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A Sparkle of Silver (Georgia Coast Romance Book #1)
Por Liz Johnson
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Ninety years ago, Millie Sullivan's great-grandmother was a guest at oil tycoon Howard Dawkins' palatial estate on the shore of St. Simons Island, Georgia. Now, Millie plays a 1920s-era guest during tours of the same manor. But when her grandmother suggests that there is a lost diary containing the location of a hidden treasure on the estate, along with the true identity of Millie's great-grandfather, Millie sets out to find the truth of her heritage--and the fortune that might be hers. When security guard Ben Thornton discovers her snooping in the estate's private library, he threatens to have her fired. But her story seems almost too ludicrous to be fiction, and her offer to split the treasure is too tempting to pass up . . .
Get ready for a romantic escapade through dark halls and dusty corners that will have you holding your breath and sighing with delight as two charming characters get caught up in the adventure of uncovering the past and finding their way to an unexpected future.
Get ready for a romantic escapade through dark halls and dusty corners that will have you holding your breath and sighing with delight as two charming characters get caught up in the adventure of uncovering the past and finding their way to an unexpected future.
Acciones del libro
Comenzar a leerInformación sobre el libro
A Sparkle of Silver (Georgia Coast Romance Book #1)
Por Liz Johnson
Descripción
Ninety years ago, Millie Sullivan's great-grandmother was a guest at oil tycoon Howard Dawkins' palatial estate on the shore of St. Simons Island, Georgia. Now, Millie plays a 1920s-era guest during tours of the same manor. But when her grandmother suggests that there is a lost diary containing the location of a hidden treasure on the estate, along with the true identity of Millie's great-grandfather, Millie sets out to find the truth of her heritage--and the fortune that might be hers. When security guard Ben Thornton discovers her snooping in the estate's private library, he threatens to have her fired. But her story seems almost too ludicrous to be fiction, and her offer to split the treasure is too tempting to pass up . . .
Get ready for a romantic escapade through dark halls and dusty corners that will have you holding your breath and sighing with delight as two charming characters get caught up in the adventure of uncovering the past and finding their way to an unexpected future.
Get ready for a romantic escapade through dark halls and dusty corners that will have you holding your breath and sighing with delight as two charming characters get caught up in the adventure of uncovering the past and finding their way to an unexpected future.
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LJ![]()
Reseñas
Millie Sullivan plays a 1920s-era guest during tours of a palatial estate on the shore of St. Simons Island, Georgia, where her great-grandmother was a real guest ninety years ago. When Millie learns of a lost diary that may contain the location of a hidden treasure on the estate and reveal the identity of her great-grandfather, she sets out to find the truth of her heritage--and the fortune she desperately needs. But it won't be easy.
When security guard Ben Thornton discovers her snooping in the estate's private library, he threatens to have her fired. Still, her story seems too ludicrous to be fiction, and her offer to split the treasure is too tempting to pass up.
Get ready for a romantic escapade through dark halls and dusty corners that will have you holding your breath and sighing with delight.
"A mystery, a treasure hunt, and a split-time romance--all set within a beautiful chateau.
My Thoughts: This is a wonderful romance mystery that keeps the readers' attention from the beginning. You can't help but love Millie, who is taking care of her grandmother diagnosed with dementia. When Milie has to find another home for her grandmother, with little money to do it with, her grandmother tells her of a journal of her great grandmother's that has a treasure map. Who doesn't like a good treasure hunt? And so begins our story of intrigue and romance.
This is a story of a lost romance and a new romance brought together by a unique situation. I believe that readers will enjoy this story as much as I did. It's not only about mystery and love, in this story we find two people trying their best to do right. Millie taking care of her grandmother and Ben trying to right his mother's wrong.
Rating: 4When security guard Ben Thornton discovers her snooping in the estate's private library, he threatens to have her fired. Still, her story seems too ludicrous to be fiction, and her offer to split the treasure is too tempting to pass up.
Get ready for a romantic escapade through dark halls and dusty corners that will have you holding your breath and sighing with delight.
