A Time for Everything

A Post Civil War Romance

By: Mysti Parker

Narrated by: Meghan Kelly

Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

The war might be over, but their battle has just begun.

After losing her husband and only child to the ravages of the Civil War, 25-year-old Portia McAllister is drowning in grief. When she sees an ad for a live-in tutor in another town, she leaves everything behind in hopes of making a fresh start. 

But as a Confederate widow in a Union household, she is met with resentment from her new charge and her employer, war veteran Beau Stanford. 

Despite their differences, she and Beau find common ground and the stirrings of a second chance at love - until his late wife’s cousin, Lydia, arrives with her sights set on him. 

Burdened with a farm on the brink of bankruptcy, Beau is tempted by Lydia’s hefty dowry, though Portia has captured his heart. In another time and another place, his choice would be easy. 

But love seems impossible amid the simmering chaos of reconstruction that could boil over at any moment into an all-out battle for survival. Will Beau and Portia find their way into each other’s arms, or will they be swept away by raging forces beyond their control?

If you enjoy Civil War era fiction, epic love stories that require a whole box of tissues, and "just one more chapter" pause-resisters, you'll love this standalone, award-winning, historical romance.

Grab a copy today!

©2019 Mysti Parker (P)2019 Mysti Parker

Po & Beau!

Historical romance can be a tough genre to write, but Mysti Parker has come through with a winner. This story is one that pulls you into a time of tragedy and lets us live through to find the happily ever after. Parker gives us Portia, or Po as she is nicknamed. Her husband is a casualty of war and her young daughter has been taken by typhoid. Now alone, she travels to try and make her new life teaching a young boy on a ranch. Beau is the man in charge and father of her student. A widower, he is bitter and full of pain. Parker weaves the story surrounding this couple, with outlaws, hateful discrimination, and the building of new lives full of love and hope. There is so much I enjoyed about this book. The time period is one I enjoy, taking us back to a time we all think is simpler, and then you listen to find out just how hard it was! The characters are wonderfully flawed, but easy to relate to.

Meghan Kelly's voice flows with such an easy pace. She breathes life into these characters and makes them feel real as we are listening to her. The inflections she adds into her voices creates the ability to relate to Po and Beau and feel their story. It's a great escape and entertaining listen.

A wonderful historical romance!

I am not a Civil War-era person, but the plot and the blurb intrigued me, so I tried it and glad I did! The characters, plot, realistic situations and overall feel of the story were WONDERFUL! This may be my first Mysti Parker book, but it will not be my last. A wonderful romance, yet not sappy.

Meghan Kelly's narration is who really got me to listen and I am so glad I did. As normal, Meghan brings the heroine to life and this 11+ hour book did not feel that way at all! Love Meghan's narrating talent!

Bottom line: Get this book! :)

A great 2nd Chance Historical Romance

Po lost her husband Jake in the Civil War and lost her two year old daughter Abby because she got a fever from the soldiers she helped when they knocked on her door . She is feeling sad and is visiting her husband's grave . Po wants the angels to take her but she wakes up with a warm fire and wrapped in a blanket . She did not know how she got from laying in the cold snow to her brother in law's house . She decides it's time to make her own way so he answers an ad for a teacher . Her brother in law takes her to meet her employer and they stay at the hotel . The next day she meets her employer and she questions her decision working for a union soldier . Po makes the best of the situation and starts to get along with Betsy the house keeper and she starts helping her in the kitchen and with the chores .
She wants to earn her wage and this is the way to do it by helping Betsy .and teaching Johnny .
Bo gets bad news that he is in debt and not sure how he can resolve the problem . Lydia's father has money and he knew if he married his daughter his financial worries would be over . Can he give his heart to Lydia and let Clair go .
Po is starting to notice Po but he knows it's not possible with his financial problems . It's best to let her go .
Harry wants to court Po but she is not interested because she is not ready .
Harry agrees that they can be friends .
Not happy but he will have to accept it .
Johnny , Bo's son is mute because after Bo came home from the war an angry man .
This causes Johnny shut down and it is going to be a challenge for Po .
Lydia , Clair's cousin wants Bo and she is going to do whatever to win his affections , even if he does not feel the same .
Bo agrees to marry Lydia because her father agrees to free the servants from their contracts and forgive Harry 's debt .
Plus Bo has to pay off the the money that Lydia's father will lose by letting the servants out of their contracts .
Bo will do anything for his family and even if that means marring Lydia when he thinks Po could have his heart .
Will Bo and Po be able to be together or will he let her go forever and marry Lydia . Sacrifice a second chance at love to save his land and help his family .
This audio book makes you feel like you are actually in the post war era and the listener is drawn in with the creative voice of Meghan Kelly . Meghan brings the audio book alive and it feels more like a movie than an audio book .
The readers emotions will be all over the place as the story unfolds .
Sweet Romance , Drama , shenanigans , and black mail .
Betrayal , suspense , and some secrets . The audio book will keep the listener on the edge of their seat .
The author knows how to write a great historic romance .
I recommend this audio book for 18 and up because of the strong language and some of the topics mentioned in the audio book .
Five stars ...

