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At Somerton #3
Emeralds & Ashes
In the third and final book in our romantic historical YA series, heroes emerge and tragedies unfold as the servant and gentry at Somerton Court face World War I.
The murmurs of war have turned into a bloody conflict that will touch the lives of every member of the Somerton household.
Despite the pleas of his family, Lord Averley steps forward as soon as the call is made for men to fight the Western front. Mere weeks later, the news arrives: Lord Averley has been killed in the Battle of Marne. Without an obvious heir, Somerton falls into chaos. Half of the staff has already left for the war or industrial work.
Sebastian Templeton can no longer show his face in public. Ever since the publication of a now infamous photo of him and his former valet embracing, an unspeakable word has followed Sebastian everywhere--a word with the power to destroy a man's reputation forever. Knowing charges and a trial will soon follow, Sebastian does the only thing he can think of to escape: he volunteers for a war he feels is senseless and despicable, leaving beyind the boy he loves, but knows can never have.
Meanwhile, after a whirlwind romance with the Duke of Huntly, Rose Averley finds herself trapped in Egypt when war breaks out during their honeymoon. Alexander vows to return Rose to home and safety, but with no end in sight, Rose knows she cannot sit idle as those around her suffer.
In the final installment of the At Somerton series, the war to end all wars will take an unbearable toll on the household and leave each member forever changed.
The murmurs of war have turned into a bloody conflict that will touch the lives of every member of the Somerton household.
Despite the pleas of his family, Lord Averley steps forward as soon as the call is made for men to fight the Western front. Mere weeks later, the news arrives: Lord Averley has been killed in the Battle of Marne. Without an obvious heir, Somerton falls into chaos. Half of the staff has already left for the war or industrial work.
Sebastian Templeton can no longer show his face in public. Ever since the publication of a now infamous photo of him and his former valet embracing, an unspeakable word has followed Sebastian everywhere--a word with the power to destroy a man's reputation forever. Knowing charges and a trial will soon follow, Sebastian does the only thing he can think of to escape: he volunteers for a war he feels is senseless and despicable, leaving beyind the boy he loves, but knows can never have.
Meanwhile, after a whirlwind romance with the Duke of Huntly, Rose Averley finds herself trapped in Egypt when war breaks out during their honeymoon. Alexander vows to return Rose to home and safety, but with no end in sight, Rose knows she cannot sit idle as those around her suffer.
In the final installment of the At Somerton series, the war to end all wars will take an unbearable toll on the household and leave each member forever changed.
329 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 6, 2015
9 people are currently reading
1024 people want to read
About the author
Leila Rasheed
30 books92 followersLeila Rasheed has gained an MA in both Children's Literature and Creative Writing. She started work at Reading Is Fundamental, a children's literacy charity, before moving to Belgium. Leila now works as the children's bookseller for Waterstone's in Brussels.
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February 24, 2014WHY IS IT SO FAR AWAY?! I WANT TO READ IT NOW :''''(
April 12, 2015
I'm so excited, but also very bummed that this is the final At Somerton book. I could read three more books about Ada, Rose, and the others.
Grade: A
Release date: Goodreads says February 19th; however, in the email from the publicist, she told me January 6th.
This e-galley was provided by Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: That synopsis is awfully misleading and spoiler-filled, considering the Earl of Westlake doesn't pass away until the end of act one. Additionally, it led me to believe we'd see Rose's POV and we never do. But that's me nitpicking a bit. My real criticisms entail the POV jumps and some of the romantic relationships. The POV changed nearly every chapter and there were a lot of characters who were seen. I would've liked to stick with one of them for longer than a chapter. Also, I wasn't happy with how all the relationships ended. I won't spoil too much but there are three things I want to address.
1. There are two characters who use the word love awfully fast; I did sense them developing feelings for each other, but I'm not sure love is the word I would've used so soon.
2. Georgiana has had a crush on Michael since book 1 and it's a bit weird to me, seeing as how they're step-siblings.
3. There was a character who was set up as Ada's love interest and I seriously thought there would've been a hint of a happily ever after with them (considering this is the final book in the series). I'm okay with Ada being independent and unmarried, but if you set up a relationship...don't leave your readers hanging!
