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Trevelyan #1
The Mistress of Trevelyan
In 1873 San Francisco, Ann Lovell, a young woman desperate to change her future, dares to take on the position of governess to the sons of the mysterious and enigmatic Benedict Trevelyan. She refuses to believe in the dark rumors of a cursed family or that he had a hand in the death of his wife. After all, Ann was a practical woman and had no patience for nonsense. She also knew firsthand how cruel and untrue gossip could be, for it had ruined her mother's life.
But from the moment Ann enters the Trevelyan Manor, she is aware of a sinister force at work and as she becomes embroiled in the lives of those living within shadowed halls, she discovers dangerous secrets. Everyone is not who they appear to be and someone doesn't want her there, especially when she starts asking questions about the death of Benedict's wife.
As Ann uncovers more and more about the past, she believes that the previous Mistress of Trevelyan was murdered. Yet, her heart succumbs not only to the small, motherless boys in her care, but also falls prey to the master of Trevelyan Manor and his passions. He introduces her to a new world of sensual pleasures that shake her loose from her practical foundations.
Soon, the danger surrounding her grows deadly and the key to Ann's destiny or destruction lies within Benedict's arms, as she is forced to question if his attentions are meant to blind her to the truth, or if someone else wants her dead before she becomes the next...Mistress of Trevelyan.
But from the moment Ann enters the Trevelyan Manor, she is aware of a sinister force at work and as she becomes embroiled in the lives of those living within shadowed halls, she discovers dangerous secrets. Everyone is not who they appear to be and someone doesn't want her there, especially when she starts asking questions about the death of Benedict's wife.
As Ann uncovers more and more about the past, she believes that the previous Mistress of Trevelyan was murdered. Yet, her heart succumbs not only to the small, motherless boys in her care, but also falls prey to the master of Trevelyan Manor and his passions. He introduces her to a new world of sensual pleasures that shake her loose from her practical foundations.
Soon, the danger surrounding her grows deadly and the key to Ann's destiny or destruction lies within Benedict's arms, as she is forced to question if his attentions are meant to blind her to the truth, or if someone else wants her dead before she becomes the next...Mistress of Trevelyan.
410 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2004
96 people are currently reading
1148 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer St. Giles
34 books252 followersUSA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer St. Giles writes under the names Jennifer Saints and JL Saint. She writes sexy southern suspense, paranormal romance, military romantic suspense, gothic historical and paranormal crime,
She writes romance because she believes that when you take a human being to the very core of his existence, then you will find that what matters more than anything else is to be loved and to give love.
Life is all about choices and to pull from one of Erich Fromm's quote, She chooses to create and to love rather than destroy and to hate. Go forth, dream, believe, create, inspire, and love,
Jenni (J.L. Saint, Jennifer St. Giles, Jennifer Saints)
PS. Writers don't develop split personalities. They develop pseudonyms
She writes romance because she believes that when you take a human being to the very core of his existence, then you will find that what matters more than anything else is to be loved and to give love.
Life is all about choices and to pull from one of Erich Fromm's quote, She chooses to create and to love rather than destroy and to hate. Go forth, dream, believe, create, inspire, and love,
Jenni (J.L. Saint, Jennifer St. Giles, Jennifer Saints)
PS. Writers don't develop split personalities. They develop pseudonyms
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 93 reviews
November 8, 2017
4 1/2 "Tangled Web" Stars!
I enjoyed this book very much. It was a bit of a slow burn on the romance, but the mystery pulled me in right away. And when the romance caught fire, it was hot! Great story, fantastic main and secondary characters. I adored the children. (I'm a sucker for the kids.) Very, very good.
Thanks for the buddy read TPAM ladies!
Happy reading!
I enjoyed this book very much. It was a bit of a slow burn on the romance, but the mystery pulled me in right away. And when the romance caught fire, it was hot! Great story, fantastic main and secondary characters. I adored the children. (I'm a sucker for the kids.) Very, very good.
Thanks for the buddy read TPAM ladies!
Happy reading!
June 3, 2015
First posted at Badass Book Reviews.
