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Love and Secrets at Cassfield Manor
by
Wealthy socialite Christine Harrison's life seems perfect until the man she planned to marry, Mr. Davenport, proposes to someone else. Heartbroken, Miss Harrison's sure she'll never love again, and to distract herself, she sets out to rescue a fallen young woman. Little does she know that her journey will reveal more than she expected about her friends, her seemingly perfe
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Paperback, 272 pages
Published
August 14th 2018
by Sweetwater Books
(first published August 2018)
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Start your review of Love and Secrets at Cassfield Manor
Appearances can be deceiving. That is one lesson that is apparent in this book. There are several little twists and turns that take the story in a different direction than anticipated.
This book is told from different points of view. You get the full story one piece at a time. The author does a good job at giving you a little bit, enough to make you guess, before she adds more. `Sarah L. McConkie does well at describing the social expectations and then adds the maneuvering for social gain.
I enjo ...more
This book is told from different points of view. You get the full story one piece at a time. The author does a good job at giving you a little bit, enough to make you guess, before she adds more. `Sarah L. McConkie does well at describing the social expectations and then adds the maneuvering for social gain.
I enjo ...more
I was really excited to read this and thought it was going to be super cute and fun. How wrong I was! The characters are so annoying, none of the romances are believable. Too many conflicts and backstories that aren’t really relevant. Plus some of conflicts ended half way through the book, and then a new one would arise. Characters would just vanish from the story as if they never truly mattered.
That ending had to be the worst, the last couple of pages and finally the guy decides that he’s in l ...more
That ending had to be the worst, the last couple of pages and finally the guy decides that he’s in l ...more
What an ingenious novel this was. I will say that at first the characters seemed very shallow and the mundane details of their privileged life made me not really care for whom these four young women actually ended up with, even if some of the matches were questionable. However, what the author showed was the changes in these ladies, from their shallowness to looking at a person deeper than their position or wealth and this was shown behind the scenes, until eventually I very much did care what h
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I have so many conflicted feelings on this one. Overall, I enjoyed the story. The book was intriguing, and there were plenty of plot twists to keep things interesting. But, I really didn’t care for the fact that the story was told from so many point of views, as I just have a preference for stories that are told from two POVs. Also, I thought the main romance of the story seemed too rushed.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book! The twists and turns of the plot were intriguing and I appreciated the perfect mix of suspense and sweet romance. I liked the style in this book of providing a point of view from multiple characters. This is the debut novel by this author Sarah L. McConkie and I hope she writes more!
Favorite quote "Christine came close enough to the water's edge to see each soft wave lap over the sand below her. How she loved these tides, with their never-ending change. It taught he ...more
Favorite quote "Christine came close enough to the water's edge to see each soft wave lap over the sand below her. How she loved these tides, with their never-ending change. It taught he ...more
Not bad for her first book. I will read more and it was clean.
Loved this book! Good clean fun adventurous romance.
It's a little bit different of an experience for me reviewing this book, because I personally know Sarah, the author, as well as several of the people upon whom her characters are based.
So in that vein, I would first like to say how impressive it is to me that Sarah did this. She published a novel! That is a monumental and freaking awesome accomplishment! And it's not as if she's a professional, full-time writer with nothing else to occupy her days; she's a busy and devoted mother to three young ...more
So in that vein, I would first like to say how impressive it is to me that Sarah did this. She published a novel! That is a monumental and freaking awesome accomplishment! And it's not as if she's a professional, full-time writer with nothing else to occupy her days; she's a busy and devoted mother to three young ...more
This is the first book I've read by Sarah L McConkie (I believe this is her debut novel) and it was a true-to-form Regency romance novel. The setting of England by the shore is lovely and the glamour of the parties thrown at the lavish manors is fun to glimpse. The frivolity of the financially secure young women simply existing to make a "good match" is a little over-the-top but probably very true to life. There are multiple points of view (all third person) in the book and this style of writing
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I really enjoyed this book. Christine reminded me a bit of Jane Austen’s Emma and the hero, (I won’t say his name because you aren’t really sure who she will end up with in the beginning), reminded me a bit of a Mr. Darcy.
Christine, and her friends start off a bit young and superficial and throughout the book gain maturity and more depth. Even though most of the book is told from Christine’s point of view, there are different times that we get the point of view of a different character. (There ...more
Christine, and her friends start off a bit young and superficial and throughout the book gain maturity and more depth. Even though most of the book is told from Christine’s point of view, there are different times that we get the point of view of a different character. (There ...more
A Delightful, heartwarming regency!
Sarah McConkie skillfully transports her readers to the Regency era. I felt I could almost smell the sea air and walk with Christine and her dear companions along the beaches at Cassfield. Christine is a relatable heroine and I loved how much she learns, changes, and grows up throughout the book. The novel started off a little slow, but soon captivated me with suspense, twists, danger, and adventure. The supporting characters in the novel are just as lovable as ...more
Sarah McConkie skillfully transports her readers to the Regency era. I felt I could almost smell the sea air and walk with Christine and her dear companions along the beaches at Cassfield. Christine is a relatable heroine and I loved how much she learns, changes, and grows up throughout the book. The novel started off a little slow, but soon captivated me with suspense, twists, danger, and adventure. The supporting characters in the novel are just as lovable as ...more
This booked dragged on a little bit. Sarah’s writing is good and there isn’t anything inherently wrong with the plot. I think it would have been more compelling to leave the thoughts and feelings of others a mystery and have them slowly unfold to Christine. To have the story told from a 3rd person limited, instead of 3rd person omniscient perspective would have made this book feel more like real life and would have pulled the plot along. Instead I felt a little over-explained to. My other issue
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This was a quick read for me and apparently by a new author. I read a lot of historical fiction and regency romance novels so I have certain authors and styles of writing that I prefer. I did enjoy reading this book because I found it entertaining. What holds me back from a more favorable star rating is the pacing of the relationships in the book, some inconsistencies in social expectations (chaperones lacking most of the time), the multiple amazing coincidences in how almost every new (and some
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Love and Secrets at Cassfield Manor by Sarah L. McConkie
Rating: 4/5 stars
Best For: Adults and teens that enjoy romance/regency romance books
Clean Read: Yes.
