Among Sand and Sunrise (An American Heiress #3) by Stacy Henrie

 

AMONG SAND AND SUNRISE
--1909--

After three failed seasons, American heiress Syble Rinecroft is more than ready to move forward in a life of independence and adventure. And what better way to begin than by taking a trip to Egypt with her grandmother and her band of widowed friends to find a hidden tomb? There’s only one catch. The archaeologist the widows insist on employing is none other than the irritating Marcus Brandt whom Syble met years ago on another trip to Egypt. If Syble has any hope of finding the tomb and being known for something other than too vivacious to make anyone a suitable wife, she’ll have to learn to work with Marcus.

British archaeologist Marcus Brandt has only ever wanted one thing—a discovery in Egypt that will bring him the acclaim that has eluded his career. Such a thing will surely be found in the tomb he is presently clearing. So when his wealthy patroness and her friends, including Marcus’s grandmother, seek his help in finding a hidden tomb, he’s reluctant to agree to the new dig. Especially when it involves daily interaction with Syble Rinecroft, the annoying adolescent he met eight years ago.

Compelled to do the dig for different reasons, Syble and Marcus finally agree to work together, in spite of their opposite approaches to life. As the days pass, though, they discover there may be more to each other and their growing friendship than either expected to find. And yet, opening their hearts might just cost them their dreams.

Out of all the books in this series, I enjoyed this one the best.  It had romance in it and a bit of mystery and fun while they look for ancient Egyptian treasure.  I would recommend this book to any historical fiction romance fan. 

The Thief of Lanwyn Manor (Cornwall #2) by Sarah E. Ladd

In Regency England an advantageous match could set up a lady for life. Julia knows Matthew Blake, copper mine owner and very eligible bachelor, is the gentleman she should set her eyes upon. But why can’t she steal her gaze away from his younger brother, Isaac?

Cornwall, England, 1818

Julia Twethewey needs a diversion to mend her broken heart, so when her cousin invites her to Lanwyn Manor, Julia eagerly accepts. The manor is located at the heart of Cornwall’s mining industry, and as a guest Julia is swept into its intricate world. It’s not long, though, before she realizes something dark lurks within the home’s ancient halls.

As a respected mine owner’s younger son, Isaac Blake is determined to keep his late father’s legacy alive through the family business, despite his brother’s careless attitude. In order to save their livelihood—and that of the people around them—the brothers approach the master of Lanwyn Manor with plans to bolster the floundering local industry. Isaac can’t deny his attraction to the man’s charming niece, but his brother has made clear his intentions to court the lovely visitor. And Isaac knows his place.

When tragedy strikes, mysteries arise, and valuables go missing, Julia and Isaac find they are pulled together in a swirl of strange circumstances, but despite their best efforts to bow to social expectations, their hearts aren’t so keen to surrender.

This is the 2nd in the Cornwall series.  Even though it says it can be a standalone book, I felt like I liked it being the 2nd book & having some knowledge to her background & previous happenings in the story.  I'm not sure how much time supposedly is in between the novels as she is of marriageable age in this one as opposed to the first one where she was younger.  

But this book was fast paced and a fun read to listen to. The characters were easy to picture in my mind & played out like a movie.  

 

Beneath an Italian Sky (An American Heiress #2) by Stacy Henrie

 BENEATH AN ITALIAN SKY
--1908--

American heiress Clare Herschel made what she hoped was a love match when she married the handsome, witty Emmett Markham, the Earl of Linwood. A little over a year into her marriage, though, Clare finds herself wintering in Sicily—alone. She is sure the mild climate is the answer to avoiding another miscarriage and Emmett’s apparent indifference, so she’s determined to remain in Italy as long as possible. The last person she expects to show up at the villa is her husband, especially when Emmett confesses he’s there to convince her to return to England.

As the only surviving son of a marquess, Emmett has done everything his father has asked of him—even agreeing to run for a seat in the House of Commons. However, this latest task comes with a nearly impossible caveat. He must convince his wife Clare to come back to England with him in order for them to appear to be a happy couple for his political campaigning. Emmett isn’t confident Clare will agree to the plan, though, not when she seems to want nothing to do with him or the life they’d begun building before she abruptly left him for Italy.

When a massive earthquake strikes Messina, Sicily, claiming the lives of thousands, Clare and Emmett must set aside their mutual misgivings about their marriage in order to survive and lend a helping hand to others. But in the wake of the destruction, they begin to realize they’ve been given a chance to decide if their love is stronger than the upheavals of the past.

This book deals with miscarriage and having to cope with it while trying to keep a marriage together. This couple seemed to still love each other, but kept things from one another, which made their marriage weaker in ways.  As she gets pregnant for the 3rd time, she moves to Italy to keep her pregnancy a secret and that it would be more successful in a more temperate climate.   

