The Tutor's Daughter is a winner! Great writing, great story. Read on...
MY REVIEW:
I am a fan of Jane Austen and especially of Pride and Prejudice. And I love the PBS series Downton Abbey, with all the intricacies of the class distinctions in days gone by. So this new book by Julie Klassen was right up my alley.
When Emma Smallwood and her father move to a sprawling manor on the cliffs of Cornwall so he can be a tutor to twin teenage boys, Emma finds herself back in the company of their two older brothers (who were previously students of her father). As she tries to decide how she feels about each of these young men, strange things begin to happen in the house, and even in her own sleeping quarters. Annoyed, and eventually alarmed, Emma is constantly trying to guess who may be at the bottom of it, until everything reaches a climax and the puzzle is finally pieced together.
I really loved this book. The more I read, the more I wanted to read. Emma is a sympathetic character. I liked her wit, humility and inner strength, even though her faith in God had seriously wavered after the death of her mother. The suspense in this story was much more intense than I had expected.... I thought her biggest dilemma might be much more trivial than what actually unfolded - that was a nice surprise. Without spoiling anything, I can truly say that this book had my heart racing in some places, and in others I wanted to shout out loud at some of the characters.
This is the first time I have read anything by Julie Klassen, but fortunately, she has written a number of other books that I can now go back and enjoy! I highly recommend The Tutor's Daughter to anyone who enjoys Regency novels. The writing is exceptional, and the story is one I will be thinking about for a long time to come.
Publisher's blurb about the book:
Emma Smallwood, determined to help her widowed father when his boarding school fails, accompanies him to the cliff-top manor of a baronet and his four sons. But soon after they arrive and begin teaching the two younger boys, mysterious things begin to happen. Who does Emma hear playing the pianoforte at night, only to find the music room empty? And who begins sneaking into her bedchamber, leaving behind strange mementoes?
The baronet's older sons, Phillip and Henry Weston, wrestle with problems--and secrets--of their own. They both remember the studious Miss Smallwood from their days at her father's academy. But now one of them finds himself unexpectedly drawn to her...
When suspicious acts escalate, can Emma figure out which brother to blame and which to trust with her heart?
Filled with page-turning suspense, The Tutor's Daughter takes readers to the windswept Cornwall coast--a place infamous for shipwrecks and superstitions--where danger lurks, faith is tested, and romance awaits.
About the Author:
Julie Klassen
Julie Klassen loves all things Jane--Jane Eyreand Jane Austen. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Julie worked in publishing for sixteen years and now writes full time. She has won the Christy Award: Historical Romance for The Silent Governess (2010) and The Girl in the Gatehouse (2011) which also won the 2010 Midwest Book Award for Genre Fiction. Julie and her husband have two sons and live in a suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information, visit www.julieklassen.com
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