A Bed of Brambles – A Review

by Sam Russell

With the follow up to A Bed of Barley Straw this second book in the Draymere Hall series was never going to be a conventional love story. No bed of roses. Proud, passionate and wilful, Hettie and Alexander are alike in so many ways. That has to be a good thing, doesn’t it? Or it could be a disaster…both carry scars, and old wounds have a habit of causing new hurt.

Physical attraction draws them together. Hearts and minds can be thorny, less easy to satisfy. One thing is certain, together or apart their lives will move on. Alexander and Hettie’s clashes of spirit will only be part of the story.
Second chances. New beginnings. The opportunity to make things right. Or to make the same mistakes all over again. Unless fate takes the future out of your hands…

To purchase a copy of A Bed of Barley Straw, please visit Amazon or through Russell Romance

This was such an addictive read filled with passion, angst, heartache and uncertainty. I loved how the author had developed two characters both with a past they wished to hide, both passionate about their beliefs but also passionate about their loves. Hettie and Alexander had spent months apart whilst she was working overseas but now back home in the Cotswolds it wasn’t plain sailing for the young couple that their sexual chemistry drew them together like magnets. Hettie needed to find work preferably working with horses as that’s all she’s ever known and loved. The chance to start her own livery business brings back so many dark memories and her life soon becomes in danger from this past she wishes she could scrape up and throw away like the manure in the stables. A gripping romance filled with passion, new beginnings, second chances and opening your heart and soul to let go of the demons inside you.

N.B. I haven’t read the first book in this series, I didn’t realise it was part of a series until I wrote this review. The book can definitely be read as a standalone but I’m keen now to read book one. – Adele from Kraftireader

Love this second book in the Draymere Hall series. The first book is an exciting and complex delve into a thoroughly modern romance in a traditional setting and this book takes off from there to bring the romance to maturity whilst also developing secondary characters into real human beings. It deals with difficult issues and through these issues the reader begins to see why the characters behave as they do.

The ‘will they / won’t they’ theme is still there and I would miss it if it wasn’t but it’s different this time. It’s not so much about sex, they can certainly make that work! It’s about having a real relationship that can deal with all the issues that come into play afterwards – can you accept your partner’s flaws and mistakes, can you support them through difficult times and can you babysit other people’s kids without killing each other!

Well done, Sam – hope you are working on the third…. – Sandra