I did not know until after finishing this book that it was a sequel! I was not expecting the plot to jump between past and future and as a historical fiction lover I really enjoyed that element. The characters from the past became a bit muddled in my brain at some parts because there are so many of them, but overall I really enjoyed this book. It shows characters working for the good of others above themselves and has a lovely family centric story.

I LOVED this book. The whole idea around renovating property and discovering family secrets is so intriguing. While pregnant, Megan works to restore a caretakers cottage with the help of her distant cousin, Lucy. She is drawn to her ex-now deceased-fiance's best friend, Rick who is the "new sheriff in town". Uncovering family secrets and revealing some of her own throws Megan on an emotional roller coaster.

The whole cast of characters feel like old friends and are easily relatable. I didn't want this book to end!

This is a sweet read about strong women. Megan is pregnant, leading a major renovation project, and handling her deceased fiance's mother. The renovations and historical aspect of this book were what really drew me in. The current day realization of Megan's life changes are woven into the story well. The characters are all relate-able, positive, and sweet.

Interesting in so many ways I read. It in one night. The history of intertwined families through surprising, shocking and happy circumstance dealing from past to present and back again. Although I'm still not sure about some of the familial relationships I enjoyed every moment
Thank you meatballs and the publisher for allowing me this arc in return for an honest review

Thank you Mary Ellen Taylor. I loved this book and all of its twists and turns. Enjoyed the setting and the characters. Perfect summer read! Looking forward to reading more.

I've read a couple of Ms Taylor's novels before and when I saw she had a new book coming out I jumped at the chance to read it. I really enjoyed this book. It has a bit of everything romance, mystery etc. I really liked the back and forth between the present and past and it kept you guessing on what happens between those characters til the very end.

I love this book and all of its twists and turns. The setting is amazing and its very easy to get caught up in the characters. Perfect summer read!

Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest opinion.

‘Spring House’ follows ‘Winter Cottage’, an earlier book by the same author with some of the same characters, which I have not read, although this didn’t seem to matter too much to the reading experience.

The story follows Megan, pregnant with her deceased ex-fiancé’s baby, and renovating a house for a client who is also a friend, while also trying to find out the story of Claire and Diane, two sisters who once lived in Winter Cottage. The story therefore flits backwards and forwards between present day and the beginning of the 20th century, with some hints to 1939. At first I thought this was overly complex but the significance of 1939 became clear towards the end. Don’t read the Prologue expecting to see more of the same throughout; this was a novel-setting scene which I didn’t really feel fit with the rest of the book but introduced some of the main characters.

The characters were sympathetic and the story was well-paced. The relationships between the characters were very true to life in my opinion, and I would really have enjoyed this book if it weren’t for a few issues. One of these was the complex family tree (I don’t know whether this was unveiled in the first book), which was really difficult to follow and at times to see the relevance of. It would have been helpful to have a visual family tree at the front of the book, actually. There were also a number of typos which need to be addressed before this book is published as I found them very distracting.

The other major issue for me was the number of inconsistencies. Some of these I was able to shrug off and ignore, thinking perhaps I had just misunderstood something (I’m a very fast reader, and find the Kindle app makes me read even faster). Some of them were really frustrating and easily fixed, however, and were mainly to do with the French part of the story. For example, chateaux is the plural for more than one chateau. And a macaroon is a coconut snack that is not eaten in France; the writer is usually describing macaron (and seems to be unaware of any other French pastries or delicacies at all). Finally, I was staggered at the end of the book that Victoria – a character we have never met but are told throughout is very rich and spoiled – suddenly knows what to do to birth a child.

A pleasant enough story but I don’t think I will be rushing to catch up on ‘Winter Cottage’.

Mary Ellen Taylor is a master storyteller!

Spring House primarily centers around Megan Buchanan, whose fiancé recently passed away serving our county in the Marines. Megan is devastated, but also pregnant! It was at this point that I was “all in” and couldn’t put this novel down!

This book was absolutely captivating! I enjoyed the way Mary Ellen Taylor time-hopped between the past and present, I felt it added so much to the storyline.
I always feel Mary Ellen Taylor writes comfort reads packed with depth, but there are also some perfectly placed twists and turns too! Spring House is a 4.5 star novel that I devoured! If you’re looking for a fantastic vacation read, this is the book for you!

I was lucky enough to read this as an ARC from NetGalley. Thank you very much to NetGalley and the author, Mary Ellen Taylor.

I normally wouldn't have even had this book on my radar, as I am not much of a restoration/historical theme in a book. I thought the gist of the book was great, however I did think that the back and forth with certain characters and the many, many names of the characters were just a bit to follow sometimes.

I did enjoy the restoration part of the book, and how this came along, and I really did appreciate the reading of the old letters and the journey that the author took us on with that piece of the book.

I would always be willing to read another book by this author, as I'm kind of on the fence about this book.

The story line of this book was great. The characters were well developed, and easy to find similarities with people in my own life.

I really enjoyed this book. The story was great. The charcters well developed, and easy to identify with. The plot had a few twist that I didn’t see coming. Overall I give it 5 stars.

Spring House is a story about the Hedrick, Jessup and Buchanan families told from multiple points of view. The restoration of Spring House, home of the late Samuel Jessup, and now owned by his granddaughter, Lucy, provides the backdrop for this engaging story about intertwined generations of these families. Lucy has hired historian Megan Buchanan to oversee the restoration...Megan, who had been engaged to the late Scott Jessup and is about to give birth to their child. The story moves seamlessly between the time periods from the early 1900s to the present as letters, journals, and other artifacts discovered during the restoration are revealed. Besides overseeing the restoration of Spring House Megan is also having to deal with Scott’s interfering mother, Helen. The author has created vibrant pictures of the struggles and triumphs of her characters. This is an extremely well written book and a story to cherish, share and read again. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book. Most highly recommend.