After years of tragedy, Gwen Kellerman now lives a quiet life as a botanist at an idyllic New York college. She largely ignores her status as heiress to the infamous Blackstone dynasty and hopes to keep her family's heartbreak and scandal behind her.
Patrick O'Neill survived a hardscrabble youth to become a lawyer for the downtrodden Irish immigrants in his community. He's proud of his work, even though he struggles to afford his ramshackle law office. All that changes when he accepts a case that is sure to emphasize the Blackstones' legacy of greed and corruption by resurrecting a thirty-year-old mystery.
Little does Patrick suspect that the Blackstones will launch their most sympathetic family member to derail him. Gwen is tasked with getting Patrick to drop the case, but the old mystery takes a shocking twist neither of them saw coming. Now, as they navigate a burgeoning attraction and growing danger, Patrick and Gwen will be forced to decide if the risk to the life they've always held dear is worth the reward.
My Thoughts
These are the kinds of reviews that are the hardest for us reviewers to write, trying to find the balance between honesty and kindness when a book misses the mark, so bear with me. Let me start by saying that I have been a fan of Elizabeth Camden since her first few books and I’ve been along for the ride ever since. There have been a few books here and there that haven’t been my favorite but overall I generally find myself loving her books which made the fact that I couldn’t get behind this one even harder to swallow.
Overall this book suffered from having to much going on at once but without any of the subplots being developed enough to take center stage. There was a vaccine, a merger, a lost heir, a mistress with an illegitimate child, a few murder attempts, some strange family dynamics, and a relationship battling class separation. I really felt that the story would have been strengthened and more cohesive if some of the plot points were cut out and others were more strongly developed.
The characters themselves were also a bit all over the place and they didn’t do much to endear themselves to the reader. Gwen was described as this bright ray of all that is good in the world but her actions and thoughts never really backed that up. Instead, she portrayed a lot of typical traits of someone who was raised with money and only had to do work they felt like doing. And the way she tried to throw money at every problem, especially where Patrick was concerned, was rather distasteful. Patrick himself didn’t have a lot to recommend him either, though I did admire the way he helped the less fortunate, his thoughts and attitude were just kind of off putting. I also did not buy them as a couple, nothing about their personalities or life circumstances were complimentary, and I truly think they would have been better apart.
And the last thing I’m going to mention, because I really don’t want to harp on things for too long, is the fact that I had a hard time with the entirety of the Blackstone family. I’m not sure if we were supposed to start liking them by the end but I honestly couldn’t recommend a single one of them and I really am not excited to continue interacting with them in the following books.
In the end, despite the fact that I wanted to love this book, there were just too many head scratching moments and unlikable characters for me to recommend it. As always though, please don’t just take my word for it, read some other reviews, read the synopsis, and make your own informed decision.
Elizabeth Camden (www.elizabethcamden.com) is best known for her historical novels set in Gilded Age America, featuring clever heroines and richly layered storylines. Before she was a writer, she was an academic librarian at some of the largest and smallest libraries in America, but her favorite is the continually growing library in her own home. Her novels have won the RITA and Christy Award and have appeared on the CBA bestsellers list. She lives in Orlando, Florida, with her husband, who graciously tolerates her intimidating stockpile of books.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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