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A review by english_lady03
A Lady at Willowgrove Hall by Sarah E. Ladd
4.0
A Lady at Willowgrove Hall concludes new author Sarah Ladd’s Whispers on the Moors series, Regency Romances set in a fictional county in the North of England. The last two I heard as audiobooks, so this was my first proper read. There is little real connection with the characters or events with the first two books in the series, which might seem daring for the last novel in a trilogy, or for fans wishing to ‘hear more’ of the characters from the last books, but it seemed to work well enough.
The story is based around Cecily Faire, a hurting young lady harbouring a secret that she fears could ruin her, securing a position as a companion to the elderly owner of Willowgrove Hall. When she arrives she discovers a face from her past, and Nathanial Stanton, the steward who harbours a secret of his own. The setting is common for Regency Era stories, and though the secrets of the main characters are known to the audience from the outset, their impact on the character’s lives and those around them works well as the central part of the plot.
Although ostensibly ‘Christian’ fiction, there is little real religious content, or at least less that the first book. However, there are important messages about forgiveness, honesty, and the destructive influence of bitterness and resentment on people’s lives. So it could be classified as clean romance with the Christian flavour, perhaps.
My only complaints were that the story did seem rather slow and lagging in places, and some inconsistency in the use of language. In some places, for instance, the characters used Americanisms that seemed rather out of place in an early nineteenth century British setting- but in other places the correct British idioms or terms were used. The Romance was sweet, though some passages were a little clichéd, but generally it’s a good, light read if you want a cosy, easy to follow, edifying story.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review, I was not required to write a positive one and all opinions expressed are my own.
The story is based around Cecily Faire, a hurting young lady harbouring a secret that she fears could ruin her, securing a position as a companion to the elderly owner of Willowgrove Hall. When she arrives she discovers a face from her past, and Nathanial Stanton, the steward who harbours a secret of his own. The setting is common for Regency Era stories, and though the secrets of the main characters are known to the audience from the outset, their impact on the character’s lives and those around them works well as the central part of the plot.
Although ostensibly ‘Christian’ fiction, there is little real religious content, or at least less that the first book. However, there are important messages about forgiveness, honesty, and the destructive influence of bitterness and resentment on people’s lives. So it could be classified as clean romance with the Christian flavour, perhaps.
My only complaints were that the story did seem rather slow and lagging in places, and some inconsistency in the use of language. In some places, for instance, the characters used Americanisms that seemed rather out of place in an early nineteenth century British setting- but in other places the correct British idioms or terms were used. The Romance was sweet, though some passages were a little clichéd, but generally it’s a good, light read if you want a cosy, easy to follow, edifying story.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for review, I was not required to write a positive one and all opinions expressed are my own.