Fantastic!

What an exciting emotional story of a post civil war widow. The trials these people had to endure rings true. Meghan Kelly is an excellent narrator! She has a voice that can do each character with perfection! You will get hooked on following her when you just listen to one of the narrations that she does.

Brilliant!

Without a doubt, this is one of those stories that can be placed on the same shelf a 'Gone with the Wind' and others of the same quality. It is that good!
The characters are well thought out and each one is captured beautifully in the audiobook narration.
There are many endearing moments, some of which had me laughing and others, sobbing my heart out.
Then there were the many scenes that made up the complete story. These kept me wanting to find out what was going to happen next - brilliant plotting by this author.
Oh, and the build-up of romance ... sigh! A delight!
I listened to the audiobook version and was kept captivated and enthralled throughout.
Both Meghan Kelly (narrator) and Mysti Parker (author) are extremely good at what they do with this story and their combined efforts help make this something that is well worth listening to.
I really enjoyed both the story and the audio and am very happy to recommend it.
I requested and listened to the audiobook version and my voluntary review above is unbiased

Fantastic Story & Audible Listen🎧 Heartfelt!

This is a story, a historical romance set in Tennessee post civil war era. The storylines Mysti Parker created are interesting and well written, they grabbed my attention right from the start and held it to end. Portia lost her husband, a confederate soldier, to the war and her daughter to illness. Needing to get away from the reminders of her heart wrenching loss she answers and ad for live in housekeeper and tutor in another part of Tennessee. Beau, owner of a horse ranch also fought during the war, but he fought for the Union. While serving he lost his wife, his son, Jonny, left traumatized after the death of his mother stopped talking. Beau’s father placed the ad that Portia answered, expecting her to be an elderly widow he was surprised how young she was when she arrived. At first Beau thought his family was setting him up with a mail order bride situation. It took Beau a while to warm up and accept her, same with Bessie the lead housekeeper. Jonny started to warm up to her first. So much goes on in this story, there is plenty of drama, including political turmoil of the times, slaves, anti-slaves, hate and angst, emotions run high. There is never a dull moment in this book, there were some great twists including some betrayals. Mysti Parker did not sugar coat the tough time it was for some during that era, she kept it real. I loved how some stuck together to help those who needed it. Also loved the great poetic quotes too from Ecclesiastes you included. Thank you for another great story and the emotional roller coaster ride.

I listened to the Audible edition, Meghan Kelly is a wonderful narrator and voice performer. She brought these characters to life, gave each their own unique voice and personality. The emotions of the characters were incorporated into her performance and she made you feel what they were feeling, anguish, vulnerability, heartbreak, happiness and so forth. Meghan Kelly is such a versatile performer, I loved how well she portrayed each character, I think Jonny was one of my favorites. Thank you for another great listen🎧

Great love story

This was like watching a great love story! I wish that I could find all audibles with
a narrator like this.

Budding Talent

This is my first book by Mysti Parker. A lot of worthy themes in the storyline but the story progression and characters just weren't coherent. Nothing good editing couldn't have remedied.

