About the Book

 

Book: The Governess of Penwythe Hall

Author: Sarah Ladd

Genre: Historical Romance

Release Date: April 16, 2019

In the first of a new series from beloved Regency romance author, Sarah Ladd, Delia, a governess to five recently orphaned children, would risk anything to protect them . . . even her heart.

Cornwall was in her blood, and Delia feared she’d never escape its hold.

Cornwall, England, 1811

Blamed for her husband’s death, Cordelia Greythorne fled Cornwall and accepted a governess position to begin a new life. Years later her employer’s unexpected death and his last request to watch over his five children force her to reevaluate. She can’t abandon the children now that they’ve lost both parents, but their new guardian lives at the timeworn Penwythe Hall . . . back on the Cornish coast, she tries desperately to forget.

Jac Trethewey is determined to revive Penwythe Hall’s once-flourishing apple orchards, and he’ll stop at nothing to see his struggling estate profitable again. He hasn’t heard from his brother in years, so when his nieces, nephews, and their governess arrive unannounced at Penwythe Hall, he battles both grief of this brother’s death and bewilderment over this sudden responsibility. Jac’s priorities shift as the children take up residence in the ancient halls, but their secretive governess—and the mystery shrouding her past—proves to be a disruption to his carefully laid plans.

Rich with family secrets, lingering danger, and the captivating allure of new love, this first book in the Cornwall Novels series introduces us to the Twethewey family and their search for peace, justice, and love on the Cornish coast.

 

Click here to purchase your copy.

 

My Review

Timing is everything. Sarah E. Ladd’s Governess of Penwythe Hall has an orchard-setting cover, filled with soft spring colors. This beautiful book with nature’s long-awaited colors of olive, grass green, lilac, rose, and pink releases during blossom time here where fruit trees are abundant. Score for Thomas Nelson publishing.
This was the first novel I had read by Sarah Ladd. Ladd is quite the anglophile and quickly makes the reader want to visit the moors and marshes, or at least the craggy seacoast. I do wish mightily for a map, which may be included in the final copy.
This story had all the ingredients I needed for a very enjoyable tale. A young, attractive governess; a passel of children who depend on her and whom she loves; a rather unwilling, handsome guardian; and enough secondary characters to help steer the tale into interesting and dangerous waters.
Besides Delia and Jac, Jac’s aunt is my favorite character. She is very insightful. She seems to understand Delia’s struggles, she loves the Lord, and she understands the importance of relationships over things or business.
In short, The Governess of Penwythe Hall is a great choice if you are looking for a Regency novel of faith, fear, learning to open one’s heart to others, and facing down the giants from the past that would threaten the future. Delia especially has to figure out which relationships to build and which to cut off and how.

Notable quotables:

“Sometimes, whether we like it or not, things do not happen the way we think they should.” How true. We must then rise to the occasion in maturity.
“…walls alone do not make children feel safe. People do.”
“People, ah, people. That’s where the real success lies.”
“Fear knew no bounds and came in so many forms…”

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author and publisher through Celebrate Lit. This in no way affects my opinions, for which I am solely responsible.

My Rating

About the Author

 

Sarah E. Ladd received the 2011 Genesis Award in historical romance for The Heiress of Winterwood. She is a graduate of Ball State University and has more than ten years of

marketing experience. Sarah lives in Indiana with her amazing family and spunky golden retriever. Visit her online at SarahLadd.com; Facebook: SarahLaddAuthor; Twitter: @SarahLaddAuthor.

More About The Governess of Penwythe Hall

5 things to know about Cornwall, England:

1. Throughout its early history, Cornwall’s inhabitants called the country Kernow.
2. Early inhabitants largely spoke their own language known as “Cornish,” which became nearly extinct in the 1800s
3. The country has a long and rugged coastline and there were frequent shipwrecks.
4. Fishing was a major industry, with herring, mackerel, and sardines being common catches.
5. In 1870, novelist and poet Thomas Hardy called Cornwall “the region of dream and mystery.”

 

Imagine yourself in The Governess of Penwythe Hall with these pictures of 19^thCentury life in Cornwall

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/gallery/2016/may/19/everyday-life-in-cornwall-captured-in-the-19th-century-in-pictures

 

Sources:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/cornish_nation_01.shtml

https://www.maritimeheritage.org/ports/Cornwall.html

http://www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk/cornish-fishing/history-of-the-cornish-fishing-industry.php

 

Blog Stops

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Moments, April 11

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Maureen’s Musings, April 12

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Stephanie’s Life of Determination, April 19

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 19

Babbling Becky’s Book Impressions, April 20

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Inspiration Clothesline, April 21

Pause for Tales, April 21

Through the Fire Blogs, April 22

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Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 22

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Inspired by fiction, April 23

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Hallie Reads, April 23

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The Meanderings of a Bookworm, April 24

janicesbookreviews, April 24

 

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Sarah is giving away a grand prize of a finished paperback copy of The Governess of Penwythe  Hall!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/de80/the-governess-of-penwythe-hall-celebration-tour-giveaway