I did enjoy, however, the perspectives of World War I that were in Emeralds & Ashes. There aren't too many books that feature the first world war, and I liked that we saw nurses, soldiers, and families affected. Also, one of my favorite parts of the entire series, and especially this book, has been Charlotte's character development. She used to be selfish and horrid and now she's loving, giving, and brave. Her happiness was a bright spot in the tragedy that was most of the Averley/Templeton family's existence in Emeralds & Ashes. Ada and Georgiana were great, as always. Those girls have lost both their parents, and they're still strong and great characters.
Language and romance are mild. Violence and injuries are perhaps the worst (descriptions of some of the things Charlotte sees in a hospital, what Sebastian faces in the war, etc.).
The Verdict: Such a great conclusion, although I wish the series wasn't ending here! I want more At Somerton adventures.
Grade: A
Release date: Goodreads says February 19th; however, in the email from the publicist, she told me January 6th.
This e-galley was provided by Disney-Hyperion in exchange for an honest review.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: That synopsis is awfully misleading and spoiler-filled, considering the Earl of Westlake doesn't pass away until the end of act one. Additionally, it led me to believe we'd see Rose's POV and we never do. But that's me nitpicking a bit. My real criticisms entail the POV jumps and some of the romantic relationships. The POV changed nearly every chapter and there were a lot of characters who were seen. I would've liked to stick with one of them for longer than a chapter. Also, I wasn't happy with how all the relationships ended. I won't spoil too much but there are three things I want to address.
1. There are two characters who use the word love awfully fast; I did sense them developing feelings for each other, but I'm not sure love is the word I would've used so soon.
2. Georgiana has had a crush on Michael since book 1 and it's a bit weird to me, seeing as how they're step-siblings.
3. There was a character who was set up as Ada's love interest and I seriously thought there would've been a hint of a happily ever after with them (considering this is the final book in the series). I'm okay with Ada being independent and unmarried, but if you set up a relationship...don't leave your readers hanging!
I did enjoy, however, the perspectives of World War I that were in Emeralds & Ashes. There aren't too many books that feature the first world war, and I liked that we saw nurses, soldiers, and families affected. Also, one of my favorite parts of the entire series, and especially this book, has been Charlotte's character development. She used to be selfish and horrid and now she's loving, giving, and brave. Her happiness was a bright spot in the tragedy that was most of the Averley/Templeton family's existence in Emeralds & Ashes. Ada and Georgiana were great, as always. Those girls have lost both their parents, and they're still strong and great characters.
Language and romance are mild. Violence and injuries are perhaps the worst (descriptions of some of the things Charlotte sees in a hospital, what Sebastian faces in the war, etc.).
The Verdict: Such a great conclusion, although I wish the series wasn't ending here! I want more At Somerton adventures.
August 25, 2015
Loved the book, but super bummed that Disney decided to only release it in an e-book format. :(
April 25, 2021
dude why was this actually kind of good... a Strong 2.5 🌟 there will still a whole bunch of flaws, of course, but this was the best of the series and i almost want to round up and give it a full 3 stars....a Redemption Arc.
THE GOOD
➡️ the writing is better! i said this last time, and i'll say it again! it's still chunky in places, and as always there are too many similes (far less!!), but the dialogue was quite strong and most importantly, there were actually Themes and Things To Say. a few lines i was so impressed i raised my eyebrows like a dour 1940s newspaperman who isn't used to being surprised by quality work
➡️after two whole books of being the most chaste couple in existence, sebastian and oliver Finally get to play tonsil hockey on par with all of the straight couples! they go to a queer pub! the word is actually used! their ending is very reminiscent of maurice in the 'screw society we're going to be happy in The Wilderness'
➡️ speaking of saying 'screw society', loved charlotte telling her mother to fuck off, becoming Nice, saving lives, meeting a Roguish American Pilot, and damning all society and her mother's expectations to hell to go live in loving poverty with him
➡️ on that note, flint is actually quite funny
➡️ FINALLY ADA'S SMART NOW. she gets to actually use her Big Oxford Brain to legally finesse her estate out of a smarmy fortune hunter's hands
➡️ she also ends the series refusing to get married (for now) and without any sort of man except for her future employer....Nice!
