The Dowry of Lady Eliza

by Anita Stansfield

Eliza Melodious Grenville's wedding day has finally arrived, and the church bells ring out in anticipation of the glorious event. Eliza has eagerly awaited her picture perfect nuptials, but there is just one Joshua, her groom, is nowhere to be found. After Joshua's brother, Matthias, calls for the police, Eliza awaits word. But when the news arrives, all her hopes for wedded bliss come crashing her betrothed has been located in a London alley. Murdered. Soon, Eliza learns that beneath the polished façade, the man she very nearly married lived a double life—a life that he gambled . . . and lost. Though Eliza and Matthias were innocent bystanders to Joshua's indiscretions, it is they who are left to pick up the pieces. As they learn to rely on each other through their shared trials, they are surprised to find themselves on an unexpected path of friendship and love. But even as they envision building a life together, the echoes of the past threaten to rob them of the promise of a shared future.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Clean Romance, Christian Fiction

192 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

About the author

Anita Stansfield, the LDS market's #1 best-selling romance novelist, is an imaginative and prolific writer whose romantic stories have captivated her readers.

"With sales approaching a half million, Anita Stansfield has clearly found a niche in this market," said Nicole Martin, Publicist for Covenant Communications. "Her popularity stems from her ability to empathize with and write about the issues that LDS women deal with on a daily basis."

"I always write for women like me. It's through my interaction with other women that I've found there are some personal and emotional struggles that are typical," said Anita Stansfield. "I hope my writing makes women feel better about themselves and shows them these real problems can be solved through gospel principles."

Reviews

[Whitney · Rating 2 out of 5]

This 9 hour audiobook was about 5 hours too long. Unfortunately I never felt or believed the romance even though the premise was interesting. Boring characters. Sorry.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great little book! I really enjoyed reading this during my walking. It is a book akin to Pride and Prejudice - not the exact story line but about two sisters and their love interests. Take a couple of unexpected turns, and keeps your interest if you like to read some books just for fun and "down time". (many times I read books where I need to take notes or quotes so I can use them later in other areas/groups I'm in or teaching.)

As the story line progresses with these two sisters, their friends, and romantic interests, some good principles are shared as well throughout the storyline. Principles like forgiveness, humility, self-restraint, kindness, charity, understanding, patience, helping others, and not being so proud that you don't allow others to help you too. I guess I just really like reading books or watching movies that also teach me something, otherwise I feel it's a waste of time for the most part. I don't like wasting my time.

I would recommend this book for anyone ages 12+. It is all "PG" and that is something else I really appreciated about it.

A happy story of two sisters, their lives in upper class England, their interactions with the Vicar, their romantic interests, and their house help. Very Jane Austen-ish, yet different enough to not be "same ol', same ol'."

Read it! ;)

[Alicia Rivoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing a review for this isn’t easy. I enjoyed the characters and the story which is why I gave it 4*. The overall message the story provided was done well also. However, I struggled with all of the “fillers”. It seemed like the author added way more information than necessary which had no real purpose and didn’t add to the story in any way. I have found a lot of Ms Stansfield’s books are similar writing, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.

[Heidi Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute romance, though I felt it was a bit drawn out for my taste. Eliza’s fiancé doesn’t show up for the wedding. She soon finds out he has been killed over gambling debt she knew nothing about. Some of the story line didn’t work for me, like killing someone who owes you money. Her sister falls in love with the vicar who helps them. Their parents died years ago and they have no male relatives, so they are wealthy women. Not my favorite, but it was fine.

[Kristin Tice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good character development for Eliza. Simon’s insights are great. But the relationship between Eliza and Matthias was just annoying with the never ending discussion of money and pride. You never felt them actually fall in love.

