully Matthieu wasn't willing to let the conflict drag out too long; he knew Rosamond was hiding the real reason for fleeing. The truth came out and all was explained. Grandpa and Rosamond's mother had a hand in not warning both so that they'd ended up meeting in Strathdearn! And boy, Grandpa and Grandma Louise were fast workers! They lost no time in making contact and were going to be married the following week haha! Eh after decades of lost time, there's none to lose! As usual, the New Zealand scenery was gorgeously described, as was the fashion and food. The Other Man and Woman in the story were purely plot devices, nobody to be concerned with! A nice short read but did not wow like SWEET ARE THE WAYS.