The Narration by Meghan Kelly is however excellent, bring the characters alive and an absolute pleasure to listen to.

Enthralling, heartwarming, and exciting

This is the first book by Mysti Parker that I have read, and she is now in my favorites list. This wonderful historical romance is so good that I was very surprised that she has only written a couple of other historical romances; she mostly writes contemporary and PNR. At times heartwarming and nail-biting, this standalone audiobook is a marvel of high quality writing enhanced by the exquisite narration of Meghan Kelly. I highly recommend it to all fans of historical romance who like a low level of steam and satisfying relationship development.

This book had so many interesting elements: triumph of the human spirit, making friends, inspiring young minds with learning, mending a father/son relationship, life on a horse farm, historical racial tension contrasted with strong interracial friendships, a wounded hero, and a romantic rival. I loved the plot twists, and no plot thread was left hanging. There was some angst (not too much), drama, and hot chemistry, but it is low on steam (no actual love scenes). There is almost no mention of religion, so it is not a Christian romance. I loved the characters, especially Portia, Beau, Johnnie, Bessie, and Ezra.

It is 1865, Tennessee. The heroine, Portia McCallister, lost everything she held dear: her beloved husband died in the war (a Confederate soldier), and her 2-year-old daughter died of typhoid. She is quite depressed in the first chapter, but she takes charge of her life and accepts a position as a tutor for a 10-year-old boy on a horse farm estate. She slowly gets to know her employer, Beau Stanford, who had fought for the Union. Beau is a good man, broken by the war and dealing with many things: a shoulder injury, PTSD, and grief for his wife. He is also stressed by debt, a mute son, and a best friend hooked on morphine. The story unfolds with perfect pacing, and the Tennessee accents by narrator Meghan Kelly are wonderful!

I requested and received a free audiobook copy via #AudiobookObsession, and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.
#AudiobookObsession Reviewer

Incredible!

I listened to the audio version of this book. This is not the usual genre I would expect from Ms. Parker, but I decided to try it based on her writing in other books that I have read. I was certainly not disappointed.
This is a post Civil War romance that seemed to be pretty honest in the emotions and situations of the time. The tensions between the whites and the people who were very recently enslaved was displayed in an honest, raw and brutal fashion. Kudos to Ms. Parker. As was common in that time, the "N word" was used in the book, so if you have a problem with that beware.
The romance was clean, but there could also be some triggers for some people involving rape as well as near lynching amid other violence.
This book was different. This book was honest. This book was timely even though it is historical. It was extremely well written by Ms. Parker and wonderfully narrated by Meghan Kelly.
I was given a complimentary copy of this audio book. All thoughts are my own.

What a great romance!

When a woman loses everything, thanks to the Civil War. She feels she has no other choice than to get employment and find a new place to be. She gets hired by a family up north the tutor the son of the house. All should be well, But emotions are raw her accent is southern and their standards point north. When she starts having feelings for her charges dead, she doesn’t know what to do and when she notices he just may have feelings for her as well she gets even more confused. This book was so good and I wish I had more time to write this review, but I don’t. So I will just say if you love historical romance this is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. I highly highly recommend it. The narrator in the story were both awesome. Please forgive any grammatical or punctuation of errors as I am blind and dictate my review, but all opinions on my own.

Sweet Historical Romance

This was incredibly, heartbreaking, inspiring, gutwrenching, funny and depressing! They both suffered love and loss, but the treatment they received from so called family was even worse than what they had received from enemies during the war!
The narration was remarkable!

Absolutely fantastic book

thank you all for the perfect love story, so heartwarming book. I would recommend this book x

Beautiful

I loved listening to this book. I enjoyed the narrator.

If you are looking for a clean , no graphic sex , has romance this is the one. Perfect . It has excellent writing, great characters, very believable story. . Would recommend it to anyone who loves stories during the time of the Civil War, heroic characters, and true love.

Sweet and full of hope

This is a sweet and hopeful story about forgiveness and second chances.
The story has a few surprises that I didn't see coming.

Narrator did a good job with this story.