"A mystery, a treasure hunt, and a split-time romance--all set within a beautiful chateau.
My Thoughts: This is a wonderful romance mystery that keeps the readers' attention from the beginning. You can't help but love Millie, who is taking care of her grandmother diagnosed with dementia. When Milie has to find another home for her grandmother, with little money to do it with, her grandmother tells her of a journal of her great grandmother's that has a treasure map. Who doesn't like a good treasure hunt? And so begins our story of intrigue and romance.
This is a story of a lost romance and a new romance brought together by a unique situation. I believe that readers will enjoy this story as much as I did. It's not only about mystery and love, in this story we find two people trying their best to do right. Millie taking care of her grandmother and Ben trying to right his mother's wrong.
I always enjoy a good mystery. I love trying to figure out the puzzle as the author gives clues along the way. The author did a great job weaving this treasure-hunting mystery together. The story was fast-paced and intriguing. I definitely read this one quick. This book is not overly spiritual in it's content. God is mentioned in a few of the chapters, but isn't woven into the story as much as other authors I've read. The overall theme of perseverance through trial is clearly seen as the characters struggle with past mistakes, and life trials that are out of their control. Overall, I enjoyed the mystery part of the story, but it's not a book I would read over and over again.***I received this complimentary book from Library Thing Early Reviewers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Rating: 3This is a wonderful romantic story that takes us between present day and slips back to 1929. I'm not sure sure which story make me swoon more, the present or the past. Millie is a delightful character who is barely making ends meet. She has a dear grandmother she is trying keep in a facility but the bills are piling up. It is not easy to watch a loved one slowly slip away in their mind. I wanted to go take Millie's hand and tell her everything would get better.The details about the chateau that Millie works at is fascinating. I would love to explore every room there and perhaps stay in the library forever. Grandma Joy tells a story one day that surprises Millie. It is hard to tell if Grandma Joy is remembering something or just talking silly. If the story is true, there could be a big treasure waiting for Millie to find.Ben enters the picture when he finds Millie sneaking around the chateau. What can she do to convince him to let her continue her search? I loved how the story bounces back and forth between time periods with seamless energy. The author has captured the true depiction of romance with a magical story. It flows with grace and I loved the added mystery of the diary. The words spoken in there are poetic, lovely and definitely a person deeply in love. The slow simmer of Millie and Ben's attraction to each other is movie worthy. They pretend they don't care, yet their eyes tell a different story. And what of the diary which holds secrets that could change lives? The race is on to discover what or if there is a treasure when others get wind of the rumor.The story is one that slowly grabs at your emotions and takes you on a journey of discovering the inner workings of a lost love, the hope of a better future, secrets long thought to be buried and a love story that only a very gifted author can write. The kiss that I have been waiting to read about just about knocked me off my feet. It was soft, sweet, electrical between two people, and "suddenly our hearts were beating at the same tempo, racing faster than mine ever had before. " I won't say who the kiss was from, but for me I waited patiently for that moment in the story that would be worthy of "the kiss felt round the world." The book is everything you want in a story with romance, mystery and an ending that will satisfy all romantics. The author has surpassed my expectations and now has a huge fan. The ending is spectacular with intense drama and sadness that overwhelms me. The lesson in forgiveness and trust told by the characters will be one I will always remember." You have made me see a love I could not have imagined possible.”I received a copy of this book from the author. The review is my own opinion.
