A stubborn new housekeeper and a haunted owner…

Synopsis

She arrived as a housekeeper
Will she leave as a countess?
To some, Thornhallow Hall might be tarnished by tales of vengeance and ghosts, but to new housekeeper Rebecca Merrickson it represents independence and peace from her tumultuous past. Until the estate’s owner, William Reid, the disappeared earl, unexpectedly returns… After clashing with him over the changes she’s made to the house, Rebecca slowly unearths the memories that haunt brooding Liam—and her defiance gives way to a shockingly improper attraction to her master!

My review

Rebecca Merrickson is ready to start to work as a housekeeper at Thornhallow Hall. She is determined to gain the respect of the other servants, while at the same time making changes to the house. Of course making changes is easy when the estate’s owner William Reid isn’t nearby, in fact he has just disappeared!
But when Liam returns, he is not happy at all with the made changes, and more than once he clashes with Rebecca.
However, Rebecca uncovers the secrets and ghosts haunting Thornhallow Hall and its master, while she is keeping her own secrets and fighting the attraction she begin to feel.

When I was reading the first chapters of this book, I was reminded of one of my favourite books ever, namely Jane Eyre. There were many similarities, like a young woman going to work in a place with a dark secret, the master being initially an absent character, but also with a past that still haunts him.

But luckily this story takes another turn. Not that changing direction was a bad choice, on the contrary, because if you have to read a rip – off of a beloved book, it’s certain that you will be disappointed in the end.
And I surely wasn’t when I reached the end!

Often in historical romances, there is one character with a secret, but in this romance, both main characters are having their own secrets.

Rebecca her secret has made her being on the run for a long time, and she is still looking over her shoulder being afraid that her whereabouts have been discovered.
But no matter what happened in her past, and her fear, she is determined to make the best of the time she is staying at Thornhallow Hall.
She is also a strong character, ready to take responsibility for her actions, and slowly she is also having the respect of the other servants.
When we get to know her secret, and how it changed her, I felt truly sorry for her. At a young age she realized that not everyone is acting with good intentions and that people work with ulterior motives.

There are many moments she clashes with Liam, which of course is inevitable as Liam is not ready for all the changes Rebecca made, despite his clear instructions.
Liam is a brooding man, carrying his guilt around like a dark cloak. Thornhallow Hall holds too many sad memories for him, and he is looking for a way to escape his title as an Earl.
But he is also a caring man, the way he acts towards his servants, seeing them as real people and not just as ‘things’ he can bend at his will. And the way he starts to see Rebecca in a different light shows the readers that there is always more than meets the eye…

I found this a beautiful story about scarred and also scared characters, but also strong characters. The author wrote a story that somehow would look like thirteen in a dozen, but she managed to add her own things, making this a unique story.
Not only the characters but also the twists in the story made me keep reading it, making me feel like I was walking around Thornhallow Hall myself!