A Rumored Fortune

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A Rumored Fortune
Joanna Davidson Politano
Revell

Tressa Harlowe's father did not trust banks, but neither did he trust his greedy extended family. He kept his vast fortune hidden somewhere on his estate in the south of England and died suddenly, without telling anyone where he had concealed it. Tressa and her ailing mother are left with a mansion and an immense vineyard and no money to run it. It doesn't take long for a bevy of opportunists to flock to the estate under the guise of offering condolences. Tressa knows what they're really up to. She'll have to work with the rough and rusticated vineyard manager to keep the laborers content without pay and discover the key to finding her father's fortune--before someone else finds it first.

Award-winning author Joanna Davidson Politano welcomes readers to Trevelyan Castle, home of the poorest heiress in Victorian England, for a treasure hunt they'll not soon forget.


     The plot behind A Rumored Fortune is an excellent one. Vineyards and secret fortunes and characters you don't know who to trust: the way the story threads all weave together at the end is satisfying and the journey there takes enough twists and turns to set it apart from many of the historical fiction novels that I've read. I loved how many of the characters--especially the secondary ones--were multi-layered and not defined solely by one characteristic. No one's motives were completely obvious, and even less-than-likable characters had facets to them that made them sympathetic.

     However, I felt that it didn't quite live up to what I wanted it to be; my problem with the book is that I wanted a meaty, Gothic mystery and it never quite escaped the trap of the "Christian Romance" genre. Granted, some people really like this, and that's what they want. I don't mind romance; in certain contexts, I love it. But I tend to like my romance driven by the story, rather than the story driven by the romance, and that's not entirely what I got here.

     I felt like the book really picked up its stride in the last few chapters, but ultimately I feel like it was a novel somewhat hindered by the expectations of its own genre, if that makes sense.

     But, to end on a more positive note: props to whoever designed this cover. It's such a great departure from what's usually seen for historical fiction from Christian publishers, and while some of the more typical covers are quite pretty, I really am fond of this one, which reminds me of Bleak House or Little Dorrit.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

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