The Legacy of Longdale Manor by Carrie Turansky Book Review

About the Book:

Two women--a century apart--embark on a journey to healing, faith, forgiveness, and romance.

In 2012, art historian Gwen Morris travels to England's Lake District to appraise the paintings and antiques of an old family friend, hoping to prove herself to her prestigious grandfather. While at Longdale Manor, she meets David Bradford--the owner's handsome grandson--who is desperate to save the crumbling estate by turning it into a luxury hotel. When Gwen stumbles upon a one-hundred-year-old journal and an intricately carved shepherd's staff similar to one in a photo of her parents, she's left searching for answers.

In 1912, after her father's death, Charlotte Harper uncovers a painful family secret she can only confess to her journal. She and her family travel to the Lake District to stay on a sheep farm, hoping eventually to find a home with Charlotte's grandfather at Longdale Manor, but old wounds and bitter regrets make it a difficult challenge. As Charlotte grows closer to shepherd Ian Storey and rebuilds her shattered faith, she must decide whether she will ever trust in love again.

You can read an excerpt here.

My Review:

This dual time novel, in addition to being entertaining, explores a number of thought provoking issues. A major one concerns fathers. One daughter grew up not knowing her father at all and the other daughter discovered her father's betrayal to his wife shortly after he died. Along with the latter is the issue of appearing to be really godly when the truth is something else. Forgiveness is a theme woven through both time periods.

Turansky has created a number of characters I liked. Each needs to overcome obstacles in life. Gwen feels she needs to prove herself after making a serious mistake in her work. Charlotte needs to work through feelings of hurt and bitterness toward her father. I also liked the setting of the beautiful Lake District in England.

There is a clear gospel message included, reminding us of the importance of forgiveness and clarifying God's love for us. I always appreciate learning about a topic when I read fiction and here it was about the Keswick Convention and caring for sheep at lambing time.

This is a good novel for readers who like the intertwining of a contemporary story with an historical one, both with sweet romance elements.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

About the Author:

Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of twenty-one inspirational novels and novellas and a winner of the Carol Award, the International Digital Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She loves traveling to England to research her Edwardian novels, including No Journey Too Far, No Ocean Too Wide, Across the Blue, and the Edwardian Brides series. Her novels have been translated into several languages and have received starred reviews from Christianbook.com and Library Journal. Learn more at carrieturansky.com. Photo credit: Emilie(Hendrix) Haney.

Bethany House Publishers, 352 pages.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

(My star ratings: 5-I love it, 4-I like it, 3-It's OK, 2-I don't like it, 1-I hate it.)