WELCOME to my PARTY!!! – BOOK REVIEW #3
The month of October is a special time for me:
my debut novel, my baby,
Tessa,
will be released IN PRINT on Halloween!
WHEEEEE!!!!!
BOOK REVIEW – A LADY at WILLOWGROVE HALL by SARAH E. LADD
Who doesn’t have secrets? How many secrets do we keep because they would destroy us? Who can we trust with our deepest, darkest secrets?
What if the year is 1814? Aristocracy and nobility, estate tenants and servants, gentry and titles, freeholders and shopkeepers, upper class and lower class – upstairs, downstairs. Secrets could mean the difference between a secure life and a life of hardship. Of rejection and censure – shame and embarrassment. Honor and reputation was highly esteemed.
Cecily Faire has such a secret. And her secret changes her life forever. She is ripped from the life she knows, however turbulent it might have been, and taken to start a new life.
Time passes, and she sets off once again, this time with blessing and of her own volition, to embrace a promising new future. Until her past slams right into her face. Suddenly every day is filled with dread that old secrets will come tumbling out and ruin her.
Nathaniel Stanton, steward of Willowgrove Hall, has a secret of his own. And he awaits the day he can leave Willowgrove and begin a new life with no more shadows looming over him.
For her years at Rosemere School for Young Ladies, Cecily told no one her secret. She divulged nothing, not even a hint, not even to those to whom she was closest. And in so doing, she distanced herself from those she longed to be close to.
Cecily knew she could never marry, she could never reveal her secret to another. For to marry, Cecily also knew, she could keep no secrets. As the daughter of a blacksmith, she had no dowry to bring, and therefore had only her reputation to speak for her. Cecily’s secret, then, was under highest lock and key along with her heart. She resigned herself to the life of a spinster.
Nathaniel also knew his secret would be made known upon Lady Trent’s death; he knew his new life would begin on that same day. Until that time, he could grant no romantic interest, could not give his heart away. Could not allow anyone in.
Cecily and Nathaniel dance around the romance they both long for, fighting it to the bitter end, each knowing the other would reject them for certes should they ever find out the truth.
Sarah E. Ladd has brought a true-to-era story of propriety and moral character. Class lines were clearly drawn and not easily crossed, rigid societal rules of the time, lower class did not speak to upper class unless spoken to. Ms. Ladd has conveyed this in every page, every encounter, every conversation. Her descriptions vivid and strong and bright: “Anxiety wound its way around every one of Cecily’s nerves…” “With each word, the tension between them pulled harder, a battle masked behind civil, even tones.” Exquisite prose.
But more so than era-accurate, more than a neatly told romance, was Cecily’s struggle, to the very end, of seeking, desiring love, rang especially true for me. Longing for something she felt she could never have, something she had never known, echoes the struggle of every heart to know the Father’s love. Something that is there, always and in every moment, if only we can – will - reach for it. I felt Cecily’s pain, so skillfully conveyed by Ms. Ladd, and rejoiced with her in her triumph. Beautifully done, Sarah, beautifully done.
I look forward to reading The Heiress of Winterwood and The Headmistress of Rosemere.
http://robinsnest212.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Robin-...
http://www.amazon.com/Robin-E.-Mason/...
https://twitter.com/amythyst212
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
#bookreview, #saraheladd, #aladyatwillowgrovehall, #theheiressofwinterwood, #theheadmistressofrosemere, #regencyerafiction, #secrets
my debut novel, my baby,
Tessa,
will be released IN PRINT on Halloween!
WHEEEEE!!!!!
BOOK REVIEW – A LADY at WILLOWGROVE HALL by SARAH E. LADD
Who doesn’t have secrets? How many secrets do we keep because they would destroy us? Who can we trust with our deepest, darkest secrets?
What if the year is 1814? Aristocracy and nobility, estate tenants and servants, gentry and titles, freeholders and shopkeepers, upper class and lower class – upstairs, downstairs. Secrets could mean the difference between a secure life and a life of hardship. Of rejection and censure – shame and embarrassment. Honor and reputation was highly esteemed.
Cecily Faire has such a secret. And her secret changes her life forever. She is ripped from the life she knows, however turbulent it might have been, and taken to start a new life.
Time passes, and she sets off once again, this time with blessing and of her own volition, to embrace a promising new future. Until her past slams right into her face. Suddenly every day is filled with dread that old secrets will come tumbling out and ruin her.
Nathaniel Stanton, steward of Willowgrove Hall, has a secret of his own. And he awaits the day he can leave Willowgrove and begin a new life with no more shadows looming over him.
For her years at Rosemere School for Young Ladies, Cecily told no one her secret. She divulged nothing, not even a hint, not even to those to whom she was closest. And in so doing, she distanced herself from those she longed to be close to.
Cecily knew she could never marry, she could never reveal her secret to another. For to marry, Cecily also knew, she could keep no secrets. As the daughter of a blacksmith, she had no dowry to bring, and therefore had only her reputation to speak for her. Cecily’s secret, then, was under highest lock and key along with her heart. She resigned herself to the life of a spinster.
Nathaniel also knew his secret would be made known upon Lady Trent’s death; he knew his new life would begin on that same day. Until that time, he could grant no romantic interest, could not give his heart away. Could not allow anyone in.
Cecily and Nathaniel dance around the romance they both long for, fighting it to the bitter end, each knowing the other would reject them for certes should they ever find out the truth.
Sarah E. Ladd has brought a true-to-era story of propriety and moral character. Class lines were clearly drawn and not easily crossed, rigid societal rules of the time, lower class did not speak to upper class unless spoken to. Ms. Ladd has conveyed this in every page, every encounter, every conversation. Her descriptions vivid and strong and bright: “Anxiety wound its way around every one of Cecily’s nerves…” “With each word, the tension between them pulled harder, a battle masked behind civil, even tones.” Exquisite prose.
But more so than era-accurate, more than a neatly told romance, was Cecily’s struggle, to the very end, of seeking, desiring love, rang especially true for me. Longing for something she felt she could never have, something she had never known, echoes the struggle of every heart to know the Father’s love. Something that is there, always and in every moment, if only we can – will - reach for it. I felt Cecily’s pain, so skillfully conveyed by Ms. Ladd, and rejoiced with her in her triumph. Beautifully done, Sarah, beautifully done.
I look forward to reading The Heiress of Winterwood and The Headmistress of Rosemere.
http://robinsnest212.wordpress.com/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Robin-...
http://www.amazon.com/Robin-E.-Mason/...
https://twitter.com/amythyst212
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
#bookreview, #saraheladd, #aladyatwillowgrovehall, #theheiressofwinterwood, #theheadmistressofrosemere, #regencyerafiction, #secrets
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The people I meet, the worlds I get lost in and long to return to. And the authors who create these worlds and the people who inhabit them.
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