by Crystal Caudill | Sep 24, 2019 | Book Reviews
A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano
If you’ve not read Joanna Davidson Politano, YOU HAVE TO READ HER. LIKE NOW. GO!
There are very few authors (okay only two) whose books I will preorder without even knowing what the story is about, but Joanna is one of them. She has such depth of insight, such richness of story, character, and mystery that you are left pondering her book for years afterwards. Yes. Years.
When I went to write the review for her newest book Finding Lady Enderly, I realized I failed to let you know about A Rumored Fortune, which by the way is up for the 2019 Christy award. (Totally deserving of it.) So I decided to back track and do this one first.
*If you are an on-the-go person, I definitely recommend the audiobook. The narrator was perfect for the story. *
Because it has been over a year since I’ve read her book, I’m not going to follow my normal format, but I will tell you WHY you HAVE to read this book now.
The simple answer? A Rumored Fortune will leave you personally changed. Without even knowing how she did it, you are drawn closer to God and have a greater understanding of who you are in Him. You can’t read her books and NOT walk away changed.
On the plot level, it is an amazingly rich story in love, finding your worth, and enduring the hard seasons of pruning to become a fruitful branch of the vine. Woven with amazing details of vineyard care, you are drawn into a story of gentle romance where two people learn to grow toward God and toward each other. I simply adore the relationship between Tressa and Vance. He is a swoon-worthy hero who helps others and teaches Tressa a great deal about herself. He’s not perfect, but he is a hero worth loving.
The Blurb
Tressa Harlowe’s father did not trust banks, but neither did he trust his greedy extended family. He kept his vast fortune hidden somewhere on his estate in the south of England and died suddenly, without telling anyone where he had concealed it. Tressa and her ailing mother are left with a mansion and an immense vineyard and no money to run it. It doesn’t take long for a bevy of opportunists to flock to the estate under the guise of offering condolences. Tressa knows what they’re really up to. She’ll have to work with the rough and rusticated vineyard manager to keep the laborers content without pay and discover the key to finding her father’s fortune–before someone else finds it first.
Award-winning author Joanna Davidson Politano welcomes readers to Trevelyan Castle, home of the poorest heiress in Victorian England, for a treasure hunt they’ll not soon forget.
– Blurb from Amazon.com
Purchase this irresistible treat at:
Amazon.com   Barnes and Noble  Christianbook.com
by Crystal Caudill | Oct 3, 2017 | Book Reviews
Lady Jayne Disappears by Joanna Davidson Politano
Lady Jayne is one of those rare books that I will absolutely force everyone I know to read. There is so much more this story than an intriguing and surprising plot line. This is a book so decadent and rich that if it were a food, your waist line would suffer from this irresistible treat.
The plot itself is intriguing and full of wonderful surprises, and my little writer’s heart just eats up all the emotions and struggles of Aurelie Harcourt as she takes up her father’s pen name. Plot twists abound, and when you are finished reading it, I would LOVE to talk about it with you, but I absolutely refuse to ruin the mystery now.
What really adds to the story for me is Joanna’s voice. It is so fresh, yet reminiscent of literature classics, that I absolutely cannot get enough of her writing. As I read, I feel like I am floating through a fantastic Gothic novel, although it is neither horror or truly dark, but it was the same awestruck feeling that I have only managed to have in those type novels.
The heroine of the story is Aurelie Harcourt, daughter of and scribe for the famous serial author, Nathaniel Droll. When her father passes on, she must take on the pen name and finish the mysterious story of her mother’s disappearance. After having grown up in debtor’s prison, she is brought into her father’s rich family and the setting of the novel. But Lynhurst Manor is a house built on secrets, and her arrival might reveal them all.
Oh my goodness, friends! I cannot rave about this book enough. So much mystery! So much intrigue! And a hero that makes me swoon. If that isn’t enough to entice you, I am doing something a little different with this book review. Below you will find a few more of my favorite quotes from the beginning of the book (because going any farther will reveal too much).
So here it is, a sample of this delectable treat that will not expand your waistline, only your mind.Â
When Aurelie Harcourt’s father dies in debtor’s prison, he leaves her just two things: his wealthy family, whom she has never met, and his famous pen name, Nathaniel Droll. Her new family greets her with apathy and even resentment. Only the quiet houseguest, Silas Rotherham, welcomes her company.
When Aurelie decides to complete her father’s unfinished serial novel, writing the family into the story as unflattering characters, she must keep her identity as Nathaniel Droll hidden while searching for the truth about her mother’s disappearance–and perhaps even her father’s death.
– Blurb from Amazon.com
Purchase this irresistible treat at:
Amazon.com   Barnes and Noble  Christianbook.com and other fine retailers
Check out last week’s interview with Joanna herself, and then check out her website.
Congratulations to last week’s winner of a copy of Lady Jayne Disappears, Paula S.!
So which quote was your favorite? What do yo think of this story? Are you intrigued yet?
*I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher. The opinions and ravings about this book are completely mine, without regard to how I received the book. But seriously, ya’ll it is AMAZING!!!*