[Anna Larson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was pretty disappointed in this read. I almost abandoned it a handful of times. The character development was meh. I feel like money and wealth was talked about constantly til I was just frustrated reading about it. And the love relationship between Matthias and Eliza felt non-existent and unreal. I liked Simon. He was probably the only character I did like. But the two sisters I found annoying and unrelatable. I think I am most disappointed because it was not only crazy predictable but you had to wait forever for the predictions to come to pass, but also the storyline was at first so promising. Overall, just meh.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

debated on 2/3 stars. I liked the book but hated listening to it. The audio telling was too slow and a bit anti climatic. But I was far enough along I wanted to see how the book ended.

A bit predictable, and plot not really developed in my mind, but I enjoyed the love story.

So it's a nice mellow love story is what you want that is clean and good for all ages, including tweens this may be your book.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into the book. The beginning struggled to capture my attention and keep me drawn it. It was a lot of repeating, a lot of description and not a lot of dialogue, but I feel like it had more dialogue, less description than some of her previous books. I liked the characters, I liked the love story, and once things picked up I really enjoyed it, it was just hard to get to that point.

[Jenna Wilde · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars only because the first half felt a bit slow and repetitive, but the second half was really good. The stubbornness of certain characters got annoying to me, and there was a lot of inner monolouge/turmoil. Luckily, with time, things worked out...😉
Big themes in this book: forgiveness, patience, and overcoming pride.
Love the cute ending 💜

[John Balden · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a challenging read. The author constantly repeated herself. The plot was extremely predictable. I was tempted several times to stop in the middle and abandon the book.I did not enjoy this book.

[Alexis Koelling · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the worst books I have ever read. The only reason I finished it was in hopes that it couldn't possibly get worse. It did. This book was lacking in so many ways. The characters were flat, the dialog was stilted and repetitive and the storyline was meh at best.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't even finish this book. I struggled to finish Passage on the Titanic, but hoped this book would be better. I couldn't get past the first few pages. Anita Stansfield's writing style simply isn't enjoyable to me.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope. Not romantic at all. No romantic tension. Weird situations between the main characters. The situation with the hour glass…didn’t make sense. It felt like the girl was chasing after the guy for most of the book. Not a fan.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was a sweet one. But nothing much happens. It’s slow. Lots of introspection of the fmc. Idk why the mcs fall in love, it just says they do/are in love, but it doesn’t SHOW it much at all. And the fmc is completely oblivious to everything. Not my cup of tea.

[Carla Terry · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like the premise of the story. I really didn’t like any characters in this story. It was too simple and cheesy. I would have liked a little more character development and a plot that was a little more complex. It was a waste for the most part.

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I liked the unexpected results of the wedding that was to take place at the beginning of the book.

[Apzmarshl · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5
I'm not going to say I wasn't entertained to a point. But there's just so much mental and verbal perseverating over the same points.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story. I like many books by this author. This one dragged a bit for me just because I felt Eliza rehashed things over again throughout the book. The plot itself was great.

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot never took off

[Angieluila Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

One word, Ludicrous. Hahaha

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book, but it was so slow. moving... and a bit preachy... & too tell not show, that I just couldn't enjoy it. I really had to make myself finish it.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be honest, this book was a little boring. The second half was much better than the first, but I felt like it was very repetitive (the paragraphs said the same thing over and over) throughout.

[Lawana Sisam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute story that has a tragic start or so she thinks! Murder, and debtors prison make true love especially difficult to recognize.

[Kristy Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! Fun storyline, engaging characters, and a little mystery! Plus the perfect amount of romance.

[Carrie Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge Anita Stansfield fan and this one did not disappoint me in the least! I loved the characters and the joy that forgiveness brings! Thank you for another lovely novel!

[B Simmons · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pleasantly satisfying book - loved the brain vacation!!

In sending this recommendation to my sister. She's a recent widow and could use a wonderful distraction. Thank you Anita!!

[Sheila Jaques · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took so long for me to get to chapter 8. This book was so much fluff, it was actually laughable. Not worth reading

[Lindsay Orme · Rating 2 out of 5]

Boring and repetitive