Between Advanced Reading Copies and my 3 excellent libraries, I have access to so many good free books that I rarely download freebies. But when a friend recommends one, I always go for it because it’s not as if I’m losing anything. This was the case of The Mistress of Trevelyan. I confess that even with the recommendation, I didn’t have much hope for this – the seemingly drunk, Keanu Reeves look alike in the cover didn’t inspire much confidence. Imagine my surprise when this turned out to be really good!
After the death of her mother, Ann decides to change her life. The illegitimate daughter of an English lady, she decides to use her excellent education to procure a job as a governess for the Trevelyan boys. Even though she’s never taught, she’s sure she can make a difference in the lives of those boys and works hard to convince their father, Benedict Trevelyan to hire her. At this point, I started rolling my eyes, thinking that Ann was just another over confident heroine who thought she could do everything. I was actually shocked when upon meeting the boys – who don’t want a governess – she uses one of their interests to teach them a lesson! She was a very creative teacher, one who paid individual attention to each boy and realized soon enough that she also needed to care for their emotional well being. Ann’s relationship with the kids is one of the best parts of the story. These boys have been terribly wounded by the death of their mother but Ann doesn’t try to shield them from the horrible side of life. Instead, she’s honest with them and tries to teach them how to move on.
"I wish I could promise you that nothing bad will ever happen again. But I cannot. As I said before, life is like roses with thorns. There are many wonderful, joyous things to share, and then there are the painful, hurtful things too. All I can tell you is that sharing life with those you love makes the good parts better and the bad parts easier to bear."
The atmosphere in this book was very Gothic in nature – one of the characters paints these horrible pictures and their description gave me goosebumps. Soon enough, Ann is seeing the image of a woman in the tower (which everybody thinks is a ghost) and apparitions at the corner of her eye. She also gets the feeling that she’s being watched and receives notes signed by the dead wife warning her to leave. However, Ann is a very practical creature and realizes right away that a live person is behind everything and she wants to find out who it is.
The characterization was more complex than I imagined when I started reading. When the secondary characters are introduced, I immediately pegged them as the evil mother, the flirty sister in law in love with the hero , the wastrel brother, the deaf sister, and the crook business associate. But as I kept reading, I realized that my impressions were wrong and that there was a lot more to them all. Tragedy had changed their life irrevocably and there was a feeling of despair and hopelessness that permeated their world.
The mystery behind the death of the wife was really well done. Pretty much every character had reasons to kill her so I couldn’t pinpoint exactly who had done it (and I’m a mystery reader so I figure these things out pretty quickly in most books.) This is one of those mysteries where everybody suspects the others but they don’t talk about it. Nobody had all the information so there were a lot of misunderstandings that could only be cleared with a frank conversation but because nobody wanted to confirm if their suspicious were true, they just kept their mouths shut.
As you can see, the relationship between the leads is not the biggest part of the story but still develops in a very natural way. Ann started lusting about Benedict pretty much from the beginning but it took them a long time to fall in each other’s arms – which again, made sense for them both. As an illegitimate daughter, Ann is keenly aware of what could happen to a single woman who loses her virtue and Benedict knows that as a suspected murderer, he only has dishonor to offer a woman. But of course, their attraction is so strong that each of them cannot resist past a certain point. One of the things I liked most was that Ann didn’t fall into an affair with Benedict, she CHOSE it. And once she becomes his lover, her second thought is for contraception. Her discussion with Benedict about the matter was one of the few moments of levity in the story.
The books has its flaws. The writing can be too flowery at times and the author could have used a good editor – the lack of punctuation is felt in many sentences with lots of periods missing. However, I think the story is still good enough to warrant the purchase. The book is not a freebie anymore but well worth the current price of $0.99.
Between Advanced Reading Copies and my 3 excellent libraries, I have access to so many good free books that I rarely download freebies. But when a friend recommends one, I always go for it because it’s not as if I’m losing anything. This was the case of The Mistress of Trevelyan. I confess that even with the recommendation, I didn’t have much hope for this – the seemingly drunk, Keanu Reeves look alike in the cover didn’t inspire much confidence. Imagine my surprise when this turned out to be really good!
