When Amelia Barrett's best friend dies shortly after giving birth, Amelia pledges to never leave the baby and to always be there for her. Complications arise when Amelia's mercurial fiance, Edward, tells her after they are married the baby has to go. With the return of the baby's father, Graham, a sea captain in the British Navy, Amelia devises a plan to keep the baby. All she has to do is convince Graham to marry her and ditch Edward. However, Graham isn't so eager to marry again and Edward isn't willing to let her go. Soon Lucy and her nurse disappear and it's up to Graham and Amelia to find them before it's too late.
The Heiress of Winterwood is a fast-paced and dramatic Christian Romance set during England's Regency period. Fans of Downton Abbey are sure to enjoy this novel. The book has a little bit of everything; romance, mystery, action, and heart-pounding drama all set among the moors of Northern England. I enjoyed this book and read it rather quickly. I'm typically somewhat of a slow-reader, but when I first began this book when I finally "came up for air" I was 30% done with the book in seemingly very little time. I was totally engulfed in the story of Winterwood.
The only time I felt I lost connection with the book and it's characters was after they set off for Liverpool towards the end of the book. Maybe it was just my anxiety to see the kidnapping resolved (this is not a spoiler as it's part of the books description), but it felt like it began to drag a bit for me. Again, it could have just been my need for a resolution and preferably quickly. I did feel stress waiting for the baby to be kidnapped and at times it felt heavy and ominous knowing it would happen. This is probably because my own daughter, Trista, is Lucy's age. So, I hate to think of even fictional babies having something bad happen to them and I could so sympathize with Amelia's feelings after this happens. At times her brash actions only added to my anxiety as it didn't seem she really thought her actions through. But as a mother, I can understand and I was able to forgive her for those things that would have otherwise annoyed me.
I look forward to reading more in this series and I do wish there was more information available about what the next book in the series will be like. Will it continue Amelia and Graham's story as they become a family at Winterwood? Or will it be like many Christian series and begin a whole new story with new characters? I do hope that it continues the story that's already been started because there's many things I'd like to know. Does Graham retire from the navy to actively partake in his new role as father, husband, and master of Winterwood? Does William resolve his debts? What becomes of Helena and the thing that would be a spoiler if I said it?
Sarah E. Ladd did a great job with this book and I am giving The Heiress of Winterwood 4 out of 5 stars. Definitely add this one to you TBR piles if you haven't already.
Happy reading, bookworms!
I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Thomas Nelson in exchange for an honest review.
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