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Description:
When Life Seemed Its
Worst, Gresham Awaited
Julia
Hollis' opulent life in Victorian London crashes to pieces when her husband
passes away. Worse, she is told by his bankers that he gambled away their
fortune. Now, the family's hope rests on The Larkspur, an old abandoned
coaching inn in the quaint village of Gresham.
Driven
by dread and her desire to provide for her children, Julia decides to turn the
dilapidated inn into a lodging house. But can she--who was accustomed to
servants attending to every need--do what needs to be done and cope when boarders
begin arriving? And then an eligible new vicar moves into town...
I don’t think there is a fiction book I
have enjoyed as much since earlier in the year. It has also been a very long
time since I have read a book for adults that wasn’t centered around romance.
Yes, this book has some romance, but that really isn’t the focus of the book.
Julia was my favorite part of the book.
Her attitude in the face of hard circumstances was so different than most
books. She actually had a good attitude, with some understandable moments of
irritation and frustration. So many main
characters of books are dramatic and have rotten attitudes and then learn their
lesson. Julia had lessons to learn, but she has the attitude thing down.
All the other characters were so
charming that I cannot wait to see what happens to them in the next book. They
were all charming, but each had their own problems. The actor who has spells of
despondency (we would call him bi-polar now), the old lady that is so rude her
son kicked her out, the two gossips who make lace, and the nobleman who thinks
of nothing but his flowers. There are many more characters, but it was never
confusing to keep up with them. They all made up a rich tapestry of characters
that make up the town of Gresham.
The author obviously researched the
time period, including little details of daily life, making this book feel very
real and believable. The descriptions made it very easy to visualize the town
and places.
The message of the book was not hard-hitting,
but the characters’ faith was unmistakable. In a very subtle yet powerful way
it is shown that God does not always take away our troubles, but makes
something beautiful out of them.
I highly recommend this book for those who
like historical fiction, stories that feel real, and are looking for a book
that feels different than most Christian fiction.
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