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loverofromance's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted on Addicted To Romance
Sophia and Gabriel's marriage has gone through its tough and hard times. Both Sophia and Gabriel care quite a bit for each other. However, loss to both of them drove them apart. And for a while now they have lived apart. Sophia misses her husband and wants a change and to fight for their marriage and to keep Gabriel. Gabriel has returned to rekindle what they had once together. He went away to Europe to learn to be cultured and to be what he thinks Sophia needs for him to be. As Sophia and Gabriel are reunited, the sparks become rekindles, and they start to become fully honest about the past. Despite the obstacles that are in their path, Gabriel and Sophia are determined to make this the moment where they learn to heal and to love again
This was a fantastic read and totally had me captivated from the beginning. The Great Estate is a story that is set in the Georgian Era. Which is a bit different than what you are normally used to. It is set in the early 1900's...so think Titanic era. We have a story of a couple that have been married and care quite a bit for each other. We see how much they individually want to make their marriage succeed, and it is quite lively at times seeing them sort through the problems and conflicts that arise. I love seeing this theme of these two battling issues out and working toward a solution. Both are opinionate characters, strong and stubborn. But we see an influx of other character that just add more to the story. What was most intriguing about this story, that while these two try to make an effort to work things out, they also have to deal with family relative gettings in the way. What surprised me most about this story was how much I fell in love with this story. I wasn't sure before reading this one how I would feel about it, but boy was it a fun romance. Even though it had a serious tone to it, it still had those lighter moments. The romance was sweet and charming and I loved seeing these two connect to each other again. I haven't read the first two books, but after reading this one I am intrigued to try out the two other books!
I love the classy cover here, with the deep dark colors, It fits the time period and I love how realistic it looks.
The Great Estate is a stunning romance of rediscovery, healing, and true love!! It's a story that will keep the reader captivated and glued to the story from the first chapter.
Summary
Sophia and Gabriel's marriage has gone through its tough and hard times. Both Sophia and Gabriel care quite a bit for each other. However, loss to both of them drove them apart. And for a while now they have lived apart. Sophia misses her husband and wants a change and to fight for their marriage and to keep Gabriel. Gabriel has returned to rekindle what they had once together. He went away to Europe to learn to be cultured and to be what he thinks Sophia needs for him to be. As Sophia and Gabriel are reunited, the sparks become rekindles, and they start to become fully honest about the past. Despite the obstacles that are in their path, Gabriel and Sophia are determined to make this the moment where they learn to heal and to love again
Plot and Story Line
This was a fantastic read and totally had me captivated from the beginning. The Great Estate is a story that is set in the Georgian Era. Which is a bit different than what you are normally used to. It is set in the early 1900's...so think Titanic era. We have a story of a couple that have been married and care quite a bit for each other. We see how much they individually want to make their marriage succeed, and it is quite lively at times seeing them sort through the problems and conflicts that arise. I love seeing this theme of these two battling issues out and working toward a solution. Both are opinionate characters, strong and stubborn. But we see an influx of other character that just add more to the story. What was most intriguing about this story, that while these two try to make an effort to work things out, they also have to deal with family relative gettings in the way. What surprised me most about this story was how much I fell in love with this story. I wasn't sure before reading this one how I would feel about it, but boy was it a fun romance. Even though it had a serious tone to it, it still had those lighter moments. The romance was sweet and charming and I loved seeing these two connect to each other again. I haven't read the first two books, but after reading this one I am intrigued to try out the two other books!
Cover
I love the classy cover here, with the deep dark colors, It fits the time period and I love how realistic it looks.
Overall View
The Great Estate is a stunning romance of rediscovery, healing, and true love!! It's a story that will keep the reader captivated and glued to the story from the first chapter.
Thornbrook Park (1)
An Affair Downstairs (2)
The Great Estate(3)
jaclynder's review against another edition
3.0
The Great Estate is a nice Edwardian-era historical romance and will attract romance readers who enjoy the “reunited” trope. Here, Gabriel and his countess, Sophia, have been separated for a year. After losing their baby son the two became somewhat estranged and when Gabriel caught Sophia kissing another man, it seemed that their marriage was over. Now, a year later Gabriel and Sophia have decided to give it another go having gained a little maturity in their time apart.
