Julianne Donaldson's Blackmoore ~ Reviewed

BLACKMOORE
By Julianne Donaldson

2013

Shadow Mountain

9781609074609

BACK COVER:

Kate Worthington knows she can never have her heart’s desire and so believes she will never marry. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans.

Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore on the cliffs above the seashore, where she must face the truth and the man that has kept her heart captive.

MY REVIEW:

You know those rare books that you keep glancing at the page number as you read, wishing it would magically stop increasing so that the story would never end? BLACKMOORE is one of those. Delightful. Consuming. Altogether a keeper on my shelf that I’ll pull down to read every few years or so because it’s just that good.

At first I wasn’t sure I liked the way the story jumped between past and present. It seemed a bit disjointed. But after I got used to it, and as the story developed, I could see how the format was integral in explaining and fleshing out the tangled relationships between the Delafields and Worthingtons, and especially between the heroine and hero, Kate and Henry.

I totally identified with Kate. Her dysfunctional family. Her demanding, controlling mother. Her struggle for self worth in a cultural environment that only gave a female worth according to a good match. She is a believable character who you’ll end up cheering your lungs out for.

Henry is a stalwart young man. I love how willing he is to allow Kate to be herself no matter how much it hurts him. Their love story is a beautiful picture of giving, reminiscent of O’Henry’s Gift of the Magi.

The tension for the first kiss between Kate and Henry builds and builds until you think you can’t possibly stand it any more and then in one all-glorious instant when the planets align and you’re certain this will be the most passionate memorable kiss in all of history—bam! The stupid little sister walks in on the intimate moment and blows it out of the water. Don’t panic, though, like I did. When they Henry and Kate finally do carry out their magic moment, oh yeah, it is well worth the wait.

If you love Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, you’re going to adore BLACKMOORE. I look forward to more from author Julianne Donaldson.

Reviewed by: Michelle Griep