From Barnes and Noble:
Worlds lie between the marketplaces of India and the halls of a magnificent country estate like Highland Hall. Will Julia be able to find her place when a governess is neither upstairs family nor downstairs help?Missionary Julia Foster loves working alongside her parents, ministering and caring for young girls in India. But when the family must return to England due to illness, she readily accepts the burden for her parents’ financial support. Taking on a job at Highland Hall as governess, she quickly finds that teaching her four privileged, ill-mannered charges at a grand estate is more challenging than expected, and she isn’t sure what to make of the estate’s preoccupied master, Sir William Ramsey.
Widowed and left to care for his two young children and his deceased cousin Randolph’s two teenage girls, William is consumed with saving the estate from the financial ruin. The last thing he needs is any distraction coming from the kindhearted-yet-determined governess who seems to be quietly transforming his household with her persuasive personality, vibrant prayer life, and strong faith.
While both are tending past wounds and guarding fragile secrets, Julia and William are determined to do what it takes to save their families—common ground that proves fertile for unexpected feelings. But will William choose Julia’s steadfast heart and faith over the wealth and power he needs to secure Highland Hall’s future?
My Review: This is my first book by Carrie Turansky. It was enjoyable, but not as engrossing as I had hoped it would be. Carrie creates characters that are real and their feelings are very relate-able. However, I did not like all of the brooding that William did, and I don't feel like his character's spiritual journey was well developed. The fact that the story is told from several different people was kind of distracting, as the stories told by two of the characters were not very well developed and the fact that one of them gets away with deviousness is a little disappointing to me. I feel like that character should have been reprimanded.
The romance between William and Julia is typical in these types of books. They fall in love, but they have to come seemingly insurmountable odds to be together until an almost tragic incident tears them apart. It was a typical story. The message in the book is this: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. We need to learn to rely on God in times of trouble because he is a source of strength.
Overall, this book was enjoyable. It is not a mystery or action packed. It's just a simple, clean romance story that is sweet and inspiring. **I received this book from WaterBrook Mulnomah through their Blogging for Books program in exchange for my honest review.**
This book is now available for pre-order from: WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Christianbook.com and will be available for purchase on October 15, 2013.
You know what I like. Is this something I would enjoy? I trust your judgement. I have read numerous good books because of your recommendation.
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Hi Amanda!
DeleteYou might enjoy it. I think I would have enjoyed it more if there was a little more action in it. There were some parts that lagged a little, but not enough for me to get completely bored with the book.