➡️ i should say that the lead-up to ada unlocking her brainpower is frankly kind of hysterical. after literal years of having an Illicit Affair, she and ravi agree that a life together would be miserable for them both. they break up, have sex, ada's late to her father's funeral as a result, and then she outright tells georgiana about it, saying she doesn't regret it and that she's not a "fallen woman" or anything and them bam! she finally gets to be intelligent
➡️ FINALLY WE KNOW WHERE SOMERTON COURT IS! when characters go into the neighbouring village, they can see birmingham's smokestacks in the distance. there's also mentions of a lady amersham who "bought up all the dry goods in shropshire [...] and is now coming over to our county." birmingham's boundaries expanded in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, spilling over from the county warwickshire to worcestershire and staffordshire, BOTH of which share borders with shropshire, case CLOSED
➡️ i am neither english nor a geographer, so there's a chance i'm wrong but leila rasheed makes a Grevious North American Geography Error (to be detailed below) so we're even.
➡️ ada/michael/georgiana were a very fun team
THE BAD
➡️ one again, the writing, while still better, isn't quite up to snuff with the majority of the other ya historical fiction i've read, which is a Lot. too many weak similes (dude maybe i just don't like similes, i think that's what we're finding)
➡️ does ada really need to be involved with at least two men every book? let the poor girl have a break. can she not see her lecturer as an intellectual equal without wanting to go to bed with him?
➡️ there are nearly 70 chapters and i'd wager that 10 or less of them are spent on sebastian's storyline. he's gone for enormous swaths of the novel fighting in wwii for self-loathing reasons, and, as usual, the reader is privy to hardly any of it. all i'm asking for is an even distribution of povs, but at least they didn't occasionally change mid-chapter like the last book
➡️ there's a moment in one of sebastian's early chapters with oliver that's just....painfully heterosexual...terribly awkward
➡️ also about sebastian: there's a little bit of clumsy interior monologue where he acknowledges that he has no place in society now that he's been outed and feels himself to be a burden/can't imagine a life where he doesn't have the privileges and invisibility of the upper-crust and so goes to war because he thinks it's the only way he'll be useful and because he wants to die. i guess a constant stream of 'my life is shit and i'm going to die in a shithole in france but that's fine because i want to' would be tonally inconsistent with the rest of the book, but it makes his double realizations that he actually wants to live and doesn't need society to be happy kind of null because the reader doesn't see him actually express that self-loathing
➡️ GEORGIANA KISSES HER STEPBROTHER!! GEORGIE P L E A S E
➡️ why was this a running thread throughout the series. what an absolutely bananas hill to choose to die on
➡️ not...every...character...needs...a...romantic...relationship...
➡️ earl westlake and one of the former servants die, but there should have been a higher body count! it's world war 1! i maintain that fiona should have died of grief after her husband died and two of her children ran away to france with little chance of survival. mostly because she fails to have any substance or purpose as a character other than sending charlotte bitchy letters.
➡️ however, it's only 1915. more people can die before the war is over.
➡️ yes i did enjoy charlotte's arc, however i think it would have been more effective if she'd been Properly Nasty and Cruel in the previous two books as opposed to just petty and unlucky in love
➡️ rose isn't there at ALL. considering she's a main character and was the focus of the last book, this is uhhh sus
➡️ i FORGOT about her. nobody mentions her at all even though she's stranded in the mediterranean with a new baby!!! when she talks about her last year (incl. surviving a shipwreck and getting help from the english embassy in spain) it sounds so exciting and engaging and I Would Like to See It
➡️ rose's husband should have been killed on the front. not really for plot reasons i just think he's insufferable
➡️ also the eastern front of wwi is woefully underrepresented in fiction so it would have been neat to get a sense of what exactly was going on there
➡️ with ravi's unceremonious exit, all the characters are white people except for rose's maid who shows up for one line in two scenes and doesn't talk. also the discussions of indian independence in the previous books were quite interesting and i think would have been good for young readers who have little to no previous knowledge of the subject
➡️ evil bastard cousin? uncle? william swindles ada out of her inheritance and then literally the next chapter he and his entire family are killed when their ship to america is torpedoed. at least space some events out, damn!
the UHHH
➡️ flint mcallister comes from "a ranch in texas" but then says his father "lost the fortune in flagstaff. the fortune and the range." flagstaff, which is in.... ARIZONA. ARIZONA AND TEXAS DON'T EVEN SHARE A BORDER WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE
➡️ the other books begin with oscar wilde quotes as epigrams, but this one doesn't?? did leila rasheed run out of appropriate quotes?