Rating: 5Camilla “Millie” Sullivan is heartbroken. She’s being forced to move her beloved grandma Joy from the assisted living facility where she’s being cared for because her memory loss has worsened, necessitating more specialized care. Millie is strapped financially and can hardly afford to take care of herself. She’s out of options and feeling hopeless and dejected until her grandma mutters details about a long-held family secret that might help Millie to get the funds she needs. It involves her great grandmother, Ruth, an opulent Chateau and a diary containing a treasure map that’s hidden somewhere within the Chateau’s walls. Fortunate to get part-time employment at the Chateau, Millie sets about snooping to locate Ruth’s diary. Her efforts are thwarted when security guard, Ben Thornton, catches her and threatens to expose her. Desperate to escape dismissal, Millie recruits Ben to help her, promising to split whatever treasure she finds with him. Ben, carrying his own load and in need of money as much as Millie, agrees to help her. Together, Ben and Millie become a formidable team, uncovering more than a few secrets, and in the process, learning that love is more valuable than money. I loved this story that required me to suspend disbelief; to accept the far-fetched plot and coincidences. In this book we find treasure hunts, thefts, homicide, scandal, romance, and lots of mystery. I enjoyed the dual narrative aspect, taking us from the present and back to 1929, just before the Great Depression when Millie’s great-grandmother, Ruth, and her friend, Jane, both bank tellers, were invited to be summer guests at the Dawkins Chateau on St. Simons Island, GA, by Mr. Dawkins’s “particular friend,” Lucille Globe. (Mr. Dawkins’s wife and child were back in Chicago at their permanent residence.) The elusive diary describes Ruth’s activities in and around the Chateau during her visit. The juxtaposition of high-society socialites and the working class guests mingling at the Chateau was fun to observe—the common folks enamored with the lives of the uppercrust. Ruth was a poor farm girl from Central Georgia. Nineteen at the time, she resembled a fickle young girl who was confused about where she should direct her attention. I anxiously awaited which way Ruth’s heart would steer her. Would it be towards the lowly, solicitous gardener, George? Or the handsome, debonair, wealthy Claude? This book is categorized as Christian fiction, but it was not littered with bible verses or laced with the author’s own interpretations of scripture, which I appreciated. It was not didactic at all, but simply lacked foul language, violence and immoral activity. The narrator’s sugary, sweet southern accent took some getting used to initially, but once I acclimated myself to it I was able to relax and enjoy her performance. She did a very good job with the characters’ voices and her pace was just right. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this books. I liked the balance of unscrupulous characters and benevolent ones throughout the story, and how the romances within were convincingly developed. Recommended.
Rating: 5"You know that every single one of us is more than the worst thing we've done. All of us. We bear the image of our Maker."And that quote sums up the message of this fabulous book. If you're a fan of the author's Prince Edward Island Dreams series and her Love Inspired Suspense books, you're definitely in for a treat. This book is contemporary romance with a throwback to the 1920s via a journal and a good dose of intrigue and mystery. Such a wonderful combination for this lover of contemporary, historical, and suspense romance!The setting of St. Simons Island, Georgia is gorgeous. The author's masterful writing gives color, sound, and smell to the beautiful landscape and brings forth an intricately woven plot with real, down-to-earth characters. Millie is poor and just wants enough money to be able to bring her beloved dementia-laden grandmother to a place where she can be safely taken care of. Ben is an adjunct history professor struggling to right the wrongs his mother went to prison for. Their worlds collide when they become involved in a treasure hunt instigated by Millie's grandmother's memory of her own mother's stay at the infamous Chateau. Both Millie and Ben are wary, cautious, under-the-radar kind of people who don't trust people easily. Yet their shared sense of loyalty, hard work, and compassion brings them together and welds them together as partners. As they become more entrenched in their treasure hunt, they also learn things about each other that they must wrestle with. Forgiveness for their past and realizing that their past does not define them must be learned the hard way.The book addresses the heartache involved in loving and caring for someone with dementia. It also delves deep to ask what is truly important and necessary in life - is it money? Fame? Recognition? Easy life? The flashbacks to the 1920s, right before the stock market crash, provided through Millie's great-grandmother Ruth's journals show much of what our human hearts crave but also how foolish and deceptive our hearts can be. Millie and Jeremy's present day chase through the Chateau itself and its grounds provides intrigue and suspense that keep the pages turning. Great-grandma Ruth's journals also add to the mystery surrounding the possible treasure and what may have happened to it.What a wonderful beginning of an exciting new series from Liz Johnson! I can't wait to read the second book! I was given a copy of the book from the author and Baker Publishing Group. I was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
Rating: 5I easily connected with this story from page one. Much of the situation between Millie and her grandmother reminded me of a situation I experienced in my own life. Millie and Ben are interesting characters and I sympathized with them both. Especially Millie, since her motivation felt more important. This is an unconventional romance, with other aspects of the story (mystery, what you hold dear in life, etc.) holding just as important of a role. It's a well-written, emotionally engaging tale. Love the title!Thank you LibraryThing, for my complimentary early reviewer copy.
