Beauty Among Ruins by J’nell Ciesielski, 416 pages. Thomas Nelson, 2021. $17.
Language: PG (2 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
After being sent from New York to her aunt’s home in England, WWI starts and Lily is kept from crossing the ocean to return home. Lily accompanies her cousin to Scotland to help care for wounded soldiers at Kinclavoch Castle. Her optimism and reckless ways are not encouraged by those in charge, but perhaps Lily can make a positive impact in the dreary circumstances and create an atmosphere of hope for the soldiers, herself, and maybe even the gruff laird who owns the castle.
Lily’s story plays out like a melodrama; everything that can go wrong does go wrong up until the final chapter when everything miraculously comes together for the main characters. This is not to say that it wasn’t an entertaining story nor that the character arcs for the main characters are shallow. I was amused by (and even laughed out loud at) the characters’ antics and cheesy lines as well as relieved when all the conflicts were finally resolved.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

The Narration

Kate Rudd had a perfectly pleasant speaking voice. However, I did not think she did justice to the Scottish accent. Her voicing of Alec and the other male Scottish characters was distracting and affected my overall listening experience. I wish she would have abandoned the accent in favor of a clear interpretation of the characters in the story. Narration Rating: 3/5

The Story

I enjoyed it. The setting, historical backdrop, and characters made this an enjoyable book for me.

The majority of the story takes place in Scotland at Kinclavoch Castle. The castle is the ancestral home of Laird Alec MacGregor. Kinclavoch Castle has been converted into a hospital for soldiers recovering from WWI battle wounds. When American socialite Lily Durham arrives as a volunteer nurse, the grumpy Laird and the American debutante are destined to collide.

Lily is the somewhat spoiled and clueless American blundering her way through a volunteer nursing assignment. I liked her character a little less because she came off as selfish. However, her sunny attitude was the perfect foil for grumpy Alec.

I really enjoyed the character of Alec because he is trying his best to protect his family, deal with an old injury to his leg, and save his crumbling ancestral home. He is a true grumpy leading man and it was fun to see how he deals with cheery and positive Lily.

Story rating: 4/5

American socialite Lily Durham has never lacked for anything in her life. When her headstrong ways cross her mother one too many times, Lily is sent to Great Britain in order to spend time with her English cousins. But with the beginning of the Great War, Lily and cousin Elizabeth end up serving as nurses at a castle-turned-convalescent-home in Scotland.

Alec MacGregor, laird of Kinclavoch, cannot serve in the war because of an old riding injury. Something of a recluse, he hides away and attempts to recover from the sorry financial straits his father left him in.

This is normally the kind of book I would like, but Lily is one of my least favorite types of heroines. She does what she wants with little regard to the consequences. When she's confronted about her behavior, she denies, obfuscates, and doesn't learn anything. Even when she does it out care for others, manipulation is still manipulation, and is never the way to go. The story also lacked any kind of faith element, and I always find that disappointing.

However, if you don't mind those things, the book has a lot going for it. There's the Scottish highlands setting, plenty of intrigue, a plot full of twists and turns, and plenty of suspects for the mysterious events happening around Kinclavoch. I can see why many readers would enjoy this story.

I received my copy of the book from NetGalley. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Beauty Among Ruins is a great audiobook option for those that are reluctant to try the modality. Set in Scotland, it is a sweeping tale of love, war, and honor. While the female protagonist was sometimes infuriating in her constant defiance of every. single. rule, the story as a whole was solid and engaging. It felt like a PG version of Outlander, and left me hoping for a little more heat.

Thank you to NetGalley, author, publisher, and narrator for the opportunity to listen to this advance audiobook copy. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.
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I was able to read this book as a Galley prior to release, evn though this is not my normal genre of novel.

This takes place in Scotland during World War I at a castle in Scotland being used as a hospital and rehabilitation center for injured soldiers. The Lord of the castle, a recluse, has stringent rules about the volunteers entering the private wings. Enter a naïve American debutant who is a nurses aid ...

Great story line, conspiracy theory book with many surprises!

Beauty Among Ruins follows Lily, an American girl who is sent by her family (who finds her too reckless for her own good) to England where she will aid as a nurse to help men coming back from the war. There she meets the owner of the castle, Alec MacGregor who even though he encounters financial difficulties, is trying his best to keep his land and property in his family.

Overall, this was a nice story but it didn't grab my attention like I wanted. I didn't fell in love with the romance which made me a little disappointed in the end.

<i>(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

This book was so much fun. I loved the main character- she had so much spunk and optimism. I loved hearing about the soldiers- all they went through during the war and all the mental and physical scars that they were left with. I also loved that this book was set in Scotland.
I was able to listen to an audio version of this book and the narrator was awesome. She did a Scottish accent, English and American. She also did a great job with the male voices.

I listened to the audiobook of Beauty Among Ruins. I enjoyed the story of a young, flighty American who is sent to England so that she doesn't ruin her chance on the marriage mart with her reckless behavior. She travels to Scotland to work as a nurse and love ensues. The romance was a little slow for me but overall it was a nice story.

New York heiress, Lily Durham feels lost in the society parties and matchmaking. She slowly begins to find herself among the wild countryside of Scotland. Where she becomes a nurse to the wounded British soldiers of WWI who find themselves at Kinclavoch Castle. There she also meets the Laird of this castle, Alec MacGregor who is desperately trying to save his family home and history from his father’s past debts. I thoroughly enjoyed this story of adventure, mystery, and most of all love. ⁣

Lily Durham sent away for high society in New York to England after breaking all the rules. As the start of WWI Lily goes to Scotland to help at in a convalescent home for injured soldiers. During this historical romance book you can see bits of the fable Beauty and the Beast. J’nell Ciesielski weaves you into a magical world set in the Lowlands of Scotland. This book drew me in from the start and kept me wanting more. I high recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.

I had received an audio AVC of this book from Net galley. Narration of the book was beautifully done. I will look forward to hearing more from Kate Rudd.

Captivating Listen! Beauty Among Ruins by J'nell Ciesielski is incredible! I loved the vibrant imagery of the castle setting in Scotland during WW!. The characters the author wrote were intriguing in their wounded ways. Taking debutants and aristocrats and making them nurses or soldiers was a way of life back then. The author wove a great storyline where duty was above all else. There were several different storylines going on in this book that meshed together. There was also some added suspense in the book and some nefarious deeds. The main characters of Lilly and Alec were so compelling individually and their interactions together. They had great chemistry and banter. Kate Rudd performed this book flawlessly. She captivated my attention and I could visualize so many details. She really brought the characters to life with her voice. I loved the burr she put in her voice too. Net Galley thank you so very much for this fantastic listen! I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it.

Review for the audiobook:

The narrator is perfect for "Beauty Among Ruins!" She did a splendid job of pulling me into the story and made me want to know each and every detail of the story.

Content review to come soon.