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| ★★★★★ |
When a rare-books
dealer goes to England, she discovers more than just the famous writing haunts –
she discovers how to love and be loved in today’s modern world.
Lucy Alling makes a living finding rare books through means
that aren’t always on the up-and-up. But if it makes the clients happy, who is
she really hurting? After all, everything always turns out all right in the
end. At least it does in her favorite books, the ones her absent father sends
every year on her birthday, no matter where he is.
When her unorthodox behavior ruins her relationship with
her boyfriend James, Lucy knows something has to change – she has to change.
Enter Helen, a wealthy client seeking a companion for her trip to England to
purchase antiques, and who just happens to be James’s grandmother. Helen has
secrets of her own, secrets that help her relate to Lucy more than anyone can
guess.
As Lucy and Helen travel across England, Lucy
suspects there is more to this trip than Helen lets on. When Helen’s health
falters, Lucy reaches out to James, reigniting feelings that were never truly
extinguished.
Everything comes to a head at Haworth, home of the Brontë
sisters, when hidden offenses rise to the surface. Lucy’s happy ending is
within reach – if she can step out of the literary world and into the life
that’s been waiting for her all along.
I have
noticed that Katherine Reay’s novels have a tendency of making me wish to read
more classic novels, and her newest novel, The Brontë Plot, is no
exception. Reay combines a contemporary plotline with classic-novel influences
seamlessly and tells beautiful, down-to-earth stories. In The Brontë Plot,
bookselling and classic-loving heroine Lucy Alling is forced to confront the
depth of her past mistakes and must change if she doesn’t want to lose all she
considers important and worthwhile. In an unexpected yet enlightening trip to
England, surrounded by a cast of colorful characters, she explores the places
and plots of her most beloved novels, especially Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, and makes insightful and relevant personal discoveries to help her
move forward. A delightful read of self-discovery, The Brontë Plot is a
novel that will not disappoint Reay’s fans. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would
not hesitate to recommend it to fans of contemporary fiction.
Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of The
Brontë Plot and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required
to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.
(I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR,
Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in
Advertising.”)
About the Author
Katherine Reay has enjoyed a
life-long affair with the works of Jane Austen and her contemporaries – who
provide constant inspiration both for writing and for life. Katherine's first
novel, Dear Mr. Knightley, was a 2014 Christy Award Finalist
and winner of the 2014 INSPY Award for Best Debut as well as Carol Awards for
both Best Debut and Best Contemporary. She is also the writer behind Lizzy and Jane and The Brontë Plot -
all contemporary stories with a bit of "classics" flair. Katherine
holds a BA and MS from Northwestern University and is a wife, mother, runner,
former marketer, avid chocolate consumer and, randomly, a tae kwon do black
belt. After living all across the country and a few stops in Europe, Katherine
and her family recently moved back to Chicago.
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