The Autumn Bride (Chance Sisters series Book 1)

I had previously read only one Anne Gracie book and that was  The Perfect Rake (Merridew Series Book 1) . I'm currently re-reading The Perfect Rake which I found to be delightful. In The Autumn Bride, we have four sisters - actually only two are sisters, but the four have gathered themselves into a tightly knit family in order to survive - thus, there are now four Chance sisters. They've all had a difficult time in life. Abby and Jane are actually the Chantry sisters whose parents died early on and thus the sisters were separated with Abby being old enough to work as a governess and Jane being placed in a kind of orphanage school.Unfortunately, some evil person kidnapped Jane and sold her to a brothel where she became acquainted with Damaris and Daisy who were instrumental in helping her escape just before she was set to be auctioned off as the virgin she was. Daisy has worked in the brothel pretty much all her life, but never as a whore - she's not been raised with the gentry class and thus speaks like the lower class person she is. Damaris was the victim of slave traffickers, but we're given very few details of her backstory in this book. When Abby gets kicked out of the home where she was governess, the girls decide to set out on their own and try to make a go of it by pooling their efforts. When they are on their last ropes, Jane gets sick, they have no money and Abby becomes desperate enough to sneak into a rundown mansion next door to attempt to steal something to sell to pay for a doctor for Jane.What Abby finds is quite distressing. An elderly lady is in bed wasting away with only dried up gruel. The room is filthy and she stinks. Abby does what she can for her and then decides she must do something about the lady's needs. This results in an encounter with servants who are using the elderly woman. Abby is eventually able to turn around the woman's circumstances with the aid of some men she trusts and the four girls are offered a place in the woman's home. She needs them and they need her. It seems she is Aunt Beatrice to our hero, Max, who has been gone for several years working very hard in the shipping industry to try and pay off debts that were encumbered by his late uncle. Aunt Beatrice is dear to Max and he has no idea she's been used and abused.Well, Max is on his way home after finally being able to earn enough money to settle his accounts and in fact his business is doing exceedingly well. When his man of business tells him that dear old Aunt Beatrice is being taken advantage of by the Chance sisters, the fat is in the fire. Max descends on the house with plans to toss out the four girls. This is, of course, where the real story begins. What he finds when he arrives raises even more questions and of course Aunt Beatrice is determined that the girls must stay on. The ensuing battle between Max and Abby is full of juice and yep, you guessed it - instant physical attraction. Max can't even think of Abby by her real name he's so aggravated at her. To him she's become "Mischance" instead of Miss Chance.But Max made a deal years ago when he borrowed funds from a Cit to begin his shipping business that he would marry the Cit's daughter. And, when Max gives his word, he keeps his word. That's part and parcel of who he is. The reader is engaged as Max struggles with his longing for Abby even as they are trying to figure out who is trying to harm the girls - yes, there's definitely a villain in the background. The ongoing fireworks between Max and Abby were entertaining and Max's friend, Freddie, who is featured in the next book  The Winter Bride (Chance Sisters series Book 2) , adds some interest to the story, especially as it relates to his thoughts on women. His and Damaris' story will be the next book in this series - I look forward to reading it.I enjoyed Max and Abby's story, but at the most it was a 3 1/2 star read for me.

This is the first in a series. I read the second book first and loved it. I loved this book too. Anne Gracie is a terrific author.There are 4 young women who are living together as “sisters”. Abby and Jane are sisters. Their parents are dead, Abby has been working as a governess and Jane is about to become a lady's companion, until events take a terrible turn.At the time Abby rescues her sister, she meets Damaris and Daisy and both young women join up to become sisters as well.The 4 of them are nearly destitute and when Jane becomes ill, Abby determines she must take drastic measures to be able to get a doctor. She will break into a home that appears to be nearly empty and steal something to sell. When she breaks in, she finds an elderly bedridden woman who is very near death for lack of care and attention.Lady Beatrice invites the girls to move into her home. Abby explains the situations which have brought them to this low point. Beatrice ignores what might be considered a shocking story and enjoys the fact that she will have these young people in her life to help her recover from the neglect she has suffered.As the new living arrangements are working well to improve the lives of all, Beatrice's nephew, Max, arrives home from the Far East. He is appalled that his aunt is in such a run down condition and he intends to punish those who are responsible for this. He automatically assumes the responsible parties are Abby and her sisters.The sparring going on between Max and everyone is amusing. He is prone to jumping to conclusions when it comes to who has not been doing a good job on his aunt's behalf. It is shocking when it turns out one of the main guilty parties is him.Abby and Max are a lovely couple. They each have a huge sense of responsibility and each of them believes they are the ones who must take care of every one else. Both of them are generous of spirit and very protective of those who they love.When the girls receive threats from an unknown source, Max wants to find protectors for all of them. At the same time, he must go to meet his fiance. His fiance is a young woman he has not seen for 9 years while he was overseas. He does not know her at all but because of his strong sense of honor, he will follow through on a promise made. His word is very important in the makeup of his character.There is adventure, mystery, humor and a wonderful sense of family love. Abby and Max are terrific people who are drawn to one another emotionally and physically. The secondary characters are a great part of the fabric of the story. Each of them add a great deal. The sisters are each strong characters who are trying to overcome horrible conditions of their past. And Aunt Beatrice is especially wonderful.The plot is filled with twists and turns which have the reader turning pages. I started the book in the evening and finished after 3 AM. It was too good to stop reading.The books I have read in the series can be stand alone, but your enjoyment will increase if you read them in order.Romance and mystery told in an enchanting way.

