Sommersgate House

By: Kristen Ashley

Narrated by: Abby Craden

Douglas Ashton is the cold and unfeeling owner of the gothic Victorian Mansion, Sommersgate House. Julia Fairfax is his stubborn American sister-in-law. After tragedy strikes, Douglas and Julia are forced to live together at Sommersgate and raise their newly orphaned nieces and nephew.

Douglas has no desire to raise his dead sister's children, nor does he want the distraction of the tempting Julia living under his roof. Julia is struggling with grief and trying to make a go in a new country without much help from impossibly handsome, but even more impossibly remote Douglas. Not to mention, she has to deal with the active hostility of Douglas's frosty, Attila-the-Hun-in-a-skirt mother, Monique. Douglas decides the best way to give the children what they need, get his mother to behave, and give himself what he wants is to marry Julia. When he tells her (yes, tells her) she will be his wife, Julia thinks Douglas is (probably) insane. And anyway, she's decided if she ever has another husband (since the last one wasn't so great), he was going to be short, balding, have a paunch, and worship the ground she walks on (none of these characteristics define Douglas in the slightest).

One more thing, Sommersgate House is haunted by the ghosts of the man who built the house and the woman who was the love of his life. They both died mysteriously at Sommersgate months after it was finished. When they did, a curse settled on the house, making it seem strangely alive. And the only way for the beautiful but frightening house to rid itself of this curse is for its owner to find true love.

©2016 Kristen Ashley (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Enjoyed!

This at first was difficult to get into, but once KA built her characters, the audiobook was delightful! Between the story and my new favorite author, Abby Craden , it was worth a credit!!

loved it

I enjoyed the narrator I love the romance behind the story boy meets girl my favorite kind of romances I think this is the kind of story anybody would enjoy cute and sweet with a little bit of Mystery

So Entertaining! Amazing Narrator!

Abby Craden has amazing talent. I would expect nothing less from a Kristen Ashley book.

3rd person and narration were not my favorite

I have deliberately held back on a few Kristen Ashley books so I have something to always look forward to. I have owned the Ghosts and Reincarnation Series for years but I have been saving them for a rainy day. But then they came out in audible, and I couldn’t wait any more. I’ll be honest. Sommersgate House was not one of my favorite Kristen Ashley books, but I hold her books up to a higher standard, and this was written 6 years ago. I still enjoyed every second of it, don’t get me wrong, but it didn’t quite have the “epic” most KA books have for me.

My main issue? Third person. While I always prefer first, some third person is done really well and I barely notice it. That may be the case with Sommersgate House, but not in audio. The narrator was more of a narrator than an actor story-wise…yet she acted, so it kind of threw me off a little. Between the third person, a lord living in a castle, and a formal sounding narrator, Sommersgate House often gave me the feel of historical fiction.

*Note: Sommersgate House is originally the second book of the series, but Kristen Ashley has it as first in the series now. It is based off of a real house in England (photo is in my original blog post at Ana's Attic Book Blog)

Julia’s sister lived in England at Sommersgate House with her husband and children until she and her husband passed away in an accident. The will stated that Julia must move from America to Sommersgate House to raise the children with her brother-in-law, Lord Douglas Ashton, who lives there with his witch of a mother. Sommersgate itself was almost it’s own character.

"Worst of all, the house was tense and make no mistake about it, even though it was simply mortar and stone (albeit grand mortar and stone), Sommersgate could most definitely be tense."

Though the story focuses on the stern and formal Lord Ashton and the soft-hearted American, Julia, raising the kids who just lost their parents together, there is a whole side story about a couple who haunts the castle.

“No one knows the real story,” Mrs. K began. “Some say he killed her, some say someone else killed them both. The truth is, they found his body outside, dead from exposure and looking like he’d been trying to get in. They found The Mistress in the house and she’d been strangled.”

The ghosts were not the main story at all, but the presence is felt throughout the story. The main focus, of course, is the romance. Douglas Ashton is not your typical Kristen Ashley alpha with the alpha speak, but he is still an alphahole—just more polished than most of her others. And his formal way of speaking and thinking changed the feel of the book to much more old-fashioned than all of the books I have read from her except maybe The Will.

