Interesting and Unusual Historical Romance

She is, unfortunately, too late as her mother has passed away before she arrives home. While straightening the cottage that she is now being turned out of, Rachel finds what looks like proof that her dearly loved belated father may not be so belated after all.

Rachel travels to London to discover what is the true history of her life – does she have a father still? Is she the daughter of the famous Earl of Ardmore? Does she have half-siblings?

Along the way, she meets a number of people, including Simon Montfort. Simon has his own bone to pick with the Earl and his family and between the two of them, Rachel and Simon, they determine to find a way to bring Rachel to the notice of the Earl and then to make her family history known.

While I was able to figure out the ending of this story fairly early on, I still really enjoyed reading it as more of a literature/romance than as any sort of mystery. The plot was interesting even though I have read similar books in the past. The dialog was snappy and the setting and time period was unusual compared to most books of this genre. It had a bit of a Downton Abbey/Mr. Selfridge feel to the story. As I enjoy both English series, I also enjoyed this book.

Of note, the entirety of this book is written in the halcyon days preceding the Great Depression. I was left wondering the fates of the various individuals once the Stock Market crashed and the glory days of the 1920’s came to an abrupt end. That I was left wondering about it showed me that the characters of this story had made quite an impression on me. I was left feeling as if they were real individuals and not fictitious characters in a story.

I received a digital ARC copy of this book from the publisher, St. Martin’s Press, via Netgalley.