This is the conclusion to Sophie Barnes’ Thorncliff Manor series where the Heartly Family have one by one fallen in love and tried to uncover the hidden treasure left there by their Great Grandparents. I loved this series and I am glad Sophie Barnes self-published this, I am probably one of many fans that would have been upset that we didn’t get an ending otherwise. I love Sophie Barnes writing style, and she balances the mystery and little bit of excitement well with the romance, the romance is the main focus but the mystery of the lost treasure helps progress the story along.
Dowager Duchess of Duncaster keeps Thorncliff Manor open as an exclusive holiday location for her friends in Society. This Christmas however she has invited her good friends Lord and Lady Oakland and their four remaining unmarried daughters, along with a select few gentlemen she hope will make a match with the girls. Fiona the youngest of the bunch is the one who started the treasure hunt in the first place. Their Great Aunt had sent the Heartly’s Grandfather to retrieve her jewelry box from Thorncliff after they managed to save it from the uprising in France, only something happened it went missing and Heartly was killed. In the three other books it has revealed parts of the mystery but Fiona won’t give up and since they are spending Christmas at Thorncliff she’s determined to find it.
Earl of Chadwick and Fiona have been friends forever despite their eleven year age difference. The last couple of years Chadwick has tried to stop loving Fiona. Which is kind of creepy if you think about it she’s only nineteen that means when he fell in love with her he was a man in his late twenties lusting after a girl in her teens, but this is a historical and I tend to be more forgiving about the creep factor. But after being friends for so long will either of them take the step in the direction they both want to go but are too scared to take. Rachel Heartly has a goal of being admitted into the Royal Academy, Viscount Belgrave has finally seen Rachel in a new light and now is trying to persuade her that maybe there could be more to life than just science. Laura Heartly the author of the family with one successful romance on the market already is set on marring for nothing less than love, Duke of Lamont thinks that Laura would be the perfect mother to his two young nieces and the perfect wife to him. Emily Hearty has hidden her art from everyone but when the Marquess of Montsmouth asks she doesn’t know why but she shows him; Montsmouth has always been seen as odd but Emily sees a different side to him.
Overall, with the four romances and the mystery you would think it was rushed but it doesn’t feel that way it is well paced and each couple gets a few chapters here and there and it very balanced. I loved the characters and story; the conclusion to the mystery was bittersweet, you’re all yay! And then aww it’s over. It’s a really good book to cuddle up and read.
**ARC provided by Author**
Thank you for the lovely review! I hope you have a wonderful summer :)
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