I was excited to read "Born of Persuasion" thanks to the summary – a 17-year-old orphan who is carted off to work as a servant in 1838 Scotland, who aligns with a wealthy dowager in order to be introduced into society and find a husband.

However, I found it a bit difficult to like Julia – I found her extremely naïve, too trusting, and often frustrating – and the way the plot unfolds with multiple twists and reveals felt like too much at times, and I'm not sure the plot ultimately came together cohesively . That said, the story is an extremely readable book with high stakes – but unfortunately it just wasn't as good as I hoped it would be.

(Please see review link below.)