Diamond in the Rough

Nathaniel Emory, Baron Ashford has a problem, he has inherited a bankrupt estate and while his grandfather told him an amazing story of a falling out with his best friend, a near death experience and a blue diamond, he found and hid as a young man, a diamond that would solve all of Nathaniel’s financial problems, he dies before he can relay the exact location. All Nathaniel knows is it is in a garden in St. Ives.

Clara Anderson is the beautiful daughter of common parents, her father is a self made man and her mother’s greatest wish is for Clara to marry a titled man. Clara has no use for the nobility and would rather marry a plain mister. But even she knows that her parents would never allow her to marry the new gardener. Clara begins to spend more and more time in the garden and falls for Nathaniel. Nathaniel falls right back, but he has secrets and needs to find the diamond before he can contemplate any future with Clara.

When Mr. Belmont’s son (the grandfather’s former best friend) learns about the diamond, he hires an investigator to find Nathaniel and the diamond. Roger King has his own mystery to solve, his wife and twin daughters were murdered and he has yet to find their killer, but with the money he is making from Belmont, he will be able to afford to work on his own case, but first he has to find Nathaniel and the diamond.

This book had a lot of promise, but for me, it just didn’t work. It seemed to drag for the first 80% of the book and then everything just wraps up too quickly and neatly to be enjoyable. There is a secondary romance involving her sister that plays out completely off page and seemed to come out of left field, the investigator’s mystery was anticlimactic and Clara’s anger seemed out of character. It wasn’t a bad read and even thought it is part of a series it was I had no problems following the story, but it was just not what I was expecting based on the blurb.

*I am voluntarily reviewing an eARC that was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher.*

4.25 Stars
Clara Anderson’s mother has one mission: to marry off her daughter to a titled gentleman. Unfortunately, though the Andersons have come up in the world, Clara is still the granddaughter of a pig farmer & the daughter of a tin miner made good, which means no self-respecting aristocrat will marry her. That’s just fine with Clara, who’s grown to disdain the upper classes. So when she meets an attractive man even more common than she is, she decides it’s time to forge her own path. Except that handsome, rugged Nathaniel Emory, Baron Alford, is no more a commoner than Clara is a blue-blood. He’s appeared on the scene for one reason only: to save his family’s estate from ruin by finding the exceedingly valuable blue diamond his grandfather buried in the Anderson’s garden fifty years ago. To do that, he must pretend to be a gardener.
This is the third book in the series but could be read on its own, although its timeline is parallel to Harriet’s story in book two. I lost myself in this book & read it in one sitting. Nate & Clara are perfect for each other but their road to a HEA isn’t smooth especially when she discovers who he really is. The story flowed really well & kept my interest throughout, I thought the wedding was lovely & moving, it brought a tear to my eye. I’m not sure why Roger was featured so much as just seemed to be padding for no real reason.
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I received this from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. So this is book three in the Brides of St. Ives series. I almost didn’t read this when I realized it occurs almost simultaneously with book 2. I just hate having to reread about events. However, the author did do a good job making sure that the story stood on its own. Clara is the beautiful daughter and her mom is obsessed with making a match with Nobility;. The only problem is that they are not and it is a very hard world to join. I did enjoy the read but at times it seemed the story dragged a little bit. Overall, just an okay read.

The garden digging went on and on. I almost stopped reading.

This book took a few surprise turns. I enjoyed reading it.