Worth a Check Out: Yes.
Buy It or Not: If you love Edenbrooke or Jane Austen books then buy it.
Read Aloud: No.
Book Club Discussion Ideas: What are the similarities to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice? Which of the 4 girls do you relate to the most? How does class play a role in who you can become? Does present day have similarities to the st ...more
Rating: 4/5 stars
Best For: Adults and teens that enjoy romance/regency romance books
Clean Read: Yes.
Worth a Check Out: Yes.
Buy It or Not: If you love Edenbrooke or Jane Austen books then buy it.
Read Aloud: No.
Book Club Discussion Ideas: What are the similarities to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice? Which of the 4 girls do you relate to the most? How does class play a role in who you can become? Does present day have similarities to the st ...more
I really struggled finishing this book, or more accurately, getting through the first half of the story. The four main female characters didn't have much to recommend them and the storyline wasn't engaging. Just past halfway through things picked up so I continued to read and definitely enjoyed the second half better. But the complete lack of development of the relationship between Christine and William really frustrated me. Neither had much of anything to recommend them individually (at least w
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I love that this book had characters who cared about title and money. Because didn’t most of the Gentry back then? I know most of the proper romances have characters who want to marry for love, but let’s be real people. That probably wasn’t the case for most of the upper class! So I love that Sarah had characters who started that way. The story has great twists and turns and adventures that keep you engaged and curious throughout. There’s a group of women all looking for a husband and some find
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I just finished reading this novel, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised! I went into it thinking I would be enjoying a lighthearted easy read, and I ended up being transported into a different time! I literally felt like I was reading a book by Jane Austen. It was written so well, fit the genre and time period perfectly, and ended up having its own plot twists. But I have to say, my favorite part was that we get really good character development, learning about more than just the perspe
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I enjoyed this book from Sarah McConkie. I gave it 3 1/2 stars. It took awhile for me to get into it. I think that it was because the characters didn't really grab me at first. I think the romance just didn't build enough for me to believe it was believable. The hero was so austere that it made him almost unlikeable. Also, I felt like Davenport's story wasn't well fleshed out considering he was such a central part of the story in the beginning. For a first book, it was good. I would definitely r
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This is somewhere between a 3-4 star rating for me!
While I do not know the author, Andrew (my husband) was her home teacher at BYU for a little while. I was interested in reading her book and I thought she did a good job!
Christine falling in love with William seemed out of the blue. She hadn’t had a lot of contact with him, let alone positive interactions and then she was thinking about him all the time, idk- that was a little random to me. But a fun read!
While I do not know the author, Andrew (my husband) was her home teacher at BYU for a little while. I was interested in reading her book and I thought she did a good job!
Christine falling in love with William seemed out of the blue. She hadn’t had a lot of contact with him, let alone positive interactions and then she was thinking about him all the time, idk- that was a little random to me. But a fun read!
Dec 17, 2020
Nicole
added it
I'm not going to rate a book I didn't finish. I rarely don't finish a book but this is just dragging and the characters are flat, nothing engaging and I'm 50 pages in. At this point in my life I just don't have the patience. Her next book was better so I'm not going to bag completely on the author. Everyone says it picks up the last part of the book. But so far it is stuffy and formal and has no draw for me to read it.
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What a sweet and charming and clean regency romance! You really feel for Christine as she is looking for her perfect match. Loved the variety of characters, compassion, and and unexpected twists and turns. Stick with it as at the end the complex characters lives are all interwoven beautifully. I'd love to read more about the Harrison sisters and their friends!
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Love & Secrets at Cassfield Manor by Debut Author Sarah L. McConkie.
Is not your typical proper romance...in the best way!
I appreciated the mix of suspense & sweet romance through out this novel. Really enjoyed seeing the journey these charcters took during the novel.
Over all this was an enjoyable read.
Is not your typical proper romance...in the best way!
I appreciated the mix of suspense & sweet romance through out this novel. Really enjoyed seeing the journey these charcters took during the novel.
Over all this was an enjoyable read.
The first hundred or so pages were such a drag! Almost stopped reading it at least three times. Kept hoping it would get better and it did. The last 80 pages or so were great! But I felt it was rushed! So much excitement could have been spaced over the book. Considering it’s the author’s first novel I’ll give her 1 star and 1 Star for a half decent second half.
I am still not fully decided on this book. It was better than 3 stars, but not sure on 4. It is written a little differently than so many in the genre, but at times it felt like there were too many tangents.
Was really slow to get going. The plot didn’t pick up speed till over half way through. Message was good about not judging someone by their monetary value.
I loved this story so much! I can't wait to read more books by this author.
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It started out slow. I almost stopped a couple of times. But I continued and was pleasantly surprised. Loved the last half!!
I will come back to this book!
Slow to start but picks up.
I enjoyed the characters and relationships in this book but it seemed to drag at the beginning. Overall a great book full of twists and surprises.
I enjoyed the characters and relationships in this book but it seemed to drag at the beginning. Overall a great book full of twists and surprises.
Very predictable
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Sarah L. McConkie grew up in Mesa, Arizona, and graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor's of Music, emphasis in Choral Education. She also pursued a Master's in Literacy from Brigham Young University and enjoys being part of a writing group. She and her family spent part of 2017 living in Thailand for her husband's company, and she now resides in Woods Cross, Utah, with her husband
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