“Welcome to Trevelyan Castle, home of the poorest heiress in Victorian England.
Tressa Harlowe's father kept his vast fortune hidden somewhere on his estate in the south of England and died suddenly, without telling anyone where he had concealed it. Now Tressa and her ailing mother are left with a mansion and an immense vineyard and no money to run it.
It doesn't take long for a bevy of opportunists to flock to the estate under the guise of offering condolences. Tressa knows what they're really up to. She'll have to work with the rough and rusticated vineyard manager to keep the laborers content without pay and discover the key to finding her father's fortune--before someone else finds it first.”
Series: As of now, no.
Spiritual Content- John 15:5 at the end; Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & remembered; Prayers; Going to church; Talks about God; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Tressa wonders why God is allowing bad things to happen & gets mad at Him for a time; Mentions of God & talking about God; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of church, church going, & a vicar; Mentions of blessings; A few mentions of Bibles; A couple mentions of Heaven;
*Note: Mentions of a superstition;
A couple mentions of ghosts.
Negative Content- Nearly drowning & Pain (semi-detailed); Seeing someone (possibly) drown (it isn’t said if he did or not; up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a drowning & murder/murderer; Mentions of hurting someone (hinted to have possibly killed them, *Spoiler* but neither happened *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of stealing, stolen items, & thieves/con-men; Mentions of poachers; Mentions of a fire & arson; Mentions of alcohol & drinking; Mentions of eavesdropping, gossip, & rumors; Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of hangings & crimes; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of a dead body.
Sexual
Content- a palm kiss, a nose kiss, a cheek kiss, an ear kiss, a head kiss, a semi-detailed
kiss, and two border-line semi-detailed // detailed kisses (hair is ruffled in
those kisses); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand
holding, Nearness, & Shivers (to up semi-detailed); Mentions of kisses
& kissing; A mention of an illegitimate son; A mention of a greeting kiss; Love,
falling in love, & the emotions.
-Tressa Harlowe,
age 22
-Donegan
Vance
Switches between 1st person P.O.V. of Tressa & 3rd of Donegan
Switches between 1st person P.O.V. of Tressa & 3rd of Donegan
Set
in 1866
390 pages
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390 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Well, that
was a fascinating read.
Historical
mysteries are a gem that I adore finding, and when I enjoy reading it, it’s
even better.
Thirty-one
pages in, I became a true fan of Tressa when she thinks:
“I knew
in that moment that I believed in love at first sight. But only because I’d
experienced a twinge of the opposite just then.”
This
quote quite endeared her to me. She was absolutely great in every way. Her wit
and her passion for others was lovely and I truly loved how often there was
Spiritual Content in the plot. This was such a refreshing read in many ways.
“Perhaps
it’s a risk, but I’m willing to take it. You see, I’ve just asked God for help
in providing for my family, and I’m not about to go wasting [H]is solution.”
Compared
to the author’s debut book, it definitely has a similar feel, but I believe
that this one was stronger, and I personally enjoyed this one more. I could definitely
read “A Rumored Fortune” again and that’s a high complement from someone
who doesn’t typically like to re-read.
Donegan was
a unique character that honestly felt like a perfect fit for Tressa. I do
believe that there was a tiny bit of instant attraction between the two, but I’ll
chalk it up to because they are good for each other. :)
I do wish
the ending would have continued a bit longer to see a few more parts play out. I’m
a bit disappointed that there wasn’t just a bit more, but I’m mainly satisfied
and looking forward to reading the author’s next book very soon. Overall, a
very well done read (even if those two kisses were a bit much for my taste). 😉
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