"He wanted this stubborn, tempestuous Julia Fairfax to disappear and an acquiescent, but still tempestuous, Julia Ashton to take her place. He wanted to brand her with his name and shackle her with his ring."

Don’t worry though. It still has that KA feel.

"When he was going to have his fill of her, he didn’t know and he was beginning to doubt he ever would. Every time he had her, he wanted more, needed more, she was like a (effing) drug."

And he’s completely alpha.

“If you ever leave,” his voice had changed from soft to harsh, “I’ll find you and bring you back.”

My favorite part is the kids, and I loved the way the narrator portrayed them. I love books with kids, and Kristen Ashley writes some of the best of them. Sommersgate House was a very slow-burn romance, but you couldn’t miss the connection between the couple. So much so that the kids even played matchmaker. And once the two gave into their desires, you couldn’t deny the chemistry.

Likes:

•I love books with kids.
•I thought the paranormal/ghost element was fun and unique, and never took over the main romance.
•Another amazing KA epilogue.
•Douglas was a great alpha, and I loved how he went from a cold unfeeling jerk to a KA alpha in the end.
•Those in-depth Kristen Ashley descriptions (I forgot about how detailed she used to be).
•I laughed and teared up.

Dislikes:

•3rd person—made me feel like I was watching rather than experiencing.
•The narrator was a bit too formal sounding.
•Had a very historical novel feel.
•Had a bit of a sad thread throughout the whole story.

The Down & Dirty:
Sommersgate House by Kristen Ashley is certainly a unique read. I love a book with kids, and the narrators portrayals of the kids was great, especially 4 year old Ruby. The entire story is a bit sad. I mean we have three orphans, Douglas and Julia just lost their siblings, the only people they were close to, they both had sad pasts, and the ghosts themselves were sad. Although this is a romance, and everything is happy in the end, it still had a formal, sad feel through much of the story. That being said, I still really and truly enjoyed it, I listened every chance I got, and plan on listening to the next two (because the last two aren't on audible yet) in the next month or two.

Rating: 4-4.25 stars, Heat- 3.75, Narration - 4

I enjoy it

Douglas and Julia come together over the children. They all help in healing themselves and the ghost couple along with the house.

Wonderful book...narrative is lacking

This is a great book! I thoroughly enjoyed it, however the narrator is not the best. Using her normal voice she's great, but her putting on a British accent for women, men and children is comical and I didn't enjoy it.

Awesome series

I absolutely loved this fun series. Abby Craden does a great job. Definitely recommend it.

4.5 Stars!

Narrator review: LOVE this narrator. I have no complaints.

Story review: I'm really enjoying this series. So far, the alpha's in this series are my favorite from Kristen Ashley. My only complaint on this one is the couple is hardly together and there is a little too much protesting from Julia. I need more couple time in my books...still a very good read.

Sommersgate House Stars

Ok so I liked book one but I enjoyed book two just a little bit more.
The dynamic in which these characters come together is sad and heartbreaking. But also so very needed for all of them to heal.

The children needed a home, and the house needed a family. Douglas needed love and family who cared. And Julia needed to heal.

I didn't not like Douglas, in the beginning, I would call it cautious. I wondered why he was so standoffish and you learn why that is and your heart goes out to him.

I think I felt most for Julia just because she cared her grief on the outside and it was hard for her to be brave. Plus her past is kind of sad but for the most part, she doesn't or I should say tries really hard to put it in the past but sometimes the past is just so painful it stays with you for a lot longer than you wish it would.

I love the interaction between the staff and the children, just all of it is refreshing, I have read a lot of books with kids but I like when they are so intertwined in the story that you couldn't imagine it without them.

Last but not least having a glimpse into Douglas and Julia falling in love was precious and I am so glad I listened to this audio, Abby Craden does a great job with this narration. I enjoyed all her character voice. Worth the credit for sure.

*You don't have to like my review but its 100% my opinion, and I am allowed to have it.*

Loved it.

The series is so much better than expected. Really enjoyable. More of a fabulous KA romance than a paranormal. Can't wait for the next one.