➡️ the ending makes sense ig but it's veery abrupt
➡️ if i ever have to read another scene where characters kiss and it's described as passionate i am going to throw myself into the sea . every fucking time, y'all
i guess the tl, dr is that i was really expecting this book to be absolute horseshit based on the last one and the fact that the paperback run was cancelled, and then it wasn't and i was pleasantly surprised. i'm also peeved on leila rasheed's behalf that this book is so hard to find and print copies literally do not exist, it's not even that bad! why am i weirdly moved to write her an email saying that i'm sorry this happened to her and that i liked her books more than i was expecting to.
also if for some reason my reviews made anyone actually want to read these books, hmu for where to acquire this one
THE GOOD
➡️ the writing is better! i said this last time, and i'll say it again! it's still chunky in places, and as always there are too many similes (far less!!), but the dialogue was quite strong and most importantly, there were actually Themes and Things To Say. a few lines i was so impressed i raised my eyebrows like a dour 1940s newspaperman who isn't used to being surprised by quality work
➡️after two whole books of being the most chaste couple in existence, sebastian and oliver Finally get to play tonsil hockey on par with all of the straight couples! they go to a queer pub! the word is actually used! their ending is very reminiscent of maurice in the 'screw society we're going to be happy in The Wilderness'
➡️ speaking of saying 'screw society', loved charlotte telling her mother to fuck off, becoming Nice, saving lives, meeting a Roguish American Pilot, and damning all society and her mother's expectations to hell to go live in loving poverty with him
➡️ on that note, flint is actually quite funny
➡️ FINALLY ADA'S SMART NOW. she gets to actually use her Big Oxford Brain to legally finesse her estate out of a smarmy fortune hunter's hands
➡️ she also ends the series refusing to get married (for now) and without any sort of man except for her future employer....Nice!
➡️ i should say that the lead-up to ada unlocking her brainpower is frankly kind of hysterical. after literal years of having an Illicit Affair, she and ravi agree that a life together would be miserable for them both. they break up, have sex, ada's late to her father's funeral as a result, and then she outright tells georgiana about it, saying she doesn't regret it and that she's not a "fallen woman" or anything and them bam! she finally gets to be intelligent
➡️ FINALLY WE KNOW WHERE SOMERTON COURT IS! when characters go into the neighbouring village, they can see birmingham's smokestacks in the distance. there's also mentions of a lady amersham who "bought up all the dry goods in shropshire [...] and is now coming over to our county." birmingham's boundaries expanded in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, spilling over from the county warwickshire to worcestershire and staffordshire, BOTH of which share borders with shropshire, case CLOSED
➡️ i am neither english nor a geographer, so there's a chance i'm wrong but leila rasheed makes a Grevious North American Geography Error (to be detailed below) so we're even.
➡️ ada/michael/georgiana were a very fun team
THE BAD
➡️ one again, the writing, while still better, isn't quite up to snuff with the majority of the other ya historical fiction i've read, which is a Lot. too many weak similes (dude maybe i just don't like similes, i think that's what we're finding)
➡️ does ada really need to be involved with at least two men every book? let the poor girl have a break. can she not see her lecturer as an intellectual equal without wanting to go to bed with him?
