A great combination of suspense, romance, and historical details
"You know that every single one of us is more than the worst thing we've done. All of us. We bear the image of our Maker."
And that quote sums up the message of this fabulous book. If you're a fan of the author's Prince Edward Island Dreams series and her Love Inspired Suspense books, you're definitely in for a treat. This book is contemporary romance with a throwback to the 1920s via a journal and a good dose of intrigue and mystery. Such a wonderful combination for this lover of contemporary, historical, and suspense romance!
The setting of St. Simons Island, Georgia is gorgeous. The author's masterful writing gives color, sound, and smell to the beautiful landscape and brings forth an intricately woven plot with real, down-to-earth characters. Millie is poor and just wants enough money to be able to bring her beloved dementia-laden grandmother to a place where she can be safely taken care of. Ben is an adjunct history professor struggling to right the wrongs his mother went to prison for. Their worlds collide when they become involved in a treasure hunt instigated by Millie's grandmother's memory of her own mother's stay at the infamous Chateau. Both Millie and Ben are wary, cautious, under-the-radar kind of people who don't trust people easily. Yet their shared sense of loyalty, hard work, and compassion brings them together and welds them together as partners. As they become more entrenched in their treasure hunt, they also learn things about each other that they must wrestle with. Forgiveness for their past and realizing that their past does not define them must be learned the hard way.
The book addresses the heartache involved in loving and caring for someone with dementia. It also delves deep to ask what is truly important and necessary in life - is it money? Fame? Recognition? Easy life? The flashbacks to the 1920s, right before the stock market crash, provided through Millie's great-grandmother Ruth's journals show much of what our human hearts crave but also how foolish and deceptive our hearts can be. Millie and Jeremy's present day chase through the Chateau itself and its grounds provides intrigue and suspense that keep the pages turning. Great-grandma Ruth's journals also add to the mystery surrounding the possible treasure and what may have happened to it.
What a wonderful beginning of an exciting new series from Liz Johnson! I can't wait to read the second book!
I was given a copy of the book from the author and Baker Publishing Group. I was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
And that quote sums up the message of this fabulous book. If you're a fan of the author's Prince Edward Island Dreams series and her Love Inspired Suspense books, you're definitely in for a treat. This book is contemporary romance with a throwback to the 1920s via a journal and a good dose of intrigue and mystery. Such a wonderful combination for this lover of contemporary, historical, and suspense romance!
The setting of St. Simons Island, Georgia is gorgeous. The author's masterful writing gives color, sound, and smell to the beautiful landscape and brings forth an intricately woven plot with real, down-to-earth characters. Millie is poor and just wants enough money to be able to bring her beloved dementia-laden grandmother to a place where she can be safely taken care of. Ben is an adjunct history professor struggling to right the wrongs his mother went to prison for. Their worlds collide when they become involved in a treasure hunt instigated by Millie's grandmother's memory of her own mother's stay at the infamous Chateau. Both Millie and Ben are wary, cautious, under-the-radar kind of people who don't trust people easily. Yet their shared sense of loyalty, hard work, and compassion brings them together and welds them together as partners. As they become more entrenched in their treasure hunt, they also learn things about each other that they must wrestle with. Forgiveness for their past and realizing that their past does not define them must be learned the hard way.
The book addresses the heartache involved in loving and caring for someone with dementia. It also delves deep to ask what is truly important and necessary in life - is it money? Fame? Recognition? Easy life? The flashbacks to the 1920s, right before the stock market crash, provided through Millie's great-grandmother Ruth's journals show much of what our human hearts crave but also how foolish and deceptive our hearts can be. Millie and Jeremy's present day chase through the Chateau itself and its grounds provides intrigue and suspense that keep the pages turning. Great-grandma Ruth's journals also add to the mystery surrounding the possible treasure and what may have happened to it.
What a wonderful beginning of an exciting new series from Liz Johnson! I can't wait to read the second book!
I was given a copy of the book from the author and Baker Publishing Group. I was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.