Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson
***** Beautiful Stars!

This was an audio listen for me and it was so enjoyable. The reader had an English accent and it was just wonderful. If I would have actually read this I would have lost the accent, so I loved listening to it. Mrs. Donaldson writes beautifully. Her writing has a Jane Austin flair to it that was so enjoyable. I was so entranced with the story that I didn't want to turn off my ipod. I loved her description of the Moore's, and Blackmoore itself. Characters were wonderful and the story was great.
Kate is a reserved, smart, doesn't see her own beauty, and feels caged by the restrictions of the time. Her mother is cruel and doesn't fallow as she should the customs of discretion towards her pursuits of men, and yes she is married. Her mother is willing to connive with the best of them to get what she wants no matter the cost. Kate has wanted for years has wanted to go visit Blackmoore. It is home to her childhood friend Henry. Every year Henry and his sister Sylvia come to visit and every year excuses are made as to why she can not go. Finally an opportunity presents itself and Kate makes a bargain with her mother. As you can imagine this has disaster written all over it....but she finally gets to go to her beloved Blackmoore.
While Kate is at Blackmoore she starts to recognize Henry as a very handsome man instead of the childhood friend he has always been to her. However she refuses to ever marry and keeps pushing away her feelings. There is much more to this story than meets the eye. Kate has secret that she feels she must keep. The way she put off Henry at times was frustrating, but as the story unfolds you see that her heart was always in the right place. Henry he is so sweet and handsome and completely smitten and in love with his childhood friend. I loved the part in this story where he makes a replica of Blackmoore for Kate while they are apart over the summer and what that all meant, so beautiful. The end was a little rushed or maybe the problem was that I just didn't want it to end. I loved watching all the secrets come to light. Loved it!
If you are a Jane Austin fan you won't want to miss this one. Really a sweet and beautiful story.

 Blackmoore

clean read