After the death of her mother, Ann decides to change her life. The illegitimate daughter of an English lady, she decides to use her excellent education to procure a job as a governess for the Trevelyan boys. Even though she’s never taught, she’s sure she can make a difference in the lives of those boys and works hard to convince their father, Benedict Trevelyan to hire her. At this point, I started rolling my eyes, thinking that Ann was just another over confident heroine who thought she could do everything. I was actually shocked when upon meeting the boys – who don’t want a governess – she uses one of their interests to teach them a lesson! She was a very creative teacher, one who paid individual attention to each boy and realized soon enough that she also needed to care for their emotional well being. Ann’s relationship with the kids is one of the best parts of the story. These boys have been terribly wounded by the death of their mother but Ann doesn’t try to shield them from the horrible side of life. Instead, she’s honest with them and tries to teach them how to move on.
"I wish I could promise you that nothing bad will ever happen again. But I cannot. As I said before, life is like roses with thorns. There are many wonderful, joyous things to share, and then there are the painful, hurtful things too. All I can tell you is that sharing life with those you love makes the good parts better and the bad parts easier to bear."
The atmosphere in this book was very Gothic in nature – one of the characters paints these horrible pictures and their description gave me goosebumps. Soon enough, Ann is seeing the image of a woman in the tower (which everybody thinks is a ghost) and apparitions at the corner of her eye. She also gets the feeling that she’s being watched and receives notes signed by the dead wife warning her to leave. However, Ann is a very practical creature and realizes right away that a live person is behind everything and she wants to find out who it is.
The characterization was more complex than I imagined when I started reading. When the secondary characters are introduced, I immediately pegged them as the evil mother, the flirty sister in law in love with the hero , the wastrel brother, the deaf sister, and the crook business associate. But as I kept reading, I realized that my impressions were wrong and that there was a lot more to them all. Tragedy had changed their life irrevocably and there was a feeling of despair and hopelessness that permeated their world.
The mystery behind the death of the wife was really well done. Pretty much every character had reasons to kill her so I couldn’t pinpoint exactly who had done it (and I’m a mystery reader so I figure these things out pretty quickly in most books.) This is one of those mysteries where everybody suspects the others but they don’t talk about it. Nobody had all the information so there were a lot of misunderstandings that could only be cleared with a frank conversation but because nobody wanted to confirm if their suspicious were true, they just kept their mouths shut.
As you can see, the relationship between the leads is not the biggest part of the story but still develops in a very natural way. Ann started lusting about Benedict pretty much from the beginning but it took them a long time to fall in each other’s arms – which again, made sense for them both. As an illegitimate daughter, Ann is keenly aware of what could happen to a single woman who loses her virtue and Benedict knows that as a suspected murderer, he only has dishonor to offer a woman. But of course, their attraction is so strong that each of them cannot resist past a certain point. One of the things I liked most was that Ann didn’t fall into an affair with Benedict, she CHOSE it. And once she becomes his lover, her second thought is for contraception. Her discussion with Benedict about the matter was one of the few moments of levity in the story.
The books has its flaws. The writing can be too flowery at times and the author could have used a good editor – the lack of punctuation is felt in many sentences with lots of periods missing. However, I think the story is still good enough to warrant the purchase. The book is not a freebie anymore but well worth the current price of $0.99.
April 29, 2016
No time to write a lengthy review now or in the next couple of weeks, but this was an excellent period Gothic romance in the old tradition. And the smoldering looks lead elsewhere in a very spicy fashion. I enjoyed this book a lot and recommend it to anyone looking for a Gothic romance fix filled with a fairly factual historical setting. Great characters, spooky setting, terrible secrets, lurking danger, descriptive writing, suspenseful plotting. I wish I had time to write the review this book deserves. I am definitely reading the next book in the series.
May 13, 2012
i've enjoyed gothic romances since i was in high school, but they have been pretty hard to find since the 60's to 70's. i absolutely loved victoria holt, the mistress of gothics. of course, back then sex was behind closed doors, and nothing more than a heated kiss was mentioned for the reader. in this book, that has changed, but the basic gothic elements are present--young woman living as a governess/companion/whatever in a house that tends to be spooky, employed by a dark, mysterious man to whom she is drawn, but of whom she is also frightened at times, little "accidents" happening to previous residents of the house and also to our intrepid heroine, falling in love with said tall, dark, and handsome but enigmatic employer, and finally the life-threatening element towards the end of the story. again, not victoria holt standard, but a decent read!
