Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore

Manor of SecretsThe year is 1911. And at The Manor, nothing is as it seems . . .

Lady Charlotte Edmonds: Beautiful, wealthy, and sheltered, Charlotte feels suffocated by the strictures of upper-crust society. She longs to see the world beyond The Manor, to seek out high adventure. And most of all, romance.

Janie Seward: Fiery, hardworking, and clever, Janie knows she can be more than just a kitchen maid. But she isn't sure she possesses the courage -- or the means -- to break free and follow her passions.

Both Charlotte and Janie are ready for change. As their paths overlap in the gilded hallways and dark corridors of The Manor, rules are broken and secrets are revealed. Secrets that will alter the course of their lives. . . forever.

___________________
First I would like to thank Scholastic for letting me view this through netgalley.com.  I really do appreciate it. 

Now onto my review.
This book was excellent.  I loved it and it reminded me of Downnton Abbey.  I'm a huge fan of the show and I'm now into reading anything like it or at least in the same time period as the show.  When I saw the cover for this for a moment I thought that it was Lady Sybil or Lady Mary from Downton Abbey.
Lady Sybil:
Lady Mary:
I really liked Lady Charlotte's character.  I felt bad for her because of how much her mother was pressuring her to be this proper English Lady and she feels like she can't meet those demands.  I could really relate because my mother can be demanding at times too, but not as bad as Lady Charlotte's mother.  She also wants to go out and have an adventure.  She doesn't want to be trapped in some house married to a man that will keep her at home.
Lady Charlotte is being pressured to marry Lord Andrew or another man of high ranking.  The only problem is she's in love (or thinks she's in love with) one of the footman.  It's all part of her adventure.  And the girl thinks that he actually likes her back.  The whole time I'm sitting there looking at the book like:
You could soooo tell that he didn't actually feel the same way about her and that he was just a player.
Let's move on to Janie.
Janie works downstairs in the kitchen, but Charlotte sees Janie and wants to be more like her.  Janie sneaks upstairs to talk to Charlotte and be a friend to her.  It also ruffles some feathers upstairs and down.  The Lady's maid feels like Janie is trying to take her spot as Lady Charlotte's Lady's maid.  Charlotte's mother and best friend also don't like the idea of Charlotte hanging out with Janie.
Also people downstairs can't have relationships.  It is strictly forbidden. If you're caught having a relationship with anyone you're sacked, AKA fired, and that's because of something that had happened a long time ago.  I won't tell you because that would ruin the whole book.  But Harry and Janie start to have a relationship towards the end of the book.  I ship them.
Then Charlotte's aunt comes to visit, and she's a little unorthodox.  She's not like the other Lady's, and Charlotte's mother despises her sister.  The whole time they were in a room together I felt like it was Cousin Isobel and Cousin Violet up against one another.  Charlotte's aunt is sort of like this for the whole time she was there:

 
I loved this book I really did.  Katherine Longshore writes a good book, and I couldn't put it down for a second.  I gobbled this book up like it was nothing.  I kind of want a second book, I'm not positive if there is another book or not, but if there is I will read it without a doubt.
Overview:
Rating: Five Stars
Author: Katherine Longshore
Publisher: Point
First Published: January 28th, 2014 
Pages: 320
Series Book: I don't know.
Will I Read The Next One: If there is, yes.
~Ariadne James   

No comments:

Post a Comment