But things happen & they are forced to move through events together.  The Messina Earthquake was a real event. Posted below is an article I found on it.  Looking over pictures I also found showing the devastation of the event, I couldn't imagine going through that & having to wait to be rescued or helped. 

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rescue-messina-earthquake/

On December 28, 1908, at approximately 5:20am, Europe's most powerful earthquake shook southern Italy. Centered in the Messina Strait, which separates Sicily from Calabria, the quake's magnitude equaled a 7.5 by today's Richter scale. Moments after the quake's first jolt, a devastating tsunami formed, causing forty-foot waves to crash down on dozens of coastal cities. 

The Messina quake was undeniably the most destructive to ever hit Europe. Most of southern Italy's cities lost as many as half their residents that morning. The population of the city of Messina alone — 150,000 — was reduced to only hundreds; the total death toll throughout Italy was estimated at nearly 200,000. Accounts of shaking and aftershocks were reported throughout Sicily. Signs of the jolt even appeared in Washington, D.C., where the day's crude technology picked up signals of the disaster. 

Those who survived the quake faced the bleakest of realities. Their homes were destroyed, their family members were dead, and the cities around them were reduced to rubble. The Italian government relocated many of the Messina survivors to new cities within Italy. Others were forced to emigrate to America. In 1909 a cargo ship, the"Florida" carried 850 such passengers away from Naples. The "Florida" would transport the survivors to a new life in New York City. 

After two weeks on the Atlantic, the "Florida's" passengers endured a second disaster: lost in dense fog, the "Florida" collided with the "Republic," a luxury passenger liner. Three people aboard the "Florida" were killed instantly. Within minutes, pandemonium broke out on the ship. The captain of the "Florida," Angelo Ruspini, used extreme measures to regain control of the desperate passengers, including firing gunshots into the air.  

After being rescued at sea, the damaged "Florida" and the Messina earthquake survivors arrived in New York's harbor. Shaken and unnerved, the immigrants confronted a new challenge: to begin their lives again.

Night at the Opera (An American Heiress #1) by Stacy Henrie

An unforgettable kiss. A kaleidoscope of senses. A night she'll always remember.

From USA Today bestselling author Stacy Henrie, comes NIGHT AT THE OPERA, An American Heiress novel.

NIGHT AT THE OPERA
--1908--
When American heiress Gwen Barton aids an injured gentleman in an opera box in London, she shares a kiss with the stranger that changes her life. More determined than ever to be herself, in spite of the limp she’s sustained since childhood, she will marry for love and not a title. She also resolves to learn the identity of the man she helped—and kissed. Surely he can’t be the irritating Avery Winfield, though. But as circumstances continue to throw Gwen and Avery together, she begins to wonder if there is more to this man than she first thought.

While most of London only knows him as the nephew of a duke, Avery Winfield is actually working for the Secret Service Bureau to ferret out German spies from among the ton. It’s a profession that gives him purpose and a reason to remain a bachelor. But the more he interacts with Gwen Barton, an heiress from America, the more he begins to question his plans and neglected faith. Then he learns Gwen is the young lady from the opera box who helped him. Now his most important mission may have nothing to do with saving Britain from danger and everything to do with risking his heart for the woman he met that night at the opera.

The caption of this book intrigued me and I knew it would be a romance, but I wanted to see how it would come about. To happen upon a stranger and help them and in the end work together made for a fun read.  At the end it gave a little note about American Heiresses coming to Europe to find husbands, which I didn't know, and it makes me want to look into that more & read more about accounts. 

 

The Governess of Penwythe Hall (Cornwall #1) by Sarah E. Ladd

 

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.

I thought this was a fun book. It kept a good pace and still had some mystery behind it.  I like when it goes back & forth between characters to get their side of the story instead of from one perspective. I would recommend this book for historical fiction fans and who love a good old romance story. 

Troubled Blood (Cormoran Strike #5) by Robert Galbraith

Private Detective Cormoran Strike is visiting his family in Cornwall when he is approached by a woman asking for help finding her mother, Margot Bamborough — who went missing in mysterious circumstances in 1974.

Strike has never tackled a cold case before, let alone one forty years old. But despite the slim chance of success, he is intrigued and takes it on; adding to the long list of cases that he and his partner in the agency, Robin Ellacott, are currently working on. And Robin herself is also juggling a messy divorce and unwanted male attention, as well as battling her own feelings about Strike.

As Strike and Robin investigate Margot's disappearance, they come up against a fiendishly complex case with leads that include tarot cards, a psychopathic serial killer and witnesses who cannot all be trusted. And they learn that even cases decades old can prove to be deadly . . . 

This was the longest book in the series by far. I listened to it via audiobook and it was 32 hours long. I did feel like this book did drag on a bit, but the characters were interesting. I love seeing how Cormoran and Robin keep growing and changing as well as see their friendship and relationship change. I like the mystery aspect of this series because I can never guess who the killer is, but as they are revealed and how it came to be, it all clicks together like a puzzle.