February 23, 2016
I read this several years back as a kindle freebie pre GRs. I don't really expect great things from the freebies but every now and then I stumble upon something enjoyable and even rarer still, something great. I wouldn't say this falls in that category but I do remember thinking it was pretty good for what it was, meaning a free kindle HR with gothic tendencies. If that's your thing then maybe give it a go. I'm not going to rate it, not because it was awful but because I don't remember it well enough to do so fairly.
November 18, 2017
Two stars for h who is excessively pearl clutching and a boring filler storyline. Didn't feel connection between the two characters. There is a second book with the H brothers story. I may read it.
August 12, 2019
2 1/2 stars. This Jane Eyre type storyline could have been so good had the writing been better.
July 16, 2020
Key words: Manor. Mist. Governess. Sons. Enigmatic. Murder. Master.
So of course I was expecting something like this:
And instead, I got something like this:
Things that made me 😒 (possible spoilers):
- the familiarity: I don't know if it was only because of the whole Americanism, but they all were in first-name-basis treatment; Ann did overstep her boundaries many, many times, talking back to her employer, her employer's MOTHER and the whole family. She is a governess, ex-laundry-washer, a bastard daughter, but she was there dining with this grand family and asking personal things like "why didn't you get married with X?". If she talking back to the master's MOTHER was supposed to describe her as strong and whatever...
- the heroine is too meddlesome!
- the insta-lust: allegedly, Ann is plain and not familiar with passion, etc. But she has 3 suitors throughout the book (the same 3 men that were involved somehow with the murdered wife) and the moment she meets the Master, sparks fly. And every time they look at each other, Ann can feel the heat and whatever. She keeps mentioning his scent over and over again, she keeps mentioning how he affects her unmentionable lower parts 😒 and loves to mention "his hard male body against her warm, soft female body" 😒 I guess I am just not used to read explicit MF romances anymore.
- one of the sons gets sick with scarlet fever, the doctor thinks the boy will not see the next day. However, our heroine, with tears in her eyes, convinces the master that their luurve will cure him; they spend the night hugging and singing to the boy, and voilà! the boy survives 😒
- no need to elaborate that, of course, her luurve changes the Master, and the unruly boys (that don't talk naturally as boys should do) adopt her as their new mother.
- there is a Scottish character that doesn't sound Scottish.. except that he says "lass" and "ye" in every sentence 😒
- needs more editing.. many typos and punctuation errors.
There is plenty of passion (I wasn't expecting this) but no chemistry at all btw the leads. Books like Victoria Holt's may not have any passion, but there were plenty, plenty of chemistry.
Good points: the kids are not mere pieces of the plot; they were part of a large part of the story. There is a deaf characters, so most of them talk in SL, which I love. And the price was very cheap ($ 0.99)
So of course I was expecting something like this:
And instead, I got something like this:
Things that made me 😒 (possible spoilers):
- the familiarity: I don't know if it was only because of the whole Americanism, but they all were in first-name-basis treatment; Ann did overstep her boundaries many, many times, talking back to her employer, her employer's MOTHER and the whole family. She is a governess, ex-laundry-washer, a bastard daughter, but she was there dining with this grand family and asking personal things like "why didn't you get married with X?". If she talking back to the master's MOTHER was supposed to describe her as strong and whatever...
- the heroine is too meddlesome!
- the insta-lust: allegedly, Ann is plain and not familiar with passion, etc. But she has 3 suitors throughout the book (the same 3 men that were involved somehow with the murdered wife) and the moment she meets the Master, sparks fly. And every time they look at each other, Ann can feel the heat and whatever. She keeps mentioning his scent over and over again, she keeps mentioning how he affects her unmentionable lower parts 😒 and loves to mention "his hard male body against her warm, soft female body" 😒 I guess I am just not used to read explicit MF romances anymore.
- one of the sons gets sick with scarlet fever, the doctor thinks the boy will not see the next day. However, our heroine, with tears in her eyes, convinces the master that their luurve will cure him; they spend the night hugging and singing to the boy, and voilà! the boy survives 😒
- no need to elaborate that, of course, her luurve changes the Master, and the unruly boys (that don't talk naturally as boys should do) adopt her as their new mother.
