Book Review: Edenbrooke

"Edenbrooke" is a regency novel about Marianne Daventry a young woman feeling cornered by her
circumstances in life. Her mother has died, her father has run off to France to grieve in solitude, and her twin sister taken to live in London while she has been packed off to live with her cantankerous grandmother in Bath. Marianne hates Bath and the people there and longs for her family and for the countryside surroundings of her home. Soon she finds herself on a journey to the next best thing- a reunion with her sister and a summer at Edenbrooke, the estate of her mother's dearest friend.
While Cecily her cultured, prettier sister plans to snag the heir and make a rich match, Marianne hopes to find rest and comfort to her soul in the beauty that surrounds her in the picturesque landscape. But even the best laid plans go awry... Accosted by highwaymen on her journey and being assisted by a kind gentleman who refuses to give his name was never apart of the plan- neither was spending morning rides and afternoon talks with the second son of the manor- but through it Marianne finds freedom, friendship, laughter, home, and more in Edenbrooke then she ever anticipated.

The truth is I don't remember where I first saw "Edenbrooke", but I'm glad I did. The beautiful cover art drew me in and so I  picked it up at the library and this weekend I spent a day engrossed in the pages of this delightful book. When I was finished I was happy, satisfied, and completely mystified as to why I had never heard of the author or publisher (Shadow Mountain) before! I was even more surprised when I looked the company up and learned that it is a secular publisher! The cover of the book proclaims it to be "A Proper Romance" and I would heartily agree. While this book is, admittedly, a historical romance there is nothing in it which I would discourage anyone, even younger readers, from putting before them. It is really the cleanest non-Christian/inspirational fiction I've ever read. In fact, with its characters sincere and likable dispositions, it's dialogue's genuine humor and tender sentiment, and it's breezy readability I think the Christian fiction authors (that I typically read) should take a page from new author Julianne Donaldson's style. ...In fact, I can't think of a single thing that I found fault with in this book- and that's quite a statement coming from me! The language and styling of this book hangs between 'written by Jane Austen' and 'modern chick lit' and Donaldson finds a way to make that work perfectly. The main characters stichomythia and rapport is classic, the secondary characters are suitably helpful to move the plot along, and the villains are appropriately evil without being crude or lecherous. All in all it was a refreshing fun read that I am happy to recommend and intend to add to my bookshelf very soon!

Rating: 5 stars

Disclosure: I did NOT receive this book for review purposes from the publisher.