A Stranger at Fellsworth by Sarah E. Ladd Review and GIVEAWAY! (TLC Book Tour)

Do you love a good light story with a hint of romance and intrigue?  Are you a fan of regency romance or Jane Austen novels?  If you haven’t already, you should pick up A Stranger at Fellsworth by Sarah E. Ladd.

Annabelle’s family has fallen on hard times.  Her mother died when she was young and her father died a couple of years previous to the start of the story.  Shortly before her father’s death, he lost most of his fortune in an embezzling scandal.  Now Annabelle finds herself alone and unwelcome staying with her brother and his wife.  Her brother tries to keep the family estate afloat with an idea to marry Annabelle off to a wealthy, but reprehensible suitor.  Annabelle is wary of the blackness that seems to be overtaking her brother and home and leaves to go and stay with her estranged Uncle along with her maid.  She is helped on the journey by gamekeeper Owen, who is from a nearby estate.

Her Uncle runs the Fellsworth School and lives a much simpler life than Annabelle is used to.  She starts working for the first time in her life as a teacher’s assistant while her maid finds a new life in the kitchens.  Annabelle finds herself attracted to tragic widower Owen, who has a young daughter, Hannah at the school.  Owen finds himself involved in a mystery as he tries to track down a poaching ring on the estate he works on as well as a neighboring estate.  He has a dream to purchase the property he was raised on, but he can only purchase the property with the capture of the poaching ring.  Will the poachers be caught – who are they?  Will Annabelle find happiness and meaning in her life?  Will Annabelle’s brother find her?

I greatly enjoyed A Stranger at Fellsworth.  It was an engaging story, with wonderful characters, and a great setting.  I love Regency era stories. I loved the mystery, but I really loved how the characters evolved.  More so then previous also great novels, The Curiosity Keeper and Dawn at Emberwilde, this story is a story of faith and how one should navigate life and their faith journey.  I loved how that was woven throughout the tale.  This is the third novel in the series, but it is easily a stand-alone novel, the only connection being the Fellsworth setting.

My favorite quotes:

“We are not just placed on this earth, haphazardly.  Each of us has a path.  Each of us has a purpose.  It is part of life to find that path and follow it.”

“But most importantly, he wanted her to know that her value lay not in making a successful match as an adult, but in developing her character now”

“Peace is an interesting word.  My mama always said that peace was not dependent upon your circumstances. It was dependent upon where you placed your faith.”

Overall, A Stranger at Fellsworth is a wonderful Regency Christian Romance with a great mystery storyline and fantastic characters that grow in their faith and sense of self as the novel progresses.  I highly recommend it!  I found it a perfect novel to help me relax at the end of a day.

Book Source:  Review E-Book Copy as part of the TLC Book Tour.  Thanks!  For more stops on this wonderful tour - check out this link.

  

Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a copy of A Stranger at Fellsworth by Sarah E. Ladd. If you would like to win this book, please leave a comment on what interests you about this book.

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a Monte Carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to addresses in the United States and Canada.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday June 30th!

Please make sure to check the week of July 4th to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner, but lately I've been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.

Good luck!