Rating: 4With many improbable and surprising plot twists, A SPARKLE OF SILVER offers readers the chance to trace an unusual and convoluted mystery set in the old Chateau Dawkins on Georgia's Atlantic coast.Millie cares for her Grandma Joy whose early descent into Alzheimer's causes Millie to deal with conflicting information about a needed connection to the rich Devereaux family. Grandma Joy is being evicted from Assisted Living and Millie, her only support,has no money to move her into a Memory Care facility. Millie clutches at the possibility that her Great-Grandma Ruth's diary may give clues to the Devereaux connection.She takes an acting job at the Chateau where she meets security guard Ben as she is illegally searching the Chateau library for the hidden diary...or two.Millie and Ben conceal many secrets of love and money as they agree to work together to find the diaries and a possible hidden treasure. Wild attraction ensues in this first volume of the new GEORGIA COAST ROMANCE series!
Rating: 4It has been a very long time since I have read a book about a treasure hunt. A Sparkle of Silver was about finding one of the greatest treasures there is to be found, true love, and this on the heels of finding mercy. This isn't really a spoiler because we all know how romance novels are going to end, but you will have to read the book, with all of its twists and turns, to find out if Ben and Millie find the hidden treasure they initially set out to find, and if so, if it lives up to their expectations. At the same time that I was nearing the end of this book, I read an article in a magazine written by a Christian with stage IV cancer. Her premise is that Christians, even those who do not adhere to a prosperity theology, often have an underlying idea that if their faith is strong and their actions good enough that life will work out for the best. I was seeing that play out in A Sparkle of Silver until the moment when Millie's Grandma Joy, in a particularly lucid moment, discusses her loss of memory and God's role in it. The wisdom poured out in that moment is worth the time given to reading this book. It is a gift when out of time given over to pleasure reading, a diamond of wisdom, the treasure we seek, is found amongst the trappings of a romance novel. I thank Revell Publishing and LibraryThing.com for providing me with a copy of A Sparkle of Silver in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review and received no monetary compensation.
Rating: 4A Sparkle of Silver is the first book in Liz Johnson's Georgia Coast Romance Series. What a way to start a new series. This novel was so good, it has romance, family, adventure, suspense and history. There's something for everyone. There was such a loving relationship between Millie Sullivan and her Grandma Joy. This story had me at the heartstrings from the very start. The author does a great job of showing us what families deal with having a loved one with Alzheimer's. Millie wants to do what is best for grandma, but her funds have run out. She faces grandma being evicted from the facility she is in. Grandma Joy's story was difficult for me, having just recently placed both my father and mother into a facility. You always wish you could continue to take care of them, but sometimes there comes a time when the best and safest thing for them, is not your first choice.I found it interesting that Grandma Joy, all this time has been hiding a secret. When she tries to reveal it, Millie is not sure she can trust what grandma is telling her. Millie sets out to find a lost diary, a hidden treasure and her true heritage. Ben Thornton unexpectedly becomes her partner in crime. This was a page-turner mystery laced with romance. The love story is one of my favorites this year. I believe it worked so well because both Millie and Ben were not looking for a relationship. Both are trying to solve their own personal problems, they don't have time for romance in their life.Millie has gone to Grandma Joy with her biggest problem, Ben. There are some wonderful quotes from grandma, one of my favorites, “You know that every single one of us is more than the worst thing we've done. All of us. We bear the image of our Marker. Even Ben.”......“And we're surely more than the worst thing someone in our family has done.”I found this to be an exciting mystery, yet sweet historical Christian love story.I was given a copy of this book by Revell Publishers through NetGalleys.The opinions in this review are my own.
