Once a Fallen Lady
(Fallen #2)
Eve Pendle
Alfred Lowe/Lydia Taylor
He woos her with books, flowers, and chocolates. She can’t say no to him, but can’t say yes to love.
Lydia Taylor’s roof is leaking, her chickens are out of control, and she can’t afford the rent. When her daughter falls ill, the last person she wants knocking at her door is Alfred Lowe. The school teacher’s stern scowl makes her feel like he can see through her façade of a respectable widow and judge all her secrets. If he wants to achieve his dream of his own school, Alfred Lowe needs to marry a wealthy lady. But he’s drawn to the enigmatic Lydia Taylor, and the illness of her daughter makes him realize how important she is to him. The injustice of the greedy landlord, or a dirty chicken house, he’ll take on anything for her.
As the crisis of Annie Taylor’s illness deepens, Alfred woos Lydia with chocolate, savory pies, flowers, and novels. But the past creeps into the present, casting a long shadow. They must choose whether they can love, despite the risk to everything they’ve ever wanted.
Once a Fallen Lady is the second book in author Eve Pendle’s Fallen Series. This story features two characters that we caught a glimpse of in the previous book in this series, Falling for a Rake. I really enjoyed the previous story and have been waiting for Lydia and Alfred’s story!
Lydia Taylor has secrets that weigh heavily on her. Everyone thinks she is a respectable widow, when in fact she’s a fallen woman raising her illegitimate child. Alfred Lowe is a school teacher at the school Lydia’s daughter goes to in Sussex. After their first meeting, Alfred has kept a professional distance even though he finds her beautiful.
Oh my, how I fell in love with this couple! My heart went out to Lydia. She was a young girl when she became pregnant with her daughter, Annie. Lydia is doing her best to raise her daughter by herself and barely making ends meet. Her family abandoned her along with the father of her child and it hasn’t been an easy life for her. When Annie is diagnosed with Polio, Lydia’s world comes crashing down and she sees it as punishment for her sins. In comes our hero, Alfred! What a fabulous hero he was, I do believe I fell in love with him myself! He was the perfect man and I was so happy to see him come into Lydia and Annie’s life. As he visits Annie and Lydia with his small gifts of books, chocolate, flowers and food the two form a friendship and a desire for something more. But Lydia’s secret and Alfred’s ambitions to open his own school stands between them. They were such a wonderful couple and I couldn’t help but root for them to find a way to be together!
Ms. Pendle did a fantastic job on Lydia and Alfred’s story! I have to admit, once I picked up this book I didn’t want to put it down! An extremely well-written book with a fabulous couple, wonderful secondary characters, a storyline that captivates and pulls you in and an absolutely perfect ending! I loved this book and highly recommend it!
~ Rose
Once a Fallen Lady – Eve Pendle:
Amazon US / Amazon UK / BookBub / Goodreads
Rose is Reading 