- there is a Scottish character that doesn't sound Scottish.. except that he says "lass" and "ye" in every sentence 😒
- needs more editing.. many typos and punctuation errors.
There is plenty of passion (I wasn't expecting this) but no chemistry at all btw the leads. Books like Victoria Holt's may not have any passion, but there were plenty, plenty of chemistry.
Good points: the kids are not mere pieces of the plot; they were part of a large part of the story. There is a deaf characters, so most of them talk in SL, which I love. And the price was very cheap ($ 0.99)
Read
August 26, 2011I must admit that it has become something of a game for me to find the books that have Nathan Kamp on the covers. He seems to be everywhere. There was a time when I had 4 or 5 out of 30 books from the library that had him on there. Funnily enough, he seems to prefer the ones where he is either shirtless or making out with some chick. He also seems to prefer romances, although I seem to remember a few urban fantasies with a male lead, something to do with dogs...
Anyways, as far as the story goes, I really enjoyed it. It is very different to read first person stories, but St. Giles does an exceptional job with getting us really into the character's head and heart. I have been mildy frustrated with some of her other books, mostly because I wanted to know what the hero was thinking. The problem with first person is that we depend on the other characters to tell us what they are thinking and why, and that doesn't always happen without sounding like info-dumping. I am very pleased with this author, however, because she has never info-dumped. The information her characters get is always logical and in completely reasonable chunks. There's none of those obnoxious scenes like in the tv shows when they are introducing the plot for the day and it starts out with such inane conversations such as:
"So, remind me what we're doing here."
"Well, this week we're going to investigate such-and-such because they are having issues with this-and-that."
"Oh, I remember now. Isn't it funny how this whole conversation could have been avoided if we stopped treating the viewers like idiots and let them see when we first got this information?
"Instead of rehashing everything because we obviously have Swiss cheese memory and can't remember what on earth we are doing? Yes, funny how these things work out."
But I digress. I just really hate info-dumping. In conclusion, this author never does that and she does a splendid job with everything of hers I have read so far.
Anyways, as far as the story goes, I really enjoyed it. It is very different to read first person stories, but St. Giles does an exceptional job with getting us really into the character's head and heart. I have been mildy frustrated with some of her other books, mostly because I wanted to know what the hero was thinking. The problem with first person is that we depend on the other characters to tell us what they are thinking and why, and that doesn't always happen without sounding like info-dumping. I am very pleased with this author, however, because she has never info-dumped. The information her characters get is always logical and in completely reasonable chunks. There's none of those obnoxious scenes like in the tv shows when they are introducing the plot for the day and it starts out with such inane conversations such as:
"So, remind me what we're doing here."
"Well, this week we're going to investigate such-and-such because they are having issues with this-and-that."
"Oh, I remember now. Isn't it funny how this whole conversation could have been avoided if we stopped treating the viewers like idiots and let them see when we first got this information?
"Instead of rehashing everything because we obviously have Swiss cheese memory and can't remember what on earth we are doing? Yes, funny how these things work out."
But I digress. I just really hate info-dumping. In conclusion, this author never does that and she does a splendid job with everything of hers I have read so far.
May 8, 2012
I really liked this book - up until the end where it all fell apart.
It very strongly reminded me of all the Victoria Holt gothic romances I read as a teenager and loved. The story flowed well, kept my interest throughout, despite a few inadvertant typos and a disconcerting tendency for one of the characters, Katherine, to switch over to Catherine, oftentimes within the same paragraph.
My aggravation - enough to drop one entire star - is that the resolution of the mystery is one of those Scooby Doo type who dunnits. Though I slightly suspected the culprit, none of the reasons were even remotely foreshadowed and I felt like the whole pot of revelations was just dumped in my lap within a page or two. What a let down.
Ah well. At least the first 92% was really absorbing.
It very strongly reminded me of all the Victoria Holt gothic romances I read as a teenager and loved. The story flowed well, kept my interest throughout, despite a few inadvertant typos and a disconcerting tendency for one of the characters, Katherine, to switch over to Catherine, oftentimes within the same paragraph.
