When Olivia Shaw’s mother dies, the sophisticated food editor is astonished to learn she’s inherited a centuries-old English estate—and a title to go with it. Raw with grief and reeling from the knowledge that her reserved mother hid something so momentous, Olivia leaves San Francisco and crosses the pond to unravel the mystery of a lifetime.One glance at the breathtaking Rosemere Priory and … Priory and Olivia understands why the manor, magnificent even in disrepair, was the subject of her mother’s exquisite paintings. What she doesn’t understand is why her mother never mentioned it to her. As Olivia begins digging into her mother’s past, she discovers that the peeling wallpaper, debris-laden halls, and ceiling-high Elizabethan windows covered in lush green vines hide unimaginable secrets.
Although personal problems and her life back home beckon, Olivia finds herself falling for the charming English village and its residents. But before she can decide what Rosemere’s and her own future hold, Olivia must first untangle the secrets of her past.
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This story was like comfort food for the mind. The premise (a woman’s mother passes away and she learns she’s inherited a manor house and a title — why had her mother never told her any of this?) was a great hook and immediately engaged me. The story constantly teeters on the edge of something magical happening but never tips into the fantastic. The heroine is appropriately overwhelmed by it all, but she is competent and practical, able to find solutions to financial problems related to restoring the ancient manse, and with enough steel in her spine to solve issues in her personal life. An enjoyable read!
If I could give this beautiful story a10 I would! Beautiful setting in London , wonderful Characters, Rich settings, Treasure hunt that leads to secrets unearthed, Excellent story! One that will stay with me for a long time .
This is my new favorite book! Loved all of it. The main character is a food magazine editor, and in addition to a great plot, her descriptions of food and all food related things kept me hungry! I’m now on to another book by this author.
This book was one of those books that puts you in a good mood when you read it. For me it had an interesting storyline and good character development. This is the first book I have read by this author and I look forward to reading more from her.
The Art of Inheriting Secrets is a book aptly named. The protagonist, Olivia Shaw, an American woman in her late thirties, inherits a 600 year old estate in England from her mother and a title to go with it, all of which she never knew existed until she finds out about it in her mother’s will. Why did Olivia’s mother never mention something so important? That’s the first mystery. Once Olivia arrives in England to settle the estate she finds that many more mysteries await, all of which she has to unravel amidst grieving her mother, breaking up with her fiance long-distance, some hostile locals, learning the lifestyle that accompanies her new title, trying to discern between the new friends who are trustworthy and those who aren’t, and the possibility of finding real love with a man ten years her junior.
Put all of this together and you’ve got an intriguing mystery – several of them actually. The ancient house holds lots of secrets, some sad, some tragic, all part of the multi-layered riddle Olivia must solve to understand why her mother never told her about the house and what, now that her mother is gone, she hopes Olivia will do with the knowledge and the estate.
As an added bonus, anyone who is a foodie will love the many details of the culinary delights Olivia encounters. Being an editor for an upscale food magazine means she has a sophisticated palate and a gift for describing flavors and textures that are enough to make any reader’s mouth water!
An interesting read with a satisfying ending. Recommended!
I did not enjoy this book! Unless you LOVE long descriptions of everything from gardens, flowers, birds, trees food, etc etc. Pass this one by! Basically the whole story is told in chapter one and then the last chapter with tons of descriptions of EVERYTHING else in between.
Wish I hadn’t spent my money on this one!
This is my second O’Neal book and I borrowed this one from Prime reading (which I completely forgot I had). This one has been incredibly well reviewed, so I’m going to skip that and get into my thoughts.
I loved Olivia’s mother left her one final scavenger hunt, and I just wish it wasn’t at the expense of not getting desperately needed answers while she was alive. But I do love that she saw it as a way to not fixate on the loss and find a way to move on.
I loved all the characters, they were incredibly in-depth, and I especially loved Samir and his sister Pavi (and I would love to see more of Pavi down the road, she deserves her own story told). I loved the connection between Samir and Olivia, this magnetic attracting and easy-going way. O’Neal’s strength is creating a rich atmosphere, she’s a great storyteller, and once again, I found myself completely engrossed in her story. Rosemere sounds like a fantastic place to visit, secrets and disasters included.
As is the way, sometimes in life, everything that could go wrong for Olivia did, which brings us the reason why I give it 4 stars instead of 5. So many negative things started happening as I neared the end, starting with Grant, and then they were too swiftly resolved. The death of her friend, the fire at the house, the secret her mother was keeping, the problems with Grant, the fire, it all just either resolved by more of a swift telling as opposed to showing or will be resolved at some point, which was very disappointing because I had spent so much time invested in this story and the endless disasters.
