While I did enjoy this book for the most part I would have enjoyed it considerably more had I read the sequel first, the sequel which was released before this, its prequel The Tree of Life. In this prequel Leo Becker moves into Rose Park mansion, having been invited by his cousin Dilys. As of yet he is unaware of the Tower Room and its functions. His ignorance does not last long however and Leo experiences much more than he ever bargained for. While I found this story interesting for the most part I did find the characters were quite loosely written and unrefined. Francine, Leo's daughter was really unlikeable. I could not take to her at all. Sometimes the story lagged and at other times details were a little sparse, occasions when more information was called for.

I received a kindle copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

This is the first book I have read by Dawn Davis and later found out that this book is a prequel to the first book within the Tower Room series. The book started out very interesting as it introduces the main characters of Leo, Dilys, Francine, and David. As you read the first chapter, you discover that Leo and his daughter Francine, have a bit of a unique, albeit, challenging relationship. Francine is very headstrong, calls her Dad by his first name, and is very blunt and snarky with most people she meets. Leo soon discovers that Francine is pregnant and he internalizes conversations and reminisces on Francine’s childhood and how he wished he had done more with her. Leo has been a baker and owned his own bakery for the majority of his life until his long lost relative, Dilys convinces him to move into her mansion. He has his own room and living area and bakes as he sees fit, however he doesn’t quite know Dilys all too well and is intrigued and somewhat disturbed by the visitors that arrive for “meetings” with Dilys within the Tower Room. The Tower Room is a secluded area of the mansion that no one is allowed into without an invitation, including Leo.

As the story progresses and Leo frets more about Francine’s pregnancy and worries about how she will handle this new life, he becomes more stressed and speaks with Dilys about all of it. Leo finally gets invited into the Tower Room where he then sees why the room and its contents are so secretive. Leo wakes up in 1812 in Queenston where he is not sure where he is, who the people he meets are, and how he came about being there. He meets several characters and bonds with two young children who are twins and ends up teaching Leo more about life and survival than Leo can teach them.

I felt that this book dragged a bit during the details of the story in 1812 and I lost interest in it several times throughout. I wanted to hear more about the twins and how they came to be in their situation and wanted more description of the lives they led, the tavern, and the people that Leo encountered. I also really disliked Francine and felt that Leo deserved a little more admiration from her as she continued to keep many things from him. I was a bit confused by the details of the story starting with the Tower Room and how it began and then wanted to know more about Dilys and her father’s past. Lastly, I was not too enthralled with the ending of the story within 1812 and the ending with Francine and her baby when Leo discovers what he does in the end. I felt there was much more to the story that could have grabbed the reader’s attention and wrapped up the story in a nice way. This all could be due to not reading the first book before reading the prequel, so I will need to read it and will possibly be able to piece all of the missing parts together.