Cassandra Hale grew up in a girl's boarding school not knowing who her parents were. Her head mistress and mentor, on her deathbed, gives Cassandra a letter from a Mr. Clark inviting her to visit him at his home in Briarton Park to learn more of her family. When Cassandra arrives she is disappointed to find that Mr. Clark has died and the new owner, a widowed mill owner named James Warrington, knows very little about him. Undaunted she starts asking around town and is befriended by the local vicar, the young, single, and charming Mr. North. Having lived her whole life in a girl's school, Cassandra is overwhelmed by the interest she soon receives by both of her new male acquaintances. Both seem willing and eager to help her in her search to find out more about her family, even when the search uncovers illegitimacy and open hostility from potential relations. Are both men's motivations for helping her pure, or are there ulterior motives in their attentions?
Here is a new clean Regency romance writer I wanted to try out. I am always on the lookout for a new one to add to my list. Ms Ladd turned out to be pretty good. The story and characters are predictable, but the writing is decent and interesting enough to hold my attention. I sensed that Ms Ladd was giving a nod to North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. This book has a similar setting to that with mill owners worrying about strikes because of new machinery replacing workers. I couldn't help but smile that Warrington's mill owner friend's name is Mr. Milton, the name of the mill town where North and South takes place. I enjoyed the book well enough that I did add Ms Ladd to my list and will probably eventually read the next in this series. (2022, 336 p.)
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