➡️ there are nearly 70 chapters and i'd wager that 10 or less of them are spent on sebastian's storyline. he's gone for enormous swaths of the novel fighting in wwii for self-loathing reasons, and, as usual, the reader is privy to hardly any of it. all i'm asking for is an even distribution of povs, but at least they didn't occasionally change mid-chapter like the last book
➡️ there's a moment in one of sebastian's early chapters with oliver that's just....painfully heterosexual...terribly awkward
➡️ also about sebastian: there's a little bit of clumsy interior monologue where he acknowledges that he has no place in society now that he's been outed and feels himself to be a burden/can't imagine a life where he doesn't have the privileges and invisibility of the upper-crust and so goes to war because he thinks it's the only way he'll be useful and because he wants to die. i guess a constant stream of 'my life is shit and i'm going to die in a shithole in france but that's fine because i want to' would be tonally inconsistent with the rest of the book, but it makes his double realizations that he actually wants to live and doesn't need society to be happy kind of null because the reader doesn't see him actually express that self-loathing
➡️ GEORGIANA KISSES HER STEPBROTHER!! GEORGIE P L E A S E
➡️ why was this a running thread throughout the series. what an absolutely bananas hill to choose to die on
➡️ not...every...character...needs...a...romantic...relationship...
➡️ earl westlake and one of the former servants die, but there should have been a higher body count! it's world war 1! i maintain that fiona should have died of grief after her husband died and two of her children ran away to france with little chance of survival. mostly because she fails to have any substance or purpose as a character other than sending charlotte bitchy letters.
➡️ however, it's only 1915. more people can die before the war is over.
➡️ yes i did enjoy charlotte's arc, however i think it would have been more effective if she'd been Properly Nasty and Cruel in the previous two books as opposed to just petty and unlucky in love
➡️ rose isn't there at ALL. considering she's a main character and was the focus of the last book, this is uhhh sus
➡️ i FORGOT about her. nobody mentions her at all even though she's stranded in the mediterranean with a new baby!!! when she talks about her last year (incl. surviving a shipwreck and getting help from the english embassy in spain) it sounds so exciting and engaging and I Would Like to See It
➡️ rose's husband should have been killed on the front. not really for plot reasons i just think he's insufferable
➡️ also the eastern front of wwi is woefully underrepresented in fiction so it would have been neat to get a sense of what exactly was going on there
➡️ with ravi's unceremonious exit, all the characters are white people except for rose's maid who shows up for one line in two scenes and doesn't talk. also the discussions of indian independence in the previous books were quite interesting and i think would have been good for young readers who have little to no previous knowledge of the subject
➡️ evil bastard cousin? uncle? william swindles ada out of her inheritance and then literally the next chapter he and his entire family are killed when their ship to america is torpedoed. at least space some events out, damn!
the UHHH
➡️ flint mcallister comes from "a ranch in texas" but then says his father "lost the fortune in flagstaff. the fortune and the range." flagstaff, which is in.... ARIZONA. ARIZONA AND TEXAS DON'T EVEN SHARE A BORDER WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE
➡️ the other books begin with oscar wilde quotes as epigrams, but this one doesn't?? did leila rasheed run out of appropriate quotes?
➡️ the ending makes sense ig but it's veery abrupt
➡️ if i ever have to read another scene where characters kiss and it's described as passionate i am going to throw myself into the sea . every fucking time, y'all
i guess the tl, dr is that i was really expecting this book to be absolute horseshit based on the last one and the fact that the paperback run was cancelled, and then it wasn't and i was pleasantly surprised. i'm also peeved on leila rasheed's behalf that this book is so hard to find and print copies literally do not exist, it's not even that bad! why am i weirdly moved to write her an email saying that i'm sorry this happened to her and that i liked her books more than i was expecting to.
also if for some reason my reviews made anyone actually want to read these books, hmu for where to acquire this one
October 30, 2019
I raced through this Downton-esque trilogy, one book a day. And will post the same review to cover all three of them.
I needed some light relief after a few heavy literary endeavours that tried way too hard and didn't quite deliver all that they promised. And light relief is what I got - very light.
Yes, the plot developments were completely predictable and - indeed - highly implausible in many respects and characters were far from complex.
But the author kept me turning the pages. She had me hooked. If the series had been longer, I'd have carried straight on. I saw all the flaws but soon adjusted my expectations and lapped it up.
The third book was the most successful of the series, as the First World War gets underway with life-changing impacts on the characters. One cared a little less beforehand when they were just flitting about London and the countryside with the usual upstairs/downstairs dramas.
