Books for Christian Girls: "The Letter from Briarton Park" by Sarah E. Ladd

About this book:

“Cassandra Hale grew up knowing little about her parentage, and she had made peace with the fact that she never would. But Cassandra’s world shifts when a shocking deathbed confession reveals a two-year-old letter from Mr. Clark, the master of Briarton Park, with hints to her family’s identity. Stung by betrayal, she travels to the village of Anston only to learn Mr. Clark has since passed away.

James Warrington is a widower and the new master of Briarton Park, where he lives with his two young daughters, his sister, and his mother-in-law. When Cassandra appears at his doorstep with a letter from the previous owner and then proceeds to assist his family in an unexpected way, he is honor bound to help uncover the answers she seeks.

The more time Cassandra spends in Anston, the more she begins to suspect not everything—or everyone—is as they seem. As details emerge, the danger surrounding her intensifies. Using wit and intuition, she must navigate the treacherous landscapes between truth and rumor and between loyalty and deception if she is to uncover the realities of her past and find the place her heart can finally call home.”

Series: Book #1 in “The House of Yorkshire” series.

Spiritual Content- Church going; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, & vicars; Mention of an infant being baptized; A mention of God (in the phrase “from God knows where”); A mention of praying; A mention of a Christian woman;

*Note: When a vicar gives Cassandra advice on who she might not want to associate with and that she should be with “the right sort of society”, she’s dismayed to hear such words from a vicar about members from his congregation; *Major Spoiler* The vicar is the murderer and holds Cassandra at gunpoint *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of ghosts; A mention of a godforsaken place; A mention of a vicar saying yes, he’s a vicar, but he’s a man first and a superstitious one at that; A mention of a devilishly hard woman to track down; A mention of knowing the damning secrets of someone else’s life.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘la’s and five ‘bah’s (used as injections); Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Finding a dead body & blood (barely-above-not-detailed); Being held at gunpoint & fighting (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of a dead body (murdered), how it happened, the murderer, arrest, & blood (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of fights, beatings, & injuries (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of blood, illnesses, & deaths (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of fires, attacks, fighting, injuries, & threats (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hatred; Mentions of deceit, lies, & lying; Mentions of pipes, tobacco, & smoking; A few mentions of snuffboxes; A few mentions of gambling & debts (including rumors of a vicar gambling); A couple mentions of battles & injuries; A couple mentions of alcohol;

*Note: Mentions of graveyards & graves of infants.

Sexual Content- Three hand/wrist kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and two semi-detailed kisses; Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (including a woman’s curves, barely-above-not-detailed); *Spoiler* Cassandra’s biological father was a married man and her biological mother was a maid (another woman says he pursued her “as if he has a divine right to”, it’s revealed at the end that he took advantage of her); Her father took full custody of her by paying off the mother and sent her to a boarding school at a young age; It’s said that his greatest regret in life was not knowing her; Cassandra thinks that her mother was either seduced or taken advantaged of and does not want history to repeat itself; When she meets her biological mother, she is harshly rejected and told that Cassandra upended her life once, that she won’t do it again, but later seeks her out to have a relationship with her *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of illegitimate children, maids being pregnant (from their master), & a husband’s infidelity; Mentions of reputations, a man harming a girl’s reputation, & thinking that a couple is running away together to elope; Mentions that men don’t always have woman’s best interests at heart & that women should be able to protect themselves; A few mentions of kisses & kissing; A few mentions of temptations & attractions; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of women possibly being attacked; A couple mentions of flirts & flirting; A mention of Cassandra remembering being caught in compromising circumstances with a young man; Love, attraction, falling in love, & the emotions.

-Cassandra Hale, age 24

-James Warrington, age 32

P.O.V. switches between them

Set in 1811 (Epilogue in 1812)

336 pages

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

{Adoptees or those who do not know their biological parents may take caution in reading this book due to emotions Cassandra feels and how others react to her birth. }

The plot of this book went exactly as I was expecting, there was nothing shocking or twists I didn’t expect. Which I think caused the book to feel very long and I had a hard time getting into it.

Like the author’s prior book, there were many moments when the main characters could have sent up a prayer for help from the Lord or where a discussion of faith or trusting God could have happened, but never did and I was really disappointed to see that happen once again. The reveal of who the bad guy was wasn’t shocking, but disappointing, nonetheless. There were many parts that could have been an excellent lead into seeing the characters’ faiths. I really wish the faith elements would have been stronger because this book felt more like a clean fiction book than Christian fiction one.

As far as Cassandra’s birth secret, while it was sad at times, it can definitely be a reality for adoptees or orphans meeting with or learning about a biological parent. I did feel like it gave the story have a depressing undertone, though, which affected my personal rating and I give a caution notice about it. To some it may not bother reading about it, to some it may trigger painful memories or feelings, and to others it may help and possibly heal, every person and their experiences are different.

See y’all on Monday with a new review!