I love Victorian novels, and Lawana Blackwell writes them well. Charlotte is an interesting main character and I enjoyed seeing her work on her relationship with her daughter. As always, I love a good romance plotline and this one was a slow build. Great book.

A stage actress in hiding? Yes, please! I was intrigued by this aspect of the story and enjoyed seeing how Charlotte’s story unfolded. I liked her compassion for the poor and abused children around her. It was also interesting to see her reconnect with her adult daughter, with whom she’d lost touch prior to the opening of the story.

The mother/daughter relationship was beautifully highlighted in this novel. Getting to know one another, learning to get along with one another… there were many facets to Charlotte’s and Rosalind’s relationship that kept me interested in the majority of this story.

The small-town gossip brought a bit too much melodrama for my taste. I also did not appreciate a line about atypical romantic preferences. It was a random remark that seemed only used for sensationalism rather than having a purpose in the plot.

Overall, the tone was reminiscent of Jane Austen’s or Julie Klassen’s novels, though in the Victorian era rather than the former authors’ Regency era.

Content: one profane phrase, one mention of opium as a medicine