Review ~ Chateau of Secrets by Melanie Dobson

A courageous young noblewoman risks her life to hide French resistance fighters; seventy years later, her granddaughter visits the family’s abandoned chateau and uncovers shocking secrets from the past.

Releases May 13th

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My Review

Riveting! I knew when Melanie contacted me about reviewing this book that I was going to enjoy the story but little did I know how much. Chateau of Secrets is a historical-contemporary novel expertly written to engage the reader in both the past and present.

With alternating chapters, this story gripped my heart from the opening scene in the chapelle, to the ending  scene in the same chapelle some 70 years later. I don’t know a lot about France during WWII but I was mesmerized from the start by the story of Giselle, a young woman fighting for her country in the only way she could during a most horrible time in history.

Emotions of fear, angst, loyalty and love were prominent throughout this superbly written novel. I could feel the horrors of death and war, and at the same time I was swept away by the love Giselle had for her family and country. The pages are filled with faith, intrigue, suspense, drama and romance. This is a story of secrets that are kept out of shame and fear and love.

It’s also a story about another young woman in today’s world suffering heartbreak, an identity crisis and foundering in her faith. Chloe is searching for answers. She needs to find out who she is, where she is supposed to be in this life, and why her grandmother won’t talk much about when she lived in France during the war.

There are a lot of characters in this story but I had no problem keeping them straight. As much as I enjoyed the contemporary scenes, I could have reveled in it being a total historical, those sections are that good! It was so hard to put this book down when I absolutely needed to, that I kept thinking about it as I was doing other things, anticipating the next time I could pick it back up. Finally, I decided I just could not wait any longer and stayed up from 3:30am until 6:00am so I could finish it! This is definitely one of the best books I have read so far this year. I highly recommend it to any historical/contemporary fan. If you haven’t read a book written this way, you really should give it a try. And it’s loosely based on a true story so that makes it even better!

I want to thank the author, Melanie Dobson, for sending me an Advance Uncorrected Proof for review purposes. I wasn’t required to write a positive review, just my opinion of the book, which I have done. No compensation has been received.

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Christian Book Store

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To read more about the inspiration behind the novel, visit Melanie at her blog, Dobsons 411.

Have a blessed day in the Lord!