Book Description:
One woman's search for the truth of her sister's disappearance leads her to deceit and danger in 1893 Chicago.
Rosalind Perry has left her family's rural farm in Wisconsin to work as a housemaid at Sloane House, one of the most elegant mansions in Gilded Age Chicago. However, Rosalind is not there just to earn a living and support her family-she's at Sloane House determined to discover the truth about her sister's mysterious disappearance.
Reid Armstrong is the handsome heir to a silver fortune. However, his family is on the periphery of Chicago's elite because their wealth comes from "new money" obtained from successful mining. Marriage to Veronica Sloane would secure his family's position in society-the lifelong dream of his ailing father.
When Reid begins to realize that Rosalind's life may be in danger, he stops thinking of marriage prospects and concentrates on helping Rosalind. Dark things are afoot in Chicago and, he fears, in Sloane House. If he's not vigilant, Rosalind could pay the price.
Set against the backdrop of Chicago's Gilded Age and the 1893 World's Fair, Secrets of Sloane House takes us on a whirlwind journey of romance and mystery.
Book Review:
I don't think I was expecting this book to be soo....dark. Not dark in a, um...dark way :) but dark in all the bad, horrible things that took place at that time. I was expecting a lighter mystery and wasn't really prepared for the rape scene that took place. Scene is probably not the correct word to use. The author, fortunately, did not go into any detail about it. However, it still cast a dark shadow on the book.
I enjoyed not only the history behind this book, but the deeper look into the class system of a wealthy family who comes from money, a self-made wealthy family, and the servants and all the expectations of society on each of these classes.
I enjoyed the conflict that Reid went through regarding his families expectations, society's, and his own. He was a pretty likable main character. Rosalind sort of fell flat for me. There really wasn't anything that made me really like her and sympathize with her. Well, except for being shy and timid and worrying about getting lost :) That I can totally relate to.
I think the secondary characters were the best part of this novel. I loved Reid's parents, and I am intrigued by Eloisa, and will definitely give her book a try when it comes out.
This book probably wouldn't make it on my "I will tell you about this book if you ask for a recommendation" list (Not that I have a list like that, but if I did).
Title: Secrets of Sloane House
Author: Shelley Gray
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: July 2014
ISBN: 0310338522
Source: I received an eCopy from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for a review.
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