Rating: 4I enjoyed this book and the author giving us a glimpse into the mind of a person affected with Alzheimer’s and the main character loving and trying to take care of her grandmother. She also is given a deadline to come up with money she doesn’t have to move her grandmother.I loved that the other main character is carrying guilt for something his mother did while he was a child, and then we see how these overlaps.Now while both are working at a wealthy 1920’s estate, only at the present time, we see how the present and past collide, but will these two, with a mission, first fall for each other, and achieve what others have failed at in the past, find the treasure.I found myself walking in their shoes and loving the setting, and enjoying the read!I received this book through Revell Publishing and was not required to give a positive review.
Rating: 5This will go down as one of my favorite romance books of all time. I did not want to put this down. I loved Millie and Ben. I found the Chateau fascinating. It would have been so cool to be invited to stay at this place during the twenties. I hope that the rest of the books in this series will be just as good. I also enjoyed the bit of mystery that surrounded the Chateau during the twenties. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
Rating: 5Millie is trying to find a treasure and save her grandma. Along the way, she falls in love.A romance with religious messages is not normally my type of book, but I enjoyed it. It slowed down for me towards the end, but it ended well.
Rating: 4I’ve always been interested in the history of old homes or estates, wondering what would be told if walls could talk. In A Sparkle of Silver, journal entries from Millie’s great-grandmother do the talking. Millie learns about her families past by reading the journal entries and the mysteries that line the pages. While her grandmother is struggling with dementia, she still has glimpses of the past and offers Millie tidbits of information that fill in gaps from the journal. Millie begins searching for answers to questions that are unveiled of her ancestors by taking a job at the Dawkins’ Estate mentioned in the diary. Ben Thornton works at the estate as a security guard and through a twist of events begins helping Millie with her search for answers. He is hiding secrets of his own past that have landed his mother in prison. Even though he was only a child when his mother deceived others, he is haunted by her mistakes and is on a mission to bring restoration. Together, Millie and Ben, set out on a treasure hunt of sorts to find answers to many mysteries. What they uncover is painful and shocking, bringing a sudden halt to their blooming relationship. But with the wise words of Millie’s forgetful grandmother and Ben’s boss at his second job, they wade through the deep waters to find peace. A Sparkle of Silver is a fun, engaging and wisdom filled novel. It’s an easy and enjoyable read with a few twists and turns along the way!*Thank you to NetGalley & Revell for my e-copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.*
Rating: 53.5-4.0 stars: I'm hard pressed to categorize this novel. It is about finding true love, but it's not a traditional romance. It's also about finding out what is important in life--and it's not always wealth. I guess I just didn't buy the premise behind the treasure hunt.I admire that both the male protagonist (Ben) and female protagonist (Millie, short for Camilla) are working hard to make ends meet. Both hold multiple jobs. I feel a bit more for Millie in that her reasons are to take care of the grandmother who raised her. Ben has good reasons too--but I think he is taking upon himself something that he doesn't have to and putting the pressure on himself. The court did not order him to make restitution for his mother's deeds--that is something he chose to do. It's noble and shows his character.While Millie struggles with how she will pay for care for her grandmother, the grandmother lets slip that her mother knew of a treasure. Envisioning a way to give her grandmother the care she feels she deserves, Millie sets out to find the diary that contains the map to the treasure. Along the way, she has to involve Ben so that she can continue her search. Note: I received a copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4I have never read Liz Johnson before, but I was interested in the plot line of A Sparkle of Silver. I enjoyed it very much. Buried treasure always sounds enticing. A Sparkle of Silver begins with Millie, a young woman doing everything in her power to provide for her beloved grandmother. But Grandma Joy has dementia and needs around-the-clock care, which is expensive. In her lucid moments, Grandma Joy talks about her own mother and a buried treasure on a large estate. Millie is desperate to get her hands on the treasure and claim a finders fee to help ease her financial burden. Along the way, she is caught trespassing by Ben Thornton and promises him half of anything she gets in exchange for his silence. Ben has his own money troubles that could be set right by helping Millie find a treasure. This unlikely duo team up to find a treasure that may not exist, before other treasure hunters find it first. Maybe they will find love along the way.A Sparkle of Silver is an easy read with good characters and a well thought out plot. The author kept me guessing until the end of the story. My only complaint is that I felt some of the dialog at the beginning of the book is a bit hard to follow; kind of disjointed. Perhaps the author cut some things out and it didn't flow right. Otherwise, great book!