Unbeknownst to Sophia, her transgression (as innocent as it was) acted as a kick in the pants for Gabriel, who realizes that perhaps he shouldn’t have given his wife so much space after their son died. Naturally, Gabriel thinks haring off to Italy to develop some romantic skills is the answer to all his problems. Sophia, in turn, realizes that she really shouldn’t have listened to all the advice her mother gave her; she doesn’t need to always act in a certain way. But this raises the question, does Gabriel love the real Sophia or the woman that she has always pretended to be?
I really liked the idea behind The Great Estate. Gabriel and Sophia are a couple that married very young and as a result they’ve let others influence their relationship. Now that they’ve matured they are both in a different spot, but it means that their relationship must change. Sophia in particular has matured since the early days of her marriage; she’s much more independent and has a strong desire to be considered equal to her husband. Sophia’s care and management of her husband’s estate has given her a lot of satisfaction while her husband was away and now that he’s returned Sophia is determined to show him what she is capable of. The question is whether or not he’s willing to treat Sophia as the capable woman she is.
Complicating Gabriel and Sophia’s relationship is the appearance of a baby left on their doorstep. Naturally everyone jumps to the conclusion that this kid must be Gabriel’s – everyone but Gabriel himself. While I’m not opposed to having some tension injected into The Great Estate, I didn’t really find the use of a potential illegitimate child to be that effective. In general, I really found The Great Estate to be lacking in tension, which was okay when the focus was on the relationship between Gabriel and Sophia. There’s nothing wrong with a quiet, heartfelt romance (Mary Balogh is an author that does this really, really well). In the case of The Great Estate I thought that the added complications of the baby on the doorstep, the runaway servant, and Sophia’s added problems with Gabriel’s mother ended up taking away from the real romance between Gabriel and Sophia. Too much time was spent on resolving other issues in the story and not enough time was given to solving the problems in Gabriel and Sophia’s marriage. The balance between the romance plot and all the other stuff going on was not well executed, in my opinion. So, while I quite enjoyed the whole “reunited” trope, I really was looking for something a little more emotionally satisfying.
The Great Estate is a pleasant read and I loved the Edwardian period setting. That said, I will admit that it was not a memorable read for me. A tension and emotional depth between the hero and heroine left this one lacking in my mind.
Originally reviewed at The Book Adventures.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
Unbeknownst to Sophia, her transgression (as innocent as it was) acted as a kick in the pants for Gabriel, who realizes that perhaps he shouldn’t have given his wife so much space after their son died. Naturally, Gabriel thinks haring off to Italy to develop some romantic skills is the answer to all his problems. Sophia, in turn, realizes that she really shouldn’t have listened to all the advice her mother gave her; she doesn’t need to always act in a certain way. But this raises the question, does Gabriel love the real Sophia or the woman that she has always pretended to be?
I really liked the idea behind The Great Estate. Gabriel and Sophia are a couple that married very young and as a result they’ve let others influence their relationship. Now that they’ve matured they are both in a different spot, but it means that their relationship must change. Sophia in particular has matured since the early days of her marriage; she’s much more independent and has a strong desire to be considered equal to her husband. Sophia’s care and management of her husband’s estate has given her a lot of satisfaction while her husband was away and now that he’s returned Sophia is determined to show him what she is capable of. The question is whether or not he’s willing to treat Sophia as the capable woman she is.
Complicating Gabriel and Sophia’s relationship is the appearance of a baby left on their doorstep. Naturally everyone jumps to the conclusion that this kid must be Gabriel’s – everyone but Gabriel himself. While I’m not opposed to having some tension injected into The Great Estate, I didn’t really find the use of a potential illegitimate child to be that effective. In general, I really found The Great Estate to be lacking in tension, which was okay when the focus was on the relationship between Gabriel and Sophia. There’s nothing wrong with a quiet, heartfelt romance (Mary Balogh is an author that does this really, really well). In the case of The Great Estate I thought that the added complications of the baby on the doorstep, the runaway servant, and Sophia’s added problems with Gabriel’s mother ended up taking away from the real romance between Gabriel and Sophia. Too much time was spent on resolving other issues in the story and not enough time was given to solving the problems in Gabriel and Sophia’s marriage. The balance between the romance plot and all the other stuff going on was not well executed, in my opinion. So, while I quite enjoyed the whole “reunited” trope, I really was looking for something a little more emotionally satisfying.
The Great Estate is a pleasant read and I loved the Edwardian period setting. That said, I will admit that it was not a memorable read for me. A tension and emotional depth between the hero and heroine left this one lacking in my mind.
Originally reviewed at The Book Adventures.
*Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley.
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