To Forge Her Fate

Hearts of Harewood, Book 1

By: Kasey Stockton

Narrated by: Vicki-Jo Eva

Two worlds. Two hearts. Can they ever meld together as one?

Eliza Rose is the perfect lady—accomplished in pianoforte, riding, and multiple languages—until a scandal disrupts her privileged world. The fallen Rose family has struggled to regain their standing until a fortuitous connection helps Eliza re-secure her family’s place in Society, giving her everything she believed she wanted.

Eliza’s return comes at a bittersweet price, however, as she unexpectedly loses her heart to the town blacksmith. She yearns to follow her heart, but fears condemnation. Her mother would give anything to remain among her friends—and Eliza cannot be the reason her family falls from grace once again.

Jacob Ridley is a humble blacksmith, haunted by a past betrayal from a lady he thought he loved. He has come to Harewood to begin anew, with a rule to guide and protect himself—he will avoid women of quality. But Eliza is impossible to ignore, forever needing his help. He might not be a gentleman by Society’s standards, but he cannot refuse her when she is in need.

As their feelings mount, they must confront an impossible choice—remain loyal but lonely in their disparate spheres, or bravely come together despite the formidable barriers, threat of scandalous gossip, and pain of family objection. These two unlikely hearts are torn between love and obligation. Will the right choice come at too dear a price?

Book one in the Hearts of Harewood series, To Forge Her Fate is a sweet and clean Regency romance of unequal social status and forbidden love.

©2024 Kasey Stockton (P)2024 Golden Owl Press

Delightful lopsided relationship

I thoroughly enjoyed this lopsided yet delightfully sweet relationship between Eliza and Jacob. I hope we read more of them in future books of the series. I am especially looking forward to a story about Ryland which I believe is coming next. I am also hoping for a relationship to develop between Ruth and Oliver!

Kasey Stockton just does not disappoint… and neither does the audiobook version of this story. Delightfully done.

Usually Ms Stockton's stories move along...

but not this one. The story lacks energy. The plot is predictable. And sad to say I lost interest a quarter-way through. Being a great fan of Ms Eva's narrations was the primary reason for getting Audible book. However, even she sounded bored with reading it. Sorry to give such an unkind review.

Not for me

This was a little flat for me. The main characters didn’t have much personality, and there were so few interactions that would give them a chance to fall so deeply in love so fast. They assume character traits of each other without actually knowing or having experienced them. The narrator was decent, but I wish she hadn’t made Eliza’s voice so whiny. One small odd thing—the two main male characters had similar last names: Ridley and Ryland. Both have an R, d, and y. When the book was on in the background, it wasn’t always quick to tell who was whom.