The Secret of Pembrooke Park – Julie Klassen

February 25, 2015 • Giveaways, Reviews • 102 Comments

The Secret of Pembrooke ParkA Mysterious House Full of Secrets!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Source: Review Copy form Publisher

TYPE OF NOVEL: Historical Romance, Regency Romance, Gothic Suspense, Inspirational Fiction (lite)

SETTING: 1817, Pembrooke Park, Berkshire, England

MAIN CHARACTERS:

  • Mr. and Mrs. Foster and their two daughters – Abigail (23) and Louisa (19)
  • Kate and Mac Chapman and their four children – Leah (28), William (24), Jacob (15), and Kitty (12)
  • Miles Pembrooke
  • Gilbert Scott

SYNOPSIS:

Due to a bad investment, the Foster family is forced to retrench and sell their London town-home. By chance they are offered an opportunity to lease an abandoned manor house from one of their distant relations on some very generous and convenient terms. The ever-practical and responsible daughter, Abigail, offers to set up the new home with her father, while her sister and mother enjoy one more season in London. At Pembrooke Park Abigail finds the house embroiled with secrets from the past…What happened to the original owners? Why was Pembrooke Park left abandoned for 18 years? Is there indeed treasure hidden somewhere in the house? Abigail Foster is desperate to learn the answers to these questions…

WHY I WANTED TO READ THIS NOVEL:

  • I love Julie Klassen novels! I’ve now read 6 titles* by Julie Klassen!
  • As a fan of Jane Austen, Julie Klassen always includes plenty of allusions and echoes to Jane Austen in her novels, and I love spotting them! This novel had nods to both Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility.

WHAT I LOVED:

  • Abigail Foster: I adored our heroine! She has the dependableness of Elinor Dashwood, the compassionate heart of Anne Elliot, and the insatiable curiosity of Catherine Moreland. Her selflessness, gentleness, modesty, and sharp mind make her truly an admirable and praiseworthy heroine. I loved witnessing Abigail discover her own self-worth and seeing others recognize and appreciate her value (like Anne Elliot, she is often forgotten, pushed over, and under-appreciated.)
  • Family and Friendships: In this tale we learn a lot about family history and relationships – ones that are inspiring and ones that are heart-wrenchingly sad. There was a touching message intertwined in this plot about families and how we should treasure our loved ones. Moreover, the making of friends (both public and private) seemed to be a highlighted theme. I greatly enjoyed witnessing several characters make overtures of friendship throughout the book, especially the one we learn about in the end!
  • Mysteries, Secrets, and Intrigue: Oh! The Pembrooke family is so mysterious and puzzling! And everyone is so tight-lipped about them! How frustrating! 😉 (Just kidding!) As is her usual style, Julie Klassen loves to leave readers guessing and doesn’t reveal all until the very end! I loved the many family secrets in this story, I had a suspicion or two, but more often than not, I was completely surprised by the unpredictable twists and turns. This story has double the mystery, double the secrets, and double the intrigue for sure!
  • Beautifully Blended and Balanced: There are so many components combined in these novels by Julie Klassen – well-researched histories full of facts about the time period, a tender-hearted romance, a bit of mystery and intrigue, and an inspiring faith-filled message. All of these components are interwoven very seamlessly and naturally – without anything feeling disjointed or overpowering.
  • Old Flames: I loved the budding relationship between Abigail and William (he was such a likable and earnest character), but I also loved how they both have prior love interests – Abigail’s childhood friend, Gilbert Scott and the girl who previously broke William’s heart, Rebekah. Learning about these past relationships and seeing these love interests return again to the forefront definitely enhanced the tension a little in this romance! I loved it!

WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:

  • *cricket chirp* *cricket chirp* Nothing! 🙂

CONCLUSION:

In another arrestingly beautiful tale, Julie Klassen takes readers to an abandoned yet picturesque English manor filled with history and mystery. The Secret of Pembrooke Park is a stellar and magnetizing read, and I am all eager anticipation for the next two novels Julie Klassen plans to publish later this year – Lady Maybe and The Painter’s Daughter! Happy thought, indeed!

Add to Cart   I   Add to Shelf

*The Dancing Master    The Silent Governess    The Tutor’s Daughter    The Apothecary’s Daughter    The Maid at Fairbourne Hall

 

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Giveaway Time!!!

Win One of Four Fabulous Prizes

Win 1 of 4 Fabulous Jane Austen-inspired Prize Packages

To celebrate the release of The Secret of Pembrooke Park, Julie is giving away some lovely prizes!

Three lucky winners will receive one trade paperback or eBook copy of The Secret of Pembrooke Park, and one grand prize winner will receive one copy of all eight of Julie’s novels: Lady of Milkweed Manor, The Apothecary’s Daughter, The Silent Governess, The Girl in the Gatehouse, The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, The Tutor’s Daughter, The Dancing Master, and The Secret of Pembrooke Park, one DVD of Northanger Abbey (2007) and a Jane Austen Action Figure.

Secret_Pembrook_Park_Blog_Tour_Prizes_x_350

To enter the giveaway contest, simply leave a comment below sharing which of Julie Klassen’s books is your favorite, or which book of hers do you most want to read!  I think my two top favorites areThe Silent Governess and The Secret of Pembrooke Park!