My aggravation - enough to drop one entire star - is that the resolution of the mystery is one of those Scooby Doo type who dunnits. Though I slightly suspected the culprit, none of the reasons were even remotely foreshadowed and I felt like the whole pot of revelations was just dumped in my lap within a page or two. What a let down.
Ah well. At least the first 92% was really absorbing.
March 25, 2012
I purchased this book because it was offered free from Amazon, and I am glad I did. I have now discovered a new author that I absolutely love.
The Mistress of Trevelyan is "teacher in love with boss" meets "murder mystery" with a dash of "red hot romance". From the minute I began reading, I had a connection with the characters and the story flowed effortlessly. If you are even remotely interested in this book, you should go download from amazon while it is being offered for free- you've nothing to lose and my hope is you will find a great story.
It was a great way to spend a Saturday.
The Mistress of Trevelyan is "teacher in love with boss" meets "murder mystery" with a dash of "red hot romance". From the minute I began reading, I had a connection with the characters and the story flowed effortlessly. If you are even remotely interested in this book, you should go download from amazon while it is being offered for free- you've nothing to lose and my hope is you will find a great story.
It was a great way to spend a Saturday.
November 4, 2012
Having picked it up as a Kindle freebie a few weeks ago, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect going into it.
I think the biggest thing that threw me off was the time period and location. It was set in 1873 San Francisco, and yet I was jolted every single time a reference was made to the location or time period, as the world-building was a bit absent for much of the story.
Still, it wasn't a bad way to pass the time, especially for those into gothic-style romance.
3/5 Stars, with a full review to follow.
I think the biggest thing that threw me off was the time period and location. It was set in 1873 San Francisco, and yet I was jolted every single time a reference was made to the location or time period, as the world-building was a bit absent for much of the story.
Still, it wasn't a bad way to pass the time, especially for those into gothic-style romance.
3/5 Stars, with a full review to follow.
March 21, 2016
When I started this book I was disappointed to see it took place in America, because I am a big fan of all things Europe, and gothics just seem to belong there. But it wasn't long before I became entranced by the story of Benedict and Ann. Other than the fact that I began to suspect the villain about half way through, their reason for betrayal was not what I had expected. The characters were well drawn, and I especially became fond of the old Scottish bookseller who was like a fond uncle to Ann. And Benedicts two boys were delightful. All in all a great recommended read.
August 29, 2012
I liked this gothic romance. Not blow-me-away-AWESOMESAUCE, but it had good characterization, and a typical gothic plot.
Why is it a gothic romance? Governess? Check. Large, spooky house? Check. Ghost? Curse? Governess falling in love with the her employer? Murder mystery? Yes to all of the previous. Need I say more?
Why is it a gothic romance? Governess? Check. Large, spooky house? Check. Ghost? Curse? Governess falling in love with the her employer? Murder mystery? Yes to all of the previous. Need I say more?
November 25, 2017
Chaque fois que je vois passer une recommandation au sujet de ce livre, je me dis qu'il faudrait quand même que je finisse par le sortir de ma PAL ... Cette fois, c'est chose faite, et je suis plus qu'heureuse de pouvoir dire qu'il mérite amplement l'excellente réputation dont il est porteur.
L'histoire en elle-même, les personnages, la plume de l'auteur (quelle belle traduction !), tout est magnifique ! Ce roman est vraiment un récit à part, de par sa narration à la première personne, si inédite en romance historique, mais aussi de par l'univers dans lequel il se déroule, à savoir la côte ouest des États-Unis à la fin du XIXème siècle,ou encore par l'ambiance quelque peu gothique dans lequel se déroule une partie du roman.
Je me suis immédiatement attachée à la narratrice, j'ai vécu à ses côtés chacune de ses émotions, je me suis sentie liée à elle, à tous les frémissements qui l'ont parcourue. Comme elle, j'ai fondu pour ces deux petits garçons tellement attachants, mais tellement tristes. Dans cette maison où règne une chape de plomb et une ambiance vénéneuse, Ann est une source de lumière, elle va insuffler une bonne dose de vie à Trevelyan Manor, au risque d'affronter l'impérieux Dobbs, majordome de son état. D'ailleurs, j'ai trouvé leurs bisbilles particulièrement savoureuses, j'ai adoré voir Ann ne pas se laisser démonter face à cet austère personnage, et continuer sur sa lancée coûte que coûte.