Really enjoyed seeing the bond developing between the "sisters". The strongest character was the most frail at the start but became the backbone of the story. Looking forward to reading more w of the sisters.

Having previously read and loved THE PERFECT RAKE, I had high expectations of this book, the first in Anne Gracie’s Chance Sisters series. However, while there were aspects of the book I really loved, there were others I found disappointing.I really liked Abigail. She is such a warm and caring person and you see that in her love for her younger sister, Jane, as well as her willingness to take in Damaris and Daisy. I also admired her courage and resourcefulness in rescuing Jane from the brothel and Lady Beatrice from the clutches of her dishonest and neglectful servants.Max is an honourable man who is determined to work to pay off his late uncle’s debts and restore the family fortunes, and he also reveals a caring nature in his genuine love and concern for his Aunt Beatrice. While I liked Max, I did find him a rather lacklustre hero, possibly because he was overshadowed by more vibrant and memorable characters like Lady Beatrice and Freddy Monkton-Coombes.I loved seeing the unbreakable bond that develops between the four girls and the loving relationship that grows between them and Lady Beatrice, who is definitely one of the highlights of the book. She’s such a colourful and larger than life figure who is outspoken and delights in flaunting the stuffy rules of society, even claiming the Chance sisters as her ‘nieces’. I love the scene where she regales Lady Beddington with the scandalous story of her fictitious half-sister, Griselda, her nieces’ mother, much to Max’s annoyance. I adored Max’s best friend, Freddy Monkton-Combes, who brought some lovely humour to the story with his talk of ‘muffins’ (and I don’t mean the edible kind).While I appreciated that this was the first book in a new series and setting up the bond between the ‘sisters’ and establishing their relationship with Lady Beatrice were important elements of the story, I did not feel that it allowed enough time to fully develop the romance between Abby and Max. For me, there was no steady development of their relationship and I did not sense the deep emotional connection between them. However, some of my criticisms were softened by the charming Epilogue.The touch of mystery surrounding Jane’s abduction added an interesting layer to the story but I felt that the opportunity to introduce a dramatic resolution to the plot line was sadly missed. Everything is neatly resolved off page with Max and Daisy relating details of what happened to the others. A clear case of telling rather than showing.MY VERDICT: Despite my reservations, overall I enjoyed THE AUTUMN BRIDE and will definitely be reading the other books in the series to see Jane, Damaris and Daisy get their Happy Ever Afters.

I absolutely loved this story of Max and Abby. What an amazing story too...fabulous characters and twists and turns everywhere.I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to the remaining Chance sisters xx enjoy xx

I enjoyed this thoroughly, and after reading went on to read other of Anne Gracies books (none of which I enjoyed as much unfortunately)My only complaint is that despite dealing on the face of things with quite heavy matters (enforced prostitution) it remained light and bubbly, and actually felt it could have benefited from a touch more darkness (although this is true even more so of Anne's other works, so perhaps to be expected with the author in general).All in all an enjoyable read.

I was really looking forward to this book and I wasn't disappointed.The heroine was suitably fiesty and the hero another of Gracie's luscious males.The story moved along at a decent pace and although I would have forgiven the heroine if she had strangled her younger sister at one point the characters were well fleshed out and believable.I especially can't wait to meet Aunt Bea again in the next book!

I really enjoyed this book it was funny in parts serious in others...all the characters were interesting in their own right so the stage I s set for a follower on