It is the dawn of a new century and Olivia Stewart is heiress to an empire. Her family numbers among the Four Hundred – those considered the wealthiest and most distinguished in America. Unfortunately their wealth has nearly disappeared, and now their security rests solely on the Stewart daughters’ marrying well.
Olivia’s sister, Eleanor, was engaged to Harrison Bennett, one of the nation’s wealthiest men, but has since died. Now the pressure is on Olivia to take her place, despite her suspicions about Eleanor’s fiancé. Using her family’s long-forgotten English title, Olivia travels to Mercy Falls, California, as Lady Devonworth, hoping to learn more before committing to marriage. There she finds that Eleanor’s death was no accident. And Harrison is not the man she thought he would be.
When Mercy Falls holds a charity ball masquerade to raise funds for the new lighthouse, secrets–and truths long hidden–will be revealed. But can Harrison really love Olivia when he finds her true identity? Can she live with the repercussions of failing her family, or will she finally realize that nothing–not money, family, or romance—will ever compare to God’s unconditional love?
My Review
The Lightkeeper's Ball takes us on a journey back through time to the turn of the century when airplanes and motor cars were new and exciting inventions. Where most women were still engaging in arranged marriages, especially women in the upper crust of society.
Heroine Olivia Stewart is one such woman. At 25 yrs of age and single, she is expected to marry well, not necessarily for love, in order to hide the fact that her families financial status is not what it appears. After finding out that her sister (who was engaged to be married to a wealthy man and therefore would have taken the pressure off of Olivia) has died, she embarks on a journey, with only her maid to accompany her, to Mercy Falls to find out what happened. Under the guise of "checking out" her sisters fiance' to see if she wants to marry him in her sisters place, she is really seeking to discover the truth about her sisters death. Is Harrison Bennett, the fiance', involved as Olivia suspects? Was it accidental, as reported? Or was it... murder?!?
For me the pace seemed slow at times but all in all the characters are well developed. Mystery and intrigue are present throughout. There are lots of historical references and that makes it very appealing. This is a nice historical fiction with a gentle romantic essence. The cover art on this book is extraordinary!
The Lightkeeper's Ball is the third book in the Mercy Falls series. It can be read as a stand alone novel, although if you are a Colleen Coble fan you will want to read them all.
4 of 5 stars!
I was provided a digital copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. No other compensation was received.
To read an excerpt or purchase a copy click here.
Sounds interesting. I like that the main character is so bold as to "check out" the guy before she gets involved. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you on the book cover part. I've been reading reviews of her books and many of them mention the covers of her many books. She and her cover designer have a knack for creating beautiful covers!
ReplyDeletesugarpeach: love the name! appeals to my southern self :) seems a lot of the books out now have some really gorgeous cover art. of course, that appeals to the latent artistic part of me :) I always enjoy reading your reviews.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yeah, despite the "don't judge a book by its cover" rule, I guess it's only natural that most people prefer books with good covers. :)
ReplyDelete