La romance est très belle, sensuelle, avec juste ce qu'il faut de tourments et de tensions pour faire battre le cœur, mais ce qui m'a le plus touchée, c'est la relation poignante qui se tisse entre Ann et les enfants, ainsi que de voir le maître des lieux (ré)apprendre son rôle de père. Robert et Justin ont définitivement conquis mon cœur et leur souffrance m'a parfois émue aux larmes.
Le mystère planant autour de la mort de la femme du héros apporte du suspense à l'intrigue et sert de fil conducteur tout au long du livre, nous amenant, comme Ann, à remettre en question chaque personnage, ainsi que les motifs qui auraient pu le/la conduire à commettre un tel geste. Malheureusement, sur ce point, j'ai trouvé la fin bâclée.
Néanmoins, ce bémol n'a pas entaché mon enthousiasme, j'ai vraiment vibré d'émotions avec ce très beau roman, et je ne peux désormais que me joindre au concert de louanges à son sujet !
L'histoire en elle-même, les personnages, la plume de l'auteur (quelle belle traduction !), tout est magnifique ! Ce roman est vraiment un récit à part, de par sa narration à la première personne, si inédite en romance historique, mais aussi de par l'univers dans lequel il se déroule, à savoir la côte ouest des États-Unis à la fin du XIXème siècle,ou encore par l'ambiance quelque peu gothique dans lequel se déroule une partie du roman.
Je me suis immédiatement attachée à la narratrice, j'ai vécu à ses côtés chacune de ses émotions, je me suis sentie liée à elle, à tous les frémissements qui l'ont parcourue. Comme elle, j'ai fondu pour ces deux petits garçons tellement attachants, mais tellement tristes. Dans cette maison où règne une chape de plomb et une ambiance vénéneuse, Ann est une source de lumière, elle va insuffler une bonne dose de vie à Trevelyan Manor, au risque d'affronter l'impérieux Dobbs, majordome de son état. D'ailleurs, j'ai trouvé leurs bisbilles particulièrement savoureuses, j'ai adoré voir Ann ne pas se laisser démonter face à cet austère personnage, et continuer sur sa lancée coûte que coûte.
La romance est très belle, sensuelle, avec juste ce qu'il faut de tourments et de tensions pour faire battre le cœur, mais ce qui m'a le plus touchée, c'est la relation poignante qui se tisse entre Ann et les enfants, ainsi que de voir le maître des lieux (ré)apprendre son rôle de père. Robert et Justin ont définitivement conquis mon cœur et leur souffrance m'a parfois émue aux larmes.
Le mystère planant autour de la mort de la femme du héros apporte du suspense à l'intrigue et sert de fil conducteur tout au long du livre, nous amenant, comme Ann, à remettre en question chaque personnage, ainsi que les motifs qui auraient pu le/la conduire à commettre un tel geste. Malheureusement, sur ce point, j'ai trouvé la fin bâclée.
Néanmoins, ce bémol n'a pas entaché mon enthousiasme, j'ai vraiment vibré d'émotions avec ce très beau roman, et je ne peux désormais que me joindre au concert de louanges à son sujet !
September 14, 2020
Ann’s mother recently passed away and Ann is determined to not spend the rest of her life as a laundress. She applies to be a tutor for the children of Benedict Trevelyan. There is a lot of gossip in town regarding how the wife of Benedict Trevelyan died. Ann does not allow the gossip to deter her and when Benedict tries to refuse her solely based on the fact that Ann is a woman, she doesn’t back down and ends up getting the job. From the very beginning, Ann and Benedict have an attraction, but both of them refuse to act on it.
I really liked the mystery surrounding the Trevelyan family in this book, but I also have a romance pet peeve that happened in this book all the time. Gasping. I know, it’s a stupid thing to let annoy me, but it’s probably more of what causes a gasp. Someone brushing against the heroine’s arm? This should not elicit a gasp, or maybe I just think a gasp is more than a slight intake of air. ANYWAY, I really liked that Ann, who had also experienced loss, was able to come into this family home and remind them to turn toward the light instead of drowning in the dark. This whole family needed Ann. Especially the children who were essentially left to cope with the loss of their mother on their own. Shame on you Trevelyan family! I liked this book, and at times felt it was very Jane Eyre-esque, but I wasn’t completely sold on Benedict. This is the first book I have read by Jennifer St. Giles, but I definitely want to check out her other books!