And one big plus point in the author's favour is that she has delivered a series in this genre way more successfully than the ostensibly much better writer Fay Weldon a few years ago. If you are fortunate enough not to have tried to pick up Ms Weldon's Love and Inheritance trilogy, then keep it that way. Everyone involved in that project should hang their heads in shame - it wasn't even worthy of being called trash.
I needed some light relief after a few heavy literary endeavours that tried way too hard and didn't quite deliver all that they promised. And light relief is what I got - very light.
Yes, the plot developments were completely predictable and - indeed - highly implausible in many respects and characters were far from complex.
But the author kept me turning the pages. She had me hooked. If the series had been longer, I'd have carried straight on. I saw all the flaws but soon adjusted my expectations and lapped it up.
The third book was the most successful of the series, as the First World War gets underway with life-changing impacts on the characters. One cared a little less beforehand when they were just flitting about London and the countryside with the usual upstairs/downstairs dramas.
And one big plus point in the author's favour is that she has delivered a series in this genre way more successfully than the ostensibly much better writer Fay Weldon a few years ago. If you are fortunate enough not to have tried to pick up Ms Weldon's Love and Inheritance trilogy, then keep it that way. Everyone involved in that project should hang their heads in shame - it wasn't even worthy of being called trash.
November 22, 2018
I didn’t really like how the story ended for Ada. The other characters all had happy endings, and Ada did too, but I really wanted more for her, mainly because I’m a romantic at heart. Also, this third book seemed rushed. It was like the author had run out of ideas so she ended all of the stories as quickly as she could. It’s still a fun series though for those who are romantics and Downton Abbey fans.
July 19, 2022
Oh my goodness....for those that love Downton Abbey and Bridgerton (but cleaner here, this is YA) then you would LOVE this series! I so enjoyed it and blew through this last novel so quickly. The only real negative I have is that I want more and I want to know how their futures have unfolded! This writing was on par with the fabulous Julien Fellowes and I will absolutely look for more of Leila Rasheed's books to read! Although, I still want more of our characters from this series.
March 22, 2023
In the tradition of Upstairs/Downstairs and Downton Abbey this YA 3 volume series follow one multi-character story arch through the entire series.
Without any torrid kissing or sex, this series is appropriate for the younger reader or adults who prefer sexless romance books.
If you are are an adult historic romance fan, looking for series you can do with a teen or pre-teen family member, this could be a good pick.
Without any torrid kissing or sex, this series is appropriate for the younger reader or adults who prefer sexless romance books.
If you are are an adult historic romance fan, looking for series you can do with a teen or pre-teen family member, this could be a good pick.
October 1, 2022
A strong independent female lead choosing her education and family over romance? LGBTQ+ characters falling in love and being their authentic selves, society be damned? All set during the heightened drama of war? What's not to love?!
There is such a variety of characters and each one has a unique and charming path.
There is such a variety of characters and each one has a unique and charming path.
February 3, 2024
This book did not have the ending I expected. However, I liked the characters trajectories and journeys all of our POV characters go on, and it's nice to see a regency romance novel centered around WW1.
October 5, 2018
Ein sang- und klangloses Ende, ohne Höhepunkte. Lässt mich irgendwie unzufrieden zurück...
January 4, 2023
This is the last book in the series. I feel like it was a very disjointed series. The characters are not consistent throughout the series. But it was a fun, silly read.
February 15, 2023
This was the final book in the At Somerton trilogy. It was really good in following up with relationships and bringing them to a satisfyingly resolution. Overall, I enjoyed the series.
March 13, 2023
I think I would have enjoyed this more at the time of the original publication, but as it is, this feels very aggressively like a Downtown Abbey fan fic. If you don't mind me, I'm off for a re-watch.
August 3, 2025
Absolutely loved reading this book, it was such a fantastic end to the series!
February 1, 2021
"Sehnsucht nach Somerton Court" ist der letze, und meiner Meinung nach auch schlechteste, Teil der Reihe.
Durch das Setting zur Zeit des ersten Weltkriegs, das sich doch schon von dem der ersten beiden Bücher unterscheidet, hatte ich neue Hoffnung in die Reihe. Und tatsächlich hat das eine interessante Dynamik in die Geschichte gebracht und zum ersten Mal habe ich mich beim Lesen der Reihe in der Zeit zurückversetzt gefühlt. Retten konnte es das Buch trotzdem nicht.
