Book Review: The Girl in the Gatehouse
Author: Julie Klassen
Being a fantasy writer, most of what I read tends to be fantasy, so this book is not in my normal radar. I am so glad I spotted this one.
This book was a joyful read. Ms. Klassen successfully navigated the regency romance genre with this book. The opening has a 20-something young lady moving into the gatehouse of a distant aunt, because of some unknown scandal. The author does not tell us what the scandal is, but you realize that it was severe enough for a parent in this time period to consider disowning his daughter. I enjoyed this style of writing, because even though I didn’t know what the scandal was, the storyline kept me curious and reading on. Little leaks and the final reveal at the climax of the story made for an exciting read. The reader did not make any judgements about the protagonists and continues to read and root for the protagonist.
The other thing that endeared me to this book is that the protagonist is a writer, albeit a hidden one. This fact makes an interesting subplot that fleshes out the story.
The characters are well written except for maybe the antagonist. Although he does cause a bit of trouble for the protagonist, he did seem a little week. I would have liked to see him get some teeth.
The plot and setting all hold to their appropriate places and all in all this is a good read and I was glad for the diversion.
Happy Reading and God bless,
Christina Weigand
