Longing for love, can she escape the shadows that follow her to Dark Island?1910, Thousand Islands, New York. Others may consider The Towers castle on Dark Island an enchanting summer retreat, but to Devyn McKenna, it’s a prison. Yet as she works as a maid for Frederick Bourne, former president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, her life blossoms under the kindness of his family and … fascinating entrepreneurs such as J.P. Morgan, Thomas Lipton, and Captain Vanderbilt. But more than anything, the growing friendship of Mr. Bourne’s valet, Brice McBride, begins to pry away the painful layers that conceal Devyn’s heart.
Brice is drawn to the mysterious Devyn even though he’s certain she’s hiding a secret, one far more dangerous than the clues they find in The Towers that hint of a treasure on the island. When Devyn is accused of stealing Bourne’s investment in Vanderbilt’s New York City subway expansion, he might not be able to protect her.
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Book 2 in the Thousand Islands Gilded Age series, author Susan Mathis takes us back to the Thousand Islands. And she does it so well! She gives us wonderful descriptions of the homes and the island. I’d love to visit some day. Her research is very well done and we learn about new things from that time period.
Well developed characters will draw you into the story. The plot will keep you reading. With secrets, tunnels, suspense and romance there’s something for everyone. Even the proverbial bad guy! I highly recommend reading it!
I received a complimentary copy of this book but was not required to leave a review.
Quite an enjoyable novel of the Gilded Age and Dark Island at the summer house of Singer Sewing Machine Mogul Fredrick Bourne.
I liked how the author wove interesting information such as the other millionaires and the origins of Thousand Island Dressing. The Irish Blessings that the hero was fond of quoting were a nice touch. “Count your blessings instead of your woes, count your friends instead of your foes.” And the heroine loves books! I enjoyed the wealthy Bourne family, who were outspoken Christians and the glimpse of the lives of service people. It reminded me of Downtown Abbey or Upstairs, Downstairs only in America. The secret passages, the boat races, picnics on other small islands and a treasure hunt were fun. As was trying to uncover a mystery and a couple of dastardly villains.
This was a well done story about family and who family really consists of, by a new to me author.
* I purchased this ebook from Amazon. All opinions are my own.*
I was given a free copy of this book to read and review. The review is my own, freely given.
This book is the second in the series, Thousand Islands Gilded, but is a good stand-alone also. I did not read the first book and it had no effect on my enjoyment of this book.
This is a Christian book, but by no means is it preachy. It shows how living by faith is the best.
Devyn is the main character, of course, and this book tells her story from her point of view. She thinks back to when she was 10 years old and the problems she had and how they affect her life now. It tells of her fears and how she deals with them.
It is also a love story and a bit of mystery, nicely told.
There are a few main characters and all are nicely developed. Even the minor characters are well done.
The editing of this book was also well done. The biggest problem I had was that a few times there were words used that I did not recognize and the dictionary on my Kindle could not define them. That was slightly annoying but did not make a big impact on my enjoyment.
This was an easy read and I’m sure anyone that enjoys clean, faith-based, historical novels will enjoy this book. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.
I was intrigued to discover that the Bourne family-Devyn’s employers-were real people, which made me enjoy the story even more. I love a historic novel that informs me about people and events I don’t know. I struggled to relate to Devyn, probably because of her age…I could almost be her grandmother! But I understood her reticence and fears because of the terrible trauma she’d experienced as a child and the continued poor treatment by her mother and siblings. Brice is delightful, and I loved the Irish sayings sprinkled through us dialogue. He seemed to have one for most occasions. The author’s delight with Singer castle is evident in her descriptions of the property which enabled me to visualize the grand house and its maze of tunnels and passageways. I was pleased to see Devyn grow and mature among the safe and loving environment. The staff enveloped her as one of their own. The story is sweet and a diverting read during difficult times.