Wie schon in den anderen Büchern konnte ich mit den Charakteren einfach nicht warm werden. Das ist für mich ein wichtiger, wenn nicht sogar der wichtigste, Teil von guten Büchern und es hat mir total gefehlt. Bis auf Charlotte hat man vor allem auch gemerkt, dass keiner der Charaktere eine Entwicklung durchgemacht hat, was nach drei Büchern ein eindeutiges Zeichen mangelnder Qualität ist.
Insgesamt bin ich sehr froh die Reihe endlich beendet zu haben, wobei ich gestehen muss, dass ich die letzte Hälfte dieses Buches nur noch überfolgen habe.
Durch das Setting zur Zeit des ersten Weltkriegs, das sich doch schon von dem der ersten beiden Bücher unterscheidet, hatte ich neue Hoffnung in die Reihe. Und tatsächlich hat das eine interessante Dynamik in die Geschichte gebracht und zum ersten Mal habe ich mich beim Lesen der Reihe in der Zeit zurückversetzt gefühlt. Retten konnte es das Buch trotzdem nicht.
Wie schon in den anderen Büchern konnte ich mit den Charakteren einfach nicht warm werden. Das ist für mich ein wichtiger, wenn nicht sogar der wichtigste, Teil von guten Büchern und es hat mir total gefehlt. Bis auf Charlotte hat man vor allem auch gemerkt, dass keiner der Charaktere eine Entwicklung durchgemacht hat, was nach drei Büchern ein eindeutiges Zeichen mangelnder Qualität ist.
Insgesamt bin ich sehr froh die Reihe endlich beendet zu haben, wobei ich gestehen muss, dass ich die letzte Hälfte dieses Buches nur noch überfolgen habe.
August 14, 2015
I'm giving this 4 stars because I enjoyed this series quite a bit (maybe more than I should have). I guess what I'm saying is that this is a pretty perfect version of what it is.
Emeralds & Ashes still has the same Downton Abbey feeling as the previous books, but is well-written and enjoyable. This volume of "At Somerton" depicts the war years (WWI), and yes, the house is turned into a hospital. The subplot I enjoyed the most (out of too many to write about here) was Charlotte's time as a nurse, complete with a - spoiler - American love interest. She becomes a better person, and whether or not her arc was completely believable, it was enjoyable.
As in the past two books, this one had a heaping helping of feminist characters, an LBTQ subplot, and was full of soapy fun. I'd recommend this series to anyone who has hung in there with Downton, it will scratch the same itch (by using some of the same plots) and has lovable characters.
Emeralds & Ashes still has the same Downton Abbey feeling as the previous books, but is well-written and enjoyable. This volume of "At Somerton" depicts the war years (WWI), and yes, the house is turned into a hospital. The subplot I enjoyed the most (out of too many to write about here) was Charlotte's time as a nurse, complete with a - spoiler - American love interest. She becomes a better person, and whether or not her arc was completely believable, it was enjoyable.
As in the past two books, this one had a heaping helping of feminist characters, an LBTQ subplot, and was full of soapy fun. I'd recommend this series to anyone who has hung in there with Downton, it will scratch the same itch (by using some of the same plots) and has lovable characters.
February 13, 2016
Der letzte Teil der Somerton Court Reihe beginnt mit dem Eintritt Englands in den ersten Weltkrieg. Wenn der Krieg anfangs noch sehr weit weg zu sein scheint und sich junge Männer mutig für den Kriegsdienst melden, dann legt sich der dunkle Schatten, der Verlust und Tod mit sich bringt, im Verlauf des Buches über alle Schichten der Bevölkerung. Der Ton dieses dritten Teils ist sehr anders, als der der Vorgänger, rücken doch Intrigen, Bälle und die Oberflächlichkeiten der gehobenen Gesellschaft in den Hintergrund. In der Not wird das Miteinander menschlicher.
