The Homemaker by Jewel E. Ann Series: The Chain of Lakes #1
on September 30, 2025
Format: ARC
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A romance inspired by TS “Fortnight”
I was hers, but she was never mine.
Alice Yates is the hired “homemaker” for the Morrisons, an affluent couple in Minneapolis. For Alice, it’s a dream job to dress up like a 1950s housewife and read romance novels to Mr. Morrison before his afternoon nap.
But when the Morrisons’ only daughter returns home for the summer with her fiancé, Alice comes face- to-face with her shattered past—the only threat to her perfect life.
Eight years earlier, vacation rental owner Murphy Paddon had an impeccable vinyl record collection and did the most irresistible thing before kissing Alice, earning him a five-star rating. Their fortnight love affair was life-altering and ended tragically.
Murphy doesn’t know if Alice remembers him or whether he should tell his fiancée that the hired-help living in the guesthouse is the woman who irreparably broke his heart. He needs closure, but will the lingering glances and silent yearning lead to the end or just the beginning?
Grab your copy of The Homemaker, from USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author, Jewel E. Ann, and lose yourself in this forbidden, high-stakes romance.
Truth be told, I don’t listen to Taylor Swift music so had no idea what the lyrics were for “Fortnight” until I read this book and I wondered how this song would inspire The Homemaker.
Go in blind because everything you need to know is in the blurb. Murphy and Alice were together for a short period of time eight years prior when they come face to face again and she is now working for his fiancé’s parents as their homemaker.
I was DYING as the story unfolded and I saw how much they meant to each other… the longing, the love, the what-ifs and all the unanswered questions from their past. You see Murphy loves his fiancé Blair, but he has never stopped loving Alice.
There aren’t many times that I root for the other woman or cheating but in this book, I wanted it DESPERATELY. There are so many things that I loved in this book.. the forbidden aspect, the humor, the angst that gripped my throat as I turned page after page, reading too fast, yet wanting to slow down to savor it all. The plot twists drove me crazy and made me cry all at the same time.
This is Jewel E. Ann at her finest… I feel like I say that after each book but this book brought out all of the emotions once we get the answers to our questions and I couldn’t love this book more. I have 3 of Jewel’s books in my top reads of 2025 and I am adding this one to my list too—Another top favorite of 2025!!
I’m happy to see that this is book 1 in a series and can’t wait to see where this goes next.
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Narrated by Charlotte North & Robert Hatchet
About Jewel E. Ann
Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.
With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three awesome boys and manage the family business.
After her best friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA writing.
When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family, rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.