I really liked the mystery surrounding the Trevelyan family in this book, but I also have a romance pet peeve that happened in this book all the time. Gasping. I know, it’s a stupid thing to let annoy me, but it’s probably more of what causes a gasp. Someone brushing against the heroine’s arm? This should not elicit a gasp, or maybe I just think a gasp is more than a slight intake of air. ANYWAY, I really liked that Ann, who had also experienced loss, was able to come into this family home and remind them to turn toward the light instead of drowning in the dark. This whole family needed Ann. Especially the children who were essentially left to cope with the loss of their mother on their own. Shame on you Trevelyan family! I liked this book, and at times felt it was very Jane Eyre-esque, but I wasn’t completely sold on Benedict. This is the first book I have read by Jennifer St. Giles, but I definitely want to check out her other books!
February 24, 2019
Fascinating Gothic Romance
Everything that makes a gothic so much fun to read - gloomy mansion, 2 little boys to save, a brooding and hamsome father to fall in love with, a dead wife, but of course that is the mystery - how did she die?
A wonderful read - but I must admit, I had no trouble knowing who did it lol......
Everything that makes a gothic so much fun to read - gloomy mansion, 2 little boys to save, a brooding and hamsome father to fall in love with, a dead wife, but of course that is the mystery - how did she die?
A wonderful read - but I must admit, I had no trouble knowing who did it lol......
September 11, 2023
I read the book to my daughter who is 16 and it captured her attention. It captured mine also. It’s sad how kids can be so cruel and label others. My daughter and I discussed that. The diversity and twists and turns and happy ending were great. I’m going to read this to my 4th grade class and find the music that accompanies it.
October 31, 2024
I loved this, so cute. An added touch of mystery as well made this a very well-rounded read. Ann's constitution had me chuckling quite a bit as well.
I am usually pretty good at figuring out 'whodunnit' before the big reveal, but this time I was at a loss. I had several suspects in mind, but the ending was still a welcome surprise. Very well done!
I am usually pretty good at figuring out 'whodunnit' before the big reveal, but this time I was at a loss. I had several suspects in mind, but the ending was still a welcome surprise. Very well done!
May 16, 2017
Meh.... it was OK - nothing great nor was it awesome. I guess I was expecting more based on the synopsis. Ended up skipping a couple of pages too..
July 8, 2017
A truly wonderful romance.
I normally do not read this genre but pleased I took a chance! Loved the characters and the plot. Superb!
I normally do not read this genre but pleased I took a chance! Loved the characters and the plot. Superb!
August 5, 2017
Good book
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
You people should just read this book yourselves and write your own review on this novel yourself and I really enjoyed reading this book very much so. Shelley MA
August 12, 2017
4.5 stars rounded to 4. Spotted the villain pretty easily, but didn't hinder my enjoyment of the story.
November 26, 2017
Reminscent of the Victoria Holt novels I read in my teens, enjoyable fluff although not sure the American setting quite worked for me
December 10, 2017
Un roman gothique avec la jeune héroïne dans un château mystérieux, des passages secrets, une mort suspecte .... une pointe de Jane Eyre, un zeste de Northhanger Abbey....un cocktail réussi
March 29, 2018
Pretty good for a gothic romance. The main character is a bit over the top, too practical, too much a miss fix it, and too concerned about convention. Nice little mystery with a surprise teist.
June 9, 2018
Did not finish. The ebook cover indicated it was "Touch a Dark Wolf" but inside was this gothic thing, and I am not enjoying it at all.
September 30, 2019
Good story
Another good story with dark secrets and romance. Everyone is hurt and thought to be cursed but it all played out well with many surprises.
Another good story with dark secrets and romance. Everyone is hurt and thought to be cursed but it all played out well with many surprises.
October 5, 2019
I truly enjoyed this book, to the point I only slept 4 hours to finish it after only the 2nd day of reading. It intrigued me and kept my attention and imagination enthralled the whole time.
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