Review: The Reluctant Duchess

The Reluctant Duchess is the second book in The Ladies of The Manor series by Roseanna M. White. I don't know how she does it, but her style, characters, and plots are never dull or skim worthy. I recommend that you read the first book in this series otherwise you will be confused since it's basically one long story even though the main characters are different in each book since it's all interconnected.

Lady Rowena Kinnaird wants to leave her father's castle. She has suffered enough abuse under him and now with Malcolm, the man she is supposed to marry. Is she always destined to be unhappy?

Brice Myerston has recently become the Duke of Nottingham following his father's death. While he stays in his home in Scotland with his mother and sister, he figures out a way to hide the Fire Eyes in plain sight. Meanwhile, Brice's mother invites the Kinnaird has she does every year to come to the castle and socialize. She is shocked when Rowena and her stepmother show up. They are all surprised when they in turn are invited to the Kinnaird's for dinner. They all go and enjoy an evening of fun, but then the Kinnaird's plot comes out when they realize he is trying to force Brice to marry Rowena by manipulating events in his favor.

This story was fascinating from beginning to end. Rowena was an interesting character and Brice definitely met his match with her. They were so different but managed to find common ground and even learned from each other. I liked how Brice wasn't the perfect guy like he was portrayed to be in the first book. They faced some hard things but kept God the focus making their struggles surmountable. I can't wait to read the next one!!

I was given this book for free from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: The Lost Heiress

The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White is the first book in The Ladies of the Manor series and was much better than I anticipated. Mystery, suspense, romance, complex characters - what more could you ask for?! 

Brook Eden knows she's not the biological daughter of the Prince of Monaco, but the king accepted her as his granddaughter anyway. Growing up in the ornate palace, Brook just wanted to know who she really was and why her mother sent her away before she died. Then when her adopted mother died, she left Brook her diary describing the night she was given charge of Brook. Brook decides not to read the journal yet; instead she sends her closest friend, Justin, to England with a clue she found of her parentage.

When Justin returns, he reveals that he is pretty sure he found her father. She may not be the Princess of Monaco, but she is the Baroness of Berkeley her title by right passed down from her mother and her mother before her. Plus, her father is an earl and he's alive. Filled with trepidation and excitement, Brook and Justin travel to England to meet her father. Will her father believe she is his daughter? 

I could not stop reading this book! The characters were amazing! I felt like I knew all of them. You could tell they were fleshed out well in the author's mind because they felt so real in the story. Brook and Justin's journey was well done; they had troubling times but were brought closer to God because of it. The relationship between Justin and Brook left you on the edge of your seat wondering when or if they would finally resolve their differences, and the mystery surrounding some jewelry of Brook's mother keeps you up late to see if your suspicions are correct or not. Plus, the relationship of Brook with her father and all the servants was very realistically done. I can't wait to read the next book in the series!

This author is especially skillful at weaving intricate plots, compelling characters, and challenging circumstances into a fascinating, can't-stop-reading story. If you haven't read any of her books before, please do! And if you love her writing as much as I do check out her Culper Ring series; it's a very similar style to this book. 

I was given this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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Review: Circle of Spies

Circle of Spies by Roseanna M. White is the third book in the Culper Ring series. If you are new to this series, it won't hurt anything to read them out of order. I know because I did by accident with the second book! haha I have since read the first book and the free e-book set in between the first and second stories. Plus, there's also a free e-book between the second and third books, too! I love that you can know more about the characters between each full length novel. :-)

Marietta Hughes has been a widow for the past 15 months, and even though she feels sorrow over her husband's death more than anything she feels guilty and ashamed for using him. Not loving him. And worse of all, for all her flirtatious looks to her husband's brother, Dev. But then her grandfather shows her something. Something that shakes her to her core and makes her reevaluate who she is and where she is going. Finally broken and defeated, she humbles herself before God and prays for the strength she needs to face the truth.... Devereaux Hughes, the man she thought she knew and loved is not only a member of the KGC, but he is a prominent leader with his headquarters below her house.

Her grandfather asks her to protect Slade Osborne, a Pinkerton agent who is infiltrating the Knights of the Golden Circle to garner information to aid the Union. Marietta reluctantly agrees and begins to aid Slade whenever the opportunity arises. With her gifted memory, she is able to do much for their cause, but along the way she starts becoming attracted to Slade. With her past, how can anyone good and kind possibly love her?

To me, one of the best parts of this story is the main character. It's not often that you read of a character struggling to be good even when she gets saved so she was a breath of fresh air even though she irritated me to no end at times with her flirtatious ways! lol  Seeing how she changed and matured was written very well, and you couldn't help but root for her. I loved the message that our guilt from sin is one of our biggest detriments to growth because we are so bound by shame we can't move forward. Who hasn't experienced that? It's a wonderful story of grace, forgiveness, and love.

I enjoyed the story a lot, but I didn't like the spy plot. It just wasn't as good as the first two. It just kind of plodded along with hardly any suspense which in turn didn't leave me at the edge of my seat. Probably because we already know the ending to the plot the author chose. The characters and their lives were what really brought this story alive. So it's a great regular story just not the best if you are looking for a lot of suspense like the first two.

I was given this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.