Rating: 4I highly anticipated this story since it was set on the Georgia coast (I'm a North Carolina coastal native). It was, though, not a book I was highly fond of. The setting is coastal Georgia and a lavish pre-1929's home where the rich and famous retreated and partied. The story spans four generations focusing on the contemporary couple, Ben and Millie, and the great-grandmother of Millie, Ruth. Ruth's journal is found and she has written lengthy pages of detail of her exploits in the mansion where she is a guest, though certainly not a wealthy one.Supposedly there is a treasure to be revealed in Ruth's journal and Ben and Millie are searching for it. What they find is each other.A special treat is Millie's grandmother who has dementia and resides in an assisted living facility. She is losing her place (Millie has 90 days to find another place for her) because she "needs more care than they can provide." The ending is a bit of a surprise and that is the best part of the book. Early in the story (and seemingly for too long) the two characters, Ben and Millie, liked and disliked each other as well as had frequent times of distrust of each other. The story just didn't capture my attention but I did find it a somewhat pleasant read. I received an advanced reader copy via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. A review was not required but is appreciated.
Rating: 3I really enjoyed the setting of the book as well as the story. I liked seeing how the two characters came together to work for what they were searching for.
Rating: 5This book was just a little to sweet for me. I found Millie to be to rather juvenile.Millie was raised by her grandparents and now her grandmother is living in an assisted care facility. Her dementia is getting worse so Millie needs to find her another place to live. Millie is already working three jobs. Her grandmother, during a lucid moment, tells Millie that a treasure is to be found at Chateau Dawkins one of the places Millie works as an actor recreating life during the late 1920's. Grandma Joy tells Millie that her mother (grandma Joy's mother) was an invited guest at the Chateau for one summer. That Millie's great-grandma Ruth left behind a journal from her stay at the Chateau and Millie needs to find it to discover the secret/ treasure.While Millie is searching the Chateau she is caught by a security guard. Not wanting to lose her job Millie tells Ben a half truth as to what she is doing and that if they find the treasure she will share it with him. Ben has secrets of his own and could use the money as well. So they agree to work together and the story begins....told in past with Ruth's voice through her journal pages and present day with Ben and Millie. Family secrets in Millie's family and Ben's secrets of his life. Sparks fly between Millie and Ben so we have a little romance as well as the treasure hunt and family secrets and life at the Chateau during Ruth's stay. Oh and theft and murder as well.This book is a Christian read.
Rating: 3This was a dual time line novel about a lost treasure in a palatial estate on St. Simon's Island in Georgia. Ruth's story took place in the 1920s when she stayed at this estate with friends and fell in love. The modern day story is about Millie, Ruth's great granddaughter. Millie has a tough life - she is working three jobs and living in a small apartment over a garage. She had to give up her plans because someone swindled all of her grandmother's savings. Millie grew up with her grandparents and is now the sole provider for her grandmother who is in a home where she can get daily help due to her Alzheimers. When Millie hears that Ruth may have hidden a treasure at the estate, she decides to try to find it so that she can move her grandmother to a better home. As she is sneaking around the estate, she meets Ben, a security guard who also works three jobs. They decide to split whatever money they find as they work together to find the treasure. Their search gets them into all sorts of trouble but also leads to increasing feelings for each other. Will they both be able to let go of the past and plan a future together?This was a quick summer read about taking care of family at the expense of your own happiness. I enjoyed reading it and look forward tot he next book in the series.Thanks to librarything for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own.
