Could losing everything be the
best thing to happen to Annabelle Thorley?
In the fallout of her deceased
father’s financial ruin, Annabelle’s prospects are looking bleak. Her fiancé
has called of their betrothal, and now she remains at the mercy of her
controlling and often cruel brother. Annabelle soon faces the fact that her
only hope for a better life is to do the unthinkable and run away to
Fellsworth, where her estranged uncle serves as the school’s superintendent.
Upon arrival, Annabelle learns that she must shed her life of high society and
work for her wages for the first time in her life.
Owen Locke is
unswerving in his commitments. As a widower and father, he is fiercely
protective of his only daughter. As an industrious gamekeeper, he is intent on
keeping poachers at by even though his ambition has always been to purchase
land he can call his own. When a chance encounter introduces him to Annabelle
Thorley, his steady life is shaken. For the first time since his wife’s death,
Owen begins to consider a second chance at love.
As Owen and Annabelle
grow closer, ominous forces threaten the peace they thought they’d found.
Poachers, mysterious strangers, and murderers converge at Fellsworth, forcing
Annabelle and Owen to a test of fortitude and bravery to stop the shadow of the
past from ruining their hopes for the future.
A Stranger at
Fellsworth is the third book in Sarah E. Ladd’s Treasures of Surrey series, coming after The Curiosity Keeper and Dawn at Emberwilde. I have really enjoyed all of Sarah’s books that I have read
so far, and this novel is no exception. The crazy thing is, it was actually on
my shelf for over a year before I finally got around to reading it, which is
not normal for me. Unless I buy a large number of books at once, and they aren’t
newly released, I normally read books soon after I purchase them. For some
reason however, I waited a really long time to finally read this one, and it
has taken me a long time to review it as well (I read this back in August). Nevertheless,
I do highly recommend this novel, and the rest of the series, as it is probably
my favorite series Sarah has written…so far (she has a new series coming out in
April that I am highly anticipating).
Anyway, let me get to my actual review of this wonderful
story, that’s enough rambling for one post. From the very beginning of this
novel, I was pulled in by the level of suspense and intrigue that met me in the
first few chapters of this book. Annabelle’s situation with her cruel and
domineering brother immediately captivated me, and her progression from fear of
her brother, to the desire and plan to escape, to her life at Fellsworth School
made it impossible for me to put this novel down. The eventful path she takes
to finding freedom—and love—is one I will never forget, and is one of the main
reasons that I highly recommend this book. You can’t help but fall in love with
Annabelle, and want the best for her, but everything that she goes through to
finally get to her happily-ever-after also makes for really wonderful reading.
Then, there’s Owen. Owen Locke is by far one of my all-time
favorite heroes I have ever read about. Seeing his devotion to his daughter,
and his pain over his lost wife just melted my heart and made me love him immediately,
and everything else that I learned about him throughout the rest of the book
only served to make me love him even more. I don’t think there could’ve been a
better match for Annabelle than Owen, and I really loved getting to read about
them and their journey together.
All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and I’m so glad I finally
got around to reading it. I happily give A
Stranger at Fellsworth all five bookshelves, and I highly recommend this
story, and the other books in this series—and anything Sarah has written—to all
lovers of sweet, captivating stories and anything historical. This story is so
intriguing, so wonderful, such an enjoyable read, and is the perfect ending to
this series. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Happy reading!
To see where I’m linking up, check out my Where I Party
page.
All credit for the italicized synopsis goes to Sarah E. Ladd
and Thomas Nelson.
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