Edenbrooke

Edenbrooke is a regency romance novel written by debut author, Julianne Donaldson.  Set in England, the story follows a seventeen-year-old girl named Marianne Daventry.  Marianne longs to be anywhere but Bath after her mother's death.  When her twin sister, Cecily, invites her to spend some time at Edenbrooke, the beautiful estate of their mother's former friend, she eagerly accepts the invitation.  On the way to Edenbrooke, she meets Philip, a handsome man who loves to tease and holds many secrets.  Marianne experiences a roller coaster of emotions and must face her fears as time goes on.

This book is now tied with Reality Check for my favorite book!!  It's such a good read.  I read it on the road home from Florida in one day!  I absolute LOVE Philip.  If I find a man like him someday, I will be forever happy and in love.  The viewpoint of the story allows for a complete look into Marianne's thoughts and feelings.  I found that it was easy to connect with her as the main character; I think that contributed to my liking of the book.  I also really enjoyed the style of writing Donaldson uses.  Though Edenbrooke is set in the Regency Era and does include stylistic evidence of the time, it isn't thick and hard to understand like I've found Jane Austen's writing to be.  She uses the perfect balance between modern, understandable writing and historic writing from the time period.

The Last Word:  Perfect Regency Era Romance Novel