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Review of “Christmas at Whitefriars” by Elizabeth Camden

Publisher Description

“Mary Beckwith lives in a magnificent English castle during the twilight years of the gilded age. With the help of an American millionaire, she has succeeded in renovating her beloved Whitefriars castle into a splendid estate just in time for Christmas. 

From across the ocean, millionaire Everett Wooten has spent a fortune propping up Whitefriars to add modern conveniences and rebuild crumbling old walls. Even though he’s never met Mary, they have enjoyed a lively business correspondence over the nine years they have been working toward a renovation. Now he has finally come to see Mary and the castle in person, but nothing is as he was led to believe. 

Mary and Everett try to find a way forward, but red-blooded American entrepreneurship doesn’t always mingle with blue-blooded English tradition. Can a Manhattan business tycoon and an English lady come to an accord, or will their joint venture in Whitefriars result in heartbreak for them both?”

My Review:

This novella set in the year 1912 in England during the Christmas season is a heart-touching story of loneliness, love, and hope.  Since this is a novella length story, I was not expecting the main characters, Everett and Mary, to have such depth to them.  I felt Mary’s loneliness as she lived practically alone in the aging castle; and Everett’s sad conviction that since his personality was different than most in his upper class society, he’d never have a wife or family of his own.  These two were very different, yet so perfect for each other.  Even though it’s a shorter length, this storyline felt complete and not rushed.  I always enjoy Elizabeth Camden’s books, and this one was a pleasure to read.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

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