But aside from the ending, which has made me a bit sour, this was a great read. I think the fact this is my second O’Neal book in a month speaks volumes to how much of a new fan I am, and I plan to start my new year off with another book of hers to fall in love with. Well done.
I found myself quickly engrossed in this predicable, cozy read about a sudden inheritance of a manor house in England. I read the whole book in one day, which hasn’t happened in a while. I loved the idea of discovering another side of your family history that was completely new and then spending hours exploring the house and gardens of a time past. It was magical, but I could have done without the overly descriptive sex scenes. Why can’t we just say that they slept together and then move on to the next day?
The Art of Inheriting Secrets by Barbara O’Neal is a delightful read dealing with allot of unknowns and what ifs. I borrowed this book from the Prime Reading library and was not disappointed after learning it was a Best Seller. When food critic, editor Olivia learns that she is now a contress and owner of a broken down manor house in England, she doesn’t know what to think. A manor house so grand as the Rosemere Priory is revered by the whole village and supports many of its people. It takes an British Indian author named Samir and his family to convince Olivia that the house is worth her trouble. And then the secrets behind her mother’s art come to light and the treasure hunt is on.
This story is a bit mystery with some history and romance, but wordy and preachy in parts. There are overdone descriptions of just about everything and a lot of soul searching. Olivia is the main character. Her mother dies and, to Olivia’s complete surprise, she discovers that she has inherited an English country estate in near ruins along with a title of nobility. She travels from her home in San Francisco to England with the intention of settling her mother’s estate, but instead becomes enchanted with her newly discovered ancestry and heritage. The story crawls along as Olivia learns dark secrets about her family and the property she has inherited. She dreams of bringing the massive estate back to its glory despite numerous setbacks. There is a love interest, but it really detracts from the story. There are way too many descriptions of her male companion’s body parts down to his armpit hair (ugh!) and repetitious comments of his flinging his black curls around. The author should have cut down on the elaborate descriptions and concentrated more on weaving a coherent story. I think the romance part of this book didn’t flow well and the interesting historical aspect of the story dealing with the estate and title wasn’t used to its full advantage.
Barbara is a long time auto-buy author of mine (she is also a pal but was an auto-buy before I met her). Her books are romantic, gorgeously written, and always take you right into a setting propelled there by lush prose and kept there by great characters and story. And there’s often just a hint of magic or the paranormal to keep things interesting. This one has grief and art and love and England and food (always great food–they are not books to read while hungry) and romance and gardens and a house that needs saving. It came out last year and I’ve read it two or three times already. One of the few authors whose books have made me cry.
This was my first book by this author and it was a fantastic read! I’m looking forward to reading her new book coming out this summer.
This book hit a bunch of my happy book buttons all at once. Characters I loved hanging out with, a mystery, a ruined old mansion full of secrets, a strong undercurrent of romance… Another reviewer called it “the grown ups version of The Secret Garden” and it is that, but also more. Loved it.
Most people have their favorite comfort foods. I have comfort “authors” and Barbara O’Neal / Barbara Samuel is one of them. Read my full review on my website at: http://patriciakeelyn.com/2019/04/the-art-of-inheriting-secrets-by-barbara-oneal/?fbclid=IwAR0wj1iXM1fyIlXR3bbF0RlO4hVdReVGmrHefV5ONfhOfZb5w_3vCDp1zCU
This book starts off with an interesting concept but turns into a work that is polluted by political correct multicultural crap. I got disgusted, quit reading and deleted from my kindle.
While I enjoyed this book at the beginning, once I got halfway through it suddenly became too sexual for my taste. I can’t say that it was one of the best books I’ve ever read, but I was at least anticipating the end of the book. And when you factor in the “F” word popping into the dialogue, it was just too much for me.
I didn’t feel like the characters were that well developed. The plot was scattered, the ex-boyfriend was a jerk in every sense of the word, and the new boyfriend/sexual interest was too perfect. Though I felt that they both had unresolved issues.
I think I will probably try another Barbara O’Neal book. But I’m not sure how soon I’ll be able to make myself try another one.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Twistingly fun, but confusing.
November 25, 2018
Format: Kindle Edition
Mystery, romance, art world, British aristocracy and inheritance. With a bunch of other stuff thrown in, too. Too much for me. It was distracting. A few less sidelines and I wouldn’t have been so confused.
Fun, easy read. Love able characters and a unique story.
I love this author’s work.
I love Barbara O’Neal’s books and this one did not disappoint!! A woman from San Francisco discovers that she has inherited a falling down castle in England and secrets and a treasure hunt from her late mom who just recently passed. She has no idea that her mother led this other life! Wonderful characters, delicious food and beautiful landscapes!!