Hello Friends :)
I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you chose to drop on by The Preppy Book Princess for another book review.
Have you noticed lately that it seems to be a season of change? I'm not always the best at adapting to new circumstances, and we've been dealing with a lot of those lately. However, I know that without change our faith doesn't have the chance to be exercised the way it needs to be, and I'm trying to remind myself of this fact, and trust that He knows what He's doing, and it's not up to me to question.
Other than spending time in the Word and in prayer, one of my favorite ways to destress during these type of situations is by curling up with wonderful reads, especially Christian fiction titles.
I recently had the chance to read a title that had been sitting on my TBR shelf for awhile, and it was one that I'd been eagerly anticipating reading.
I hope you'll all keep reading down below, and join me today for today's book review.
Shadows of Swanford Abbey:
Source: Christmas Gift from my Hubby
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Date: December 7th, 2021
Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical Fiction
Synopsis:
Agatha Christie meets Jane Austen in this atmospheric Regency tale brimming with mystery, intrigue, and romance.
When Miss Rebecca Lane returns to her home village after a few years away, her brother begs for a favor: go to nearby Swanford Abbey and deliver his manuscript to an author staying there who could help him get published. Feeling responsible for her brother's desperate state, she reluctantly agrees.
The medieval monastery turned grand hotel is rumored to be haunted. Once there, Rebecca begins noticing strange things, including a figure in a hooded black gown gliding silently through the abbey's cloisters. For all its renovations and veneer of luxury, the ancient foundations seem to echo with whispers of the past--including her own. For there she encounters Sir Frederick--magistrate, widower, and former neighbor--who long ago broke her heart.
When the famous author is found murdered in the abbey, Sir Frederick begins questioning staff and guests and quickly discovers that several people held grudges against the man, including Miss Lane and her brother. Haunted by a painful betrayal in his past, Sir Frederick searches for answers but is torn between his growing feelings for Rebecca and his pursuit of the truth. For Miss Lane is clearly hiding something. . . .
(synopsis from goodreads)
My Review:
I only discovered Julie Klassen's beautiful stories a couple of years back, and I've been a fan of her work ever since. This particular story has been one I've been eagerly anticipating for quite sometime, and I'm thankful I finally had the chance to pick it up and give it a go.
This ended up being unlike anything I was personally expecting, and yet I still did end up enjoying it. Kind of like a regency era Nancy Drew title, once the mystery started unraveling, I found myself wrapped up into the story, and I thought the Abbey was the perfect setting for this spookier murder mystery novel.
The characters took awhile to grow on me, but once they did, I found myself sympathizing with their causes, and enjoyed the fact that the romance was clean and sweet, and kind of almost a second chance romance in a way.
I hadn't actually pieced together the whole mystery by the reveal, and I ended up being quite surprised by how everything came together in the end.
I wouldn't say overall that this is my favorite of the titles by this author, but it was definitely enjoyable, and I loved the fact that this was a murder mystery set within the Christian historical fiction genre. A wonderful choice for an atmospheric read during the autumn season, and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Final Rating: 4/5.
I'd definitely recommend it if you're a fan of clean, historical mysteries, and/or sweet, regency era romances.
Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)
Comments
Post a Comment