Keeping Secrets and Uncovering the Truth
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Source: Purchased
TYPE OF NOVEL: Historical Romance, Regency Romance
TIME FRAME: 1815
MAIN CHARACTERS: Olivia Keene, Edward Bradley, Judith Howe, Lord Brightwell, Mr. Croome, Simon Keene, and Dorothea Keene
WHY I WANTED TO READ THIS NOVEL:
- Loved the previous two books I read by this author – The Apothecary’s Daughter and The Tutor’s Daughter
- I love reading novels about governesses (especially if there is romance involved!) Jane Eyre is one of my all-time favorite novels. My great-grandmother was a governess.
SYNOPSIS:
Forced to leave her home without any notice, Olivia Keene makes her way to a girls school a few towns away to seek employment. Waylaid by mishaps and misfortunes, Olivia ends up on an earl’s estate, temporarily unable to talk (due to damaged vocal chords), forced to work as an under nurse, and inadvertently aware of a very damaging secret…
WHAT I LOVED:
- Incredibly Readable: I loved how this book consumed me! It was excessively well-written and the story unraveled in such a way that I felt compelled to read more and more. Not at all easy to put down, I snatched every spare moment I had to read another chapter. (Finished it in 2 days)
- Embroiled With Secrets: Everybody has a secret in this novel. While we are privy to some secrets, like why Olivia ran away from home and what is the truth about Lord Bradley, we don’t know what became of Olivia’s parents, what connection Olivia’s mother has with Brightwell Court, or who is sending Lord Bradley these threatening notes…
- The Hero and Heroine: Once again, Julie Klassen creates a splendidly admirable heroine; Olivia is gentle, brave, caring, intelligent, and compassionate. I loved seeing her affectionate interactions with the children under her care. Lord Bradley is a complex character. He is untrusting, hard, changeable, and unhappy, yet at the same time he is generous, playful, and fond of children. It was such a delight to witness these two together and see the moments were their hearts begin to soften towards one another.
- Unpredictable: I thought I was so smart! I thought I had it all figured out, solved the puzzles, guessed the secrets…and…I was wrong! I love that I was wrong. I love that this story had a couple of unexpected twists and a surprising outcome.
- Factual Fiction: You can just tell that these novels by Julie Klassen are impeccably researched. Ms. Klassen’s portrayal of the governess’s plight is sympathetic and illuminating. The loneliness, the lack of appreciation, the tenuous feeling of security governesses experience are all superbly illustrated in this novel.
WHAT I WASN’T TOO FOND OF:
- Can’t think of a thing… 😉
CONCLUSION:
A mesmerizingly beautiful tale with an abundance of intrigue and romance! Julie Klassen adroitly weaves together a story that immerses the reader and transports them to a bygone world of manor houses, governesses, and birthrights.
This sounds so good! If a review causes you to do this punctuation… then I know it’s intriguing and I want to try. It’s on my mahoosive wish list, but I’ll have to try and bump it up a bit. There are so many historical stories that have errors in, so nice to see that this one seems to be well-researched as well as have a good story.
Haha! Yes, that is secret code for “I can’t reveal anymore!” Have you read of any of Julie Klassen’s other books, Ceri? This one is my third, I think there is a fair amount of intrigue in all of them. Which is great, I like being kept in suspense!
I haven’t read any of them so far. It’s nice to have a recommendation for a historical romance author I haven’t tried yet. I’ll certainly try and get round to this one.
Oh my!! Looks like I’m going to be adding another book to my to-read pile…. Umm… errr…. list…. my “to-read” list!! 😉 LOL
LOL! It is never ending, right? 1 book comes off, 17 books go on! Have you read any of Julie Klassen’s other books, Valerie? I think there are 6 (soon to be 7). She was recommended to me years ago because she is a big fan of Jane Austen and Jane Eyre and much of her writing is influenced by her favorite authors and novels. I’m greatly enjoying what I read by her so far, I hope to read all her books eventually! 😀
Julie Klassen is one of my all-time favourite authors so I am thrilled to see that you loved it! I hope you pick up more of her books as they are all great reads.
Oh, I definitely intend to, wolfluvr420! I have The Maid of Fairbourne Hall in my possession and hopefully will be able to sneak it into my reading sometime soon. I hope to get the other ones eventually. She is becoming one of my favorite authors as well! Which book of hers is your favorite?
Looking up on Amazon now…Thanks for great recommendation!
🙂 Happy reading, Betsy! I hope you enjoy this book and this author as I much as I did.
The plot seems very intriguing. I love this mysterious atmosphere 😮
Your review is very helpful, thanks Meredith!
Pd: love the cover:)
Yes, the mysterious atmosphere is definitely quite prevalent in this book! Nothing too sinister or scandalous, just unknown!
Oh, I know, the cover is stunning, isn’t it?
I am so glad you loved this book as well. It was the first Klassen I read and the others followed suit shortly thereafter. This one however is my favorite and it needs to be reread after your lovely review.
I’m so glad I finally read this one too. It has been on my list forever!!! I was so attracted to the cover, the fact that the story was about a governess, and the blurb. Found it at library book sale last month – felt like I found a treasure! 🙂
I will look at the library then–they are expensive reads on Amazon Kindle!
Oh yes, it is expensive on Kindle! Hope you find it at your library!