The Thief of Lanwyn Manor is Sarah E. Ladd’s second installment of her Cornwall series. The novel serves as a standalone, and you don’t have to read The Governess of Penwythe Hall first to understand it. This was my first Sarah E. Ladd book, and I dare say I’ll be reading more.
Julia has come to the village of Goldweth to become a companion for her bed-ridden cousin. And to recover from a broken heart. But from her first moment in Goldweth, she faces danger and strange occurrences. While she begins to fall in love with Goldweth and its villagers, someone makes it clear they want her to leave.
My Thoughts
The mystery was enough to keep me turning pages. With each chapter, something odd happened that heightened the suspense.
The characters weren’t my favorite, although I thought Isaac Blake made a wonderful hero. Julia came off as a bit wishy-washy. I could understand her desire not to repeat past mistakes, but her interactions with Matthew seemed to negate all her misgivings about Isaac. So I spent most of the book frustrated with Julia.
However, the book was well-written and made up for my annoyance with the heroine. Between the tensions among the miners and the strange happenings at Lanwyn Manor, I found myself turning page after page. And I appreciated that the chapters were pretty short. It helped me feel a certain amount of control over when I went to sleep. Although that was a lie because I kept reading well past the time I should’ve closed the book.
A perfect read for Regency fans, The Thief of Lanwyn Manor is a book you don’t want to miss.
More information
The Thief of Lanwyn Manor releases on January 7. If you want to check it out yourself, you can click the book cover to order it on Christianbook.com, or you can go to your favorite book retailer.
You can also check out Sarah E. Ladd’s website or follow her on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook.
Note: I received a complimentary copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
And if you’re interested in another Regency romance with a sprinkle of mystery, you can check out my review for Kristi Ann Hunter’s A Pursuit of Home.