Mir hat der Roman trotz des ernsten Themas sehr gut gefallen. Die Kriegsszenen sind mir sehr unter die Haut gegangen. Leila Rasheed hat die verschiedenen Erzählsprünge sehr sensibel ausbalanciert und am Ende wunderbar zusammengeführt.
Mir hat die gesamte Reihe sehr gut gefallen, ich bin gespannt, was sie als nächstes veröffentlicht.
Mir hat der Roman trotz des ernsten Themas sehr gut gefallen. Die Kriegsszenen sind mir sehr unter die Haut gegangen. Leila Rasheed hat die verschiedenen Erzählsprünge sehr sensibel ausbalanciert und am Ende wunderbar zusammengeführt.
Mir hat die gesamte Reihe sehr gut gefallen, ich bin gespannt, was sie als nächstes veröffentlicht.
January 20, 2015
I absolutely loved this last book. It was so nice to see ALL of the characters grow and really come into their own. I think most of us can relate, at least partially, to that moment in life when you have to decide to follow your heart and believe in yourself, even if it means letting down the people you love. I was literally squealing with delight throughout this book, even at work. I couldn't help myself. In the end, everything was tied up and taken care of, I wasn't left with a feeling of wanting more closure. I just. Love it. All I can really say. :)
December 26, 2015
This book has it ups and downs. It was some time ago I read the first two books in the series and I couldn't remember every details - and this book did not help me to remember. So it was a bit like a fresh start. I read several books about the war and it's quite similar in most cases. Those parts were a bit long to read but coming to the end it had again the spirit of the first two books. Exciting and one revelation after the other. That's what I like!
tbr-unreleased
March 30, 2015Well, this book isn't going to be released in the UK and it's only available in the US as an ebook, so I guess I'm never going to be able to read this. (Unless this changes in the future, but this is how it stands at the moment.) At least now I can make up happy endings for all the characters.
Thanks, publishers. Thanks a lot.
Thanks, publishers. Thanks a lot.
July 25, 2016
Happy I finally purchased the ebook
What a good read. I'm so disappointed I will never have this book on my shelf with the others. After such a longtime in between books I thought if be lost, but I was able to remember the characters and follow along. My only complaint is that I wanted two of my favorite characters to come together in the end and that didn't occur.
What a good read. I'm so disappointed I will never have this book on my shelf with the others. After such a longtime in between books I thought if be lost, but I was able to remember the characters and follow along. My only complaint is that I wanted two of my favorite characters to come together in the end and that didn't occur.
May 4, 2016
Tracking down this book wasn't easy. I ended up reading it from Hoopla on my phone. That... is not a thing I do. Honestly, it was frustrating as hell, but I was glad to finally finish out this series. It was a silly (yeah, none of that would ever happen) but cute entry into this silly but cute series. Everyone got their true loves and evil was erraticated. In a very Edwardian way, naturally.
September 14, 2025
"But life does go on. Isn't that what we are fighting for?" Ada smiled at her sister as Connor got into the car.
"It goes on, but not unchanged, I fear," Georgiana replied.
I just wanted a little something more from this? yes, everything wrapped up in a tidy bow, but all the drama and conflict of the series is magically figured out in the matter of a few hundred pages?
"It goes on, but not unchanged, I fear," Georgiana replied.
I just wanted a little something more from this? yes, everything wrapped up in a tidy bow, but all the drama and conflict of the series is magically figured out in the matter of a few hundred pages?
June 22, 2015
Downton Abbey meets Game of Thrones? And Rose is practically nonexistent in this book. I feel a little sketchy on the timeline, but overall I like the shift to wartime and the struggles of changing social norms and the impact of technology that happened during WWI.
October 3, 2019
look it’s been four years but i just reshelved my books ans am SO SALTY about this never getting a hardcopy release. i didn’t think publishing houses could pull something worse than repackaging at book three—an unforgivable sin—but this qualifies.
September 10, 2016
Total fluff, but totally satisfying fluff. Great series!
Want to read
July 19, 2014I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE
April 4, 2017
Kept reading it because I always have to know how things end. This one is even a little worse than the first 2. The first 2 could be likeable as a really fast, really light read despite being unrealistic and shallow. This one can't even be likeable as a light read because it's depressing about the war.
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