Blurb:

Just hours after her beloved mother’s funeral, Elaine Carson discovers she was adopted at birth, and that her real mother is Carrie Williams, a best-selling author.
Feeling lost and alone, and with nothing solid tying her to her life in Essex, Elaine travels to Cornwall to trace her birth mother.
She meets Frank Templeton, the owner of a local antiques shop and Carrie’s husband, who informs her his wife is away on business.
Elaine is forced to stay quiet for now, but hopes to pass the time peacefully, working as Frank’s assistant.
However, Elaine’s new life becomes even more complicated when she grows attached to Adrian, the widowed owner of a local riding school, and his son Lee.
As the past she has left behind refuses to let her go, her secret threatens to tear her fresh life apart.
Will Elaine find the courage to reveal all?
Or does she stand to lose her new-found happiness?

The blurb, coupled with the beautiful cover are what first attracted me to this book. My assumptions were mislead as this turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment.

I knew going in that it was a romance novel, and I was in the mood for a light read. What I didn’t expect was just how “Mills & Boon” like it would be, and how the stilted writing made me cringe at times. “emotion darted through her breast”.

The protagonist, twenty-three year old Elaine Carson, was at times wise beyond her tender years, and at other times, though her actions were warm, she left me cold.

All in all, this is not a book that I can fully recommend – even for the most diehard romance lovers.

I purchased this short novel in Kindle format.

Publication date: October 2015     Publisher: Lume Books

ISBN: 9781444816143    ASIN: B016ON2ZE0    208 pages

Phyllis Mallett is the author of over twenty romance fiction titles.