To increase your chances of winning, visit any of the other blog stops on the The Secret of Pembrooke Park Blog Tour and check out Julie’s unique guest posts will be featured on a variety of subjects, along with fun interviews, spotlights, excerpts, and reviews of the novel.

  • This giveaway is open to residents in the US, CAN, and UK.  Thank you, Julie!
  • This giveaway ends March 9th!

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Disclaimer: The Amazon links used in this post are affiliate links. 

102 comments

  3. A stunning read – and totally agree on the increased tension with the old flames reappearing!
    Lovely post, Meredith – a pleasure to read – TY!

    Reply

  4. I have only read one of her novels, not that I don’t like her…just too many good books to read. So this will go on my wish list (It sounds delicious.) and I will hope to be a lucky winner. If not, I will definitely buy and read this in the future. Good review, as always, Meredith.

    Reply

        2. But I need more than you gave me as putting just that name in didn’t work. They ask for e-mail address and if you want to send it to Meredith I am sure she would send it along…if you don’t want to publish it on a public site like this.

          Reply

  17. The Silent Governess is the only one I’ve read. I have the Apothecary’s Daughter, but have not read it yet. The rest are on my wish list. I am really loving Ms. Klassen’s books and have her on my short list of favorites to keep an eye out for. I’ll have to add the new books to my list! Thanks for the lovely giveaways as always!

    Reply

    1. I feel like I need to clarify that I’m about 2/3 through Apothecary’s Daughter…I felt like I just fibbed. LOL I guess I should say “I have not finished it yet.” LOL

      Reply

    2. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about The Apothecary’s Daughter. LOL! I thought all we learned about medicine and medical treatments at that time was fascinating!

      Reply

  21. I have not read any of these books yet because I have just recently heard about them but I would Dearly Love to do so, I love this kind of writing and English stories, the
    Secret of Pembrooke Hall looks soooo very intreaging to me I can’t wait to read it

    Reply

  26. I haven’t read anything by Julie yet but I
    can see I need to remedy that very soon. I have The Apothecary’s Daughter, The Tutor’s Daughter and The Girl in the Gatehouse so far on my kindle. Just have to choose which to read first!

    Reply

  31. Hi Meredith!
    Although I can´t participate, I just wanted to say that this novel seems so exciting!. Mysterious houses always provide novels with a lot of intrigue. I have to put “Pembrooke Park” in my wishlist 😉
    Thanks Meredith for introducing me into Julie Klassen´s novels!

    Reply

    1. It is, Teresa! I love all the houses and places we travel to in Julie’s books. I’d love to visit all these places in person if I could. I’m so happy to hear you are enjoying these novels as much as I am! Glad I didn’t steer you wrong! 🙂

      Reply

  33. Thank you for sharing your review with us, Meredith! I’ve read just about all of Julie’s books(except for the last one which I seem to have mislaid, along with a few other various books on my shelf). :\ I am so looking forward to reading The Secret of Pembrooke Park, as well as Lady Maybe and The Painter’s Daughter! ~ Blessings, Juli
    emeraldelena@hotmail.com

    Reply

  35. My favorite is The Silent Governess and I am most looking forward to The Secret of Pembroke Park.

    rdewey17 (at)yahoo(dot)com

    Reply

  36. My first Julie Klassen book was “The Apothecary’s Daughter” & that drew me into the rest! I think my two favorites are the one mentioned here & “Lady of Milkweed Manor”. I’ve only read 5 of her books, but would love to read every one of hers! “The Dancing Master” is next on my list.
    Thank you for hosting this great giveaway on your blog! I am a huge Julie Klassen fan so this tour is just fantastic! Would love to see all of these in the giveaway sitting on my shelf, thank you for the chance to win!
    teamob4 (at) gmail (dot) com

    Reply

    1. Hi Trixi! Thanks for checking out my review! So happy to hear you are enjoying the tour! 🙂 The Dancing Master was a lot of fun. I have Lady of Milkweed Manor on my tbr list. Need to read it soon! Good lucky in the giveaway!

      Reply

  37. Thanks again for participating in the blog tour. I enjoyed the format and information shared in this post. Thanks. Looking forward to Julie Klassen’s other books coming out later this year!!!

    Reply

  40. Are you kidding me you already read it?! Wow. Loved your review. Since I have not read pembrooke yet I’ll have to say silent governess is my favorite. I’ll have to reread the others to see if I’ve changed my mind.

    Reply

    1. LOL! I know, right? I’m catching up. Thank you so much, Suzan! The Silent Governess seems to be the favorite of many. 🙂 I think my favorite might change over time, they all are wonderful!

      Reply

  46. Wow, Meredith. Five starts and nothing you disliked!!! I enjoy Julie Kassen’s book as well. I discovered, “The Silent Governess” by accident. I’ve enjoyed two other of her books and look forward to reading this one, as well as all the others she’s written. What a great story teller, and is meticulous as to details of the period.

    Reply

  49. This is another great review – I have been reading the various reviews around the blog tour — I can’t wait to read the book and I am sure it will live up to the other great novels written by Julie Klassen – my favorite so far is The Apothecary’s Daughter.

    Reply

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