Rating: 3I was chosen to write an honest review through LibraryThing Early Reviewers.Millie Sullivan is trying to make ends meet, but things aren't easy. She is trying to keep a roof over her head and a roof over her grandmother's head. Millie was raised by her Grandma Joy when her parents dropped her off and never came back. Now Grandma Joy has been diagnosed with dementia and she is getting worse. The home that she is living at gave Millie notice that Grandma Joy needs to go to a home that can better care for her and they need her room within a 90 day period. As Millie tries to figure out what to do she thinks back to a story Grandma Joy had always talked about, one that takes Millie back in time to the life of her Great Grandmother Ruth. As Millie works her now 2 jobs trying to get ahead and find Grandma Joy a new home she researches a story that, if true, may be the answer to all of their prayers and a connection to a high profile past.
Rating: 5This novel, set on St. Simon’s island in Georgia, alternates between the 1920s and contemporary times. In the earlier story, Ruth, a young woman looking for love and adventure, finds herself a guest at the lavish summer estate of a stock market millionaire. She is torn between the glamorous life that a wealthy young man might offer, and the earnest affection of a gardener on the estate. In the contemporary story, Ruth’s great-granddaughter, Millie, desperately needs funds to care for her aging grandmother and returns to the estate as a worker, hoping to find a treasure that Ruth had vaguely told her daughter about, or to find out if she is tied by blood to the wealthy Devereaux family, in hopes they would then aid her grandmother. She is assisted by history teacher and estate security guard, Ben, who has secrets of his own.There is a lot going for this novel. The premise is interesting, and the 1920s is a period that hasn’t been overused in romance novels. The heroes, George (1920s) and Ben are down to earth and appealing. The story could, however, have used more research. We are told that we are among the wild rich flapper set in the 1920s, but there is little description to make the period come alive. There is a murder and mystery thrown in to that timeline, but it is given little thought or attention, other than to provide a dramatic scene when the killer is revealed. Ruth is far more concerned with her love life than with a killer on the loose.In the contemporary story, while it is entirely plausible that someone could be financially strapped trying to care for a relative in a care home, the way it is depicted is just not well researched. A home’s director is not just going to tell you that you need a different set up, toss a few brochures at you, and tell you to be out in 90 days. And the entire burden of care is not on the family. There would be social workers and Medicaid and all sorts of other complications involved. All that is glossed over for the melodrama of “Grandma Joy is going to be tossed out on the streets”, instead of the more thoughtful and realistic “I need to provide for a better place for Grandma Joy than what the state would provide."These flaws though, merely prevent a good story from becoming a great one. It’s still a quick and enjoyable read, with a heartwarming, if somewhat implausible ending. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 3I think this book could best be described as a romantic mystery. Wanting to find out who was the father of Ruth's baby and if there was any treasure to be found were the parts of the story I was most interested in. Others might find the romantic elements of the story to be the strength of the book.Millie is already struggling to make ends meet and now is forced to find her grandmother a new nursing home to live in. Grandma Joy is suffering from dementia and needs full time care but Millie doesn't know how she will be able to come up with the money. That is until Grandma Joy mentions a diary written by her mother, Ruth, when she was a guest at the estate of an oil tycoon back in the 1920s. The diary supposedly mentions the location of a hidden treasure on the grounds. So Millie takes a second job as a tour employee at the estate where she meets Ben, a security guard. When he catches Millie snooping around in the library looking for the lost diary, they agree to split the treasure if they are ever able to find it. But what are the chances there actually is something to be found?Is this the most interesting book you will ever read? No, but it is certainly not a horrible way to pass your time. The only real issue I had was it felt the author relied too much on Grandma Joy to provide answers to move the plot along. Given how her dementia issues were described at the beginning of the book, it just didn't feel realistic. I'll admit though it is a sensitive issue with me given my own grandmother having dementia. I won a free copy of this book in a giveaway by BookishFirst and the publisher. I was under no obligation to post a review and all views expressed are my honest opinion.
Rating: 4