Cindy Anstey’s Newest Novel
Author: Cindy Anstey
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Swoon Reads (April 16, 2019)
- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Kindle: 343 pages
For those familiar with books by Jane Austen (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, etc), this book has been likened to hers.
The setting is 1833 as Lord James Ellerby rescues a young woman who is involved in a carriage accident. He rushes her to his manor and summons a physician who finds that the woman has treatable injuries, but has been left with amnesia. She is then housed with the help until Lord Ellerby and his siblings find that her actions and vocabulary indicate that she probably has come from higher upbringing. It is then decided that she will be a companion to Caroline, Lord Ellerby’s sister.
Since the woman has no memory of where she is from or her name, she calls herself Beth. Caroline hastily provides the last name when she is called upon to introduce her to the family’s friends.
Beth becomes even more confused when a man soon shows up claiming to be her brother. However, the Ellerby’s sense Beth’s concerns and do everything they can to stall the brother and not send Beth away with him. Eventually, it works.
Lord James Ellerby, who has only recently earned that title due to his father’s death, and his sister Caroline find it easy to befriend Beth and quickly attempt to help her discover her identity. But they are met with unusual happenings at every turn.
My Thoughts
What Concerned Me: I wish the characters had been developed and even described a little better. I even felt a bit lost as the mystery unfolded at the end. Perhaps there were too many characters introduced, or maybe it was me, but the ending seemed a bit twisted and hard to follow.
What I Liked Most: I truly enjoyed the dialect and setting. It was a fun read that I think many will enjoy it. There is romance involved, but if you like mysteries, I would say this book has more mystery than romance.
Thank you to #NetGalley and Swoon Reads for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Cindy Anstey writes Young Adult Regency Romance and Historical Mysteries with humor. Inspired by Jane Austen, her novels depict the quirkiness of 19th-century society with all its glory… and countless flaws.