After reading the first few pages, I thought to abandon reading the rest of the book. Then sometime between the second chapter the story began to become increasingly intriguing. I am so glad I took the time to finish the book. The story has a wonderful plot and plenty of subplots to keep you glued to each page and at the edge of your seat. There are many twists and turns that keep surprising you as the story progresses. A tantalizing book. This is a wonderful story of an impoverished baron, his search for a diamond his dearly departed grandfather had hid, his becoming a gardener in order to search the property for the said diamond and him falling in love with the family’s eldest daughter. Nathaniel Emory arrived at Lions Gate in Cumbria to visit his dying grandfather, Jonathan Emory, Baron Alford. Nathaniel felt it in his heart that the only person that ever loved him and that he loved was leaving him all alone with no other to call family. His mother died giving birth to him. His father was a drunken wastrel that squandered the family fortune away. His father’s bad behavior got him barred from polite society. The ton gave his father the direct cut and then he died. Nathaniel did not mourn him. But shame and poverty were associated with the family name and when the time came, Nathaniel would inherit his grandfather’s title, his grandfather’s and his father’s debts along with a decrepit moldering estate. His grandfather reached out to Nathaniel so he could tell him a true story about a five hundred and sixty-four caret blue diamond and how it came into his possession before he died. After the old Baron died, Nathaniel went in search of the diamond. He had to become a gardener in order to have access to the land where his grandfather had hidden the diamond. Clara Anderson was the eldest daughter of a successful tin mine owner, Silas and Hedra Anderson. Hedra had it in her mind that Clara and her sister Harriet would be groomed to marry a titled gentleman. She sent the girls to finishing school so that they would be able to comport themselves as ladies. However, everywhere and anywhere they went, the aristocracy had looked down their noses and rejected them. The story covers all the humiliating events that Clara and her mother went through to satisfy Hedra’s obsession to be accepted by the aristocracy and marry into it. In the meantime, Nathaniel’s search was causing him distress because he had no luck. He had hoped to take a month at the most two months to find it, but that was not the case. While searching, he had his gardening duties which he had no idea what he was doing. Clara befriended Nathaniel and their friendship blossomed. Before he knew it, Clara consumed his thoughts more than he wanted. Then Clara asked Nathaniel to give her, her first kiss. Nathaniel gladly obliged. He kissed her passionately. He could not get enough of her. They had another encounter and Nathaniel made Clara feel and see heaven without taking her maidenhood. Hedra was still determined to marry her off to a titled gentleman. When harsh disappointment came, Hedra cried and cried out of embarrassment. Clara was relieved that her mother had given up on the aristocracy ever allowing them to mingle among them. Clara was now free to pursue her feelings for Nathaniel. Nathaniel received word from his solicitor that someone was looking for him and they were asking about the blue diamond. Then he received another message that there had been a fire at Lions Gate. He had to leave St. Ives and return to Cumbria to assess the damage. He left a note for Clara that he adored her and he would return to her. Nathaniel was met by a detective, Roger King, who was hired by Jonathan Belmont, a descendant of Zachariah Belmont, the man that his grandfather traveled with when they found the diamond. Jonathan had been told a story that did not match what Nathaniel’s grandfather told him. But Nathaniel kept that information to himself until he found the diamond. Roger King was keen on helping Jonathan because at the end he would be paid a handsome sum that would enable him to search full time for the murderer of his wife and twin children. As Roger searched for clues of the diamond’s whereabouts, he kept coming up empty. Now he was searching for Nathaniel, hoping he would give him the information he sought. When Nathaniel met Roger, he acted ignorant to put Roger on a different path away from him. This all took time and Clara was becoming doubtful that Nathaniel would return to her. Nathaniel returned and they had a joyous reunion. Nathaniel wanted to tell Clara he was a Baron, but he did not know how to do it when he had lied so much to her. Then the unthinkable happened and Clara figured out who he was. OMG… this is such an exciting story. This is a must read and I highly recommend it.

Secrets almost destroy Clara’s HEA. Nathaniel was not what he seemed, but he was want Clara wanted. A friendship grew into more, but the secret kept it from becoming more. I loved Clara’s willingness to make her mother happy no matter what she had to put up with, showing how much she could love. I smiled as Nathaniel’s single-mindedness shifted focus as he got to know Clara. The ending seemed a bit rushed to wrap everything up but left no loose ends. The story was good, and it was nice to see some secondary characters find their happiness as well.

I received an ARC of this story through Netgalley, and this is my unsolicited review.