Re-read for 2019 challengeSetting: England 2009 and 1849Steam Factor: Mild4 1/2 Enjoyable Stars again!There is nothing better than picking up a book and cracking it open, an not expecting to get totally lost in the story. As in...forgot to make dinner, and 3 hours past bedtime in it. I'm a big fan of past/present stories and the author did a fine job here. It involves a double love story stretching from Victorian England to the present day 2009. This is more than just a love story or a mystery,

3.5 stars. I really like dual timeline stories, and there were definitely aspects of this book that I liked. However, I really wish Aunt Regina and her "family secrets" would have been more developed. I think it would have added more depth to the story. I also felt there should have been a little more time given to the mystery of Thorne and Aunt Jane. It just felt sort of rushed at the end to tie it all up.

This was the reverse of The Ashford Affair for me. In this one while I liked both the contemporary and historical sections my favorite part is definitely the contemporary. I would so like to visit them again maybe five years in the future. And when I discovered the hero's name--Nicholas Dorrington!--I just smiled.

*4.5I admit it took me a good 100 pages to get into this but once I did, I didn't want to put it down. Lauren Willig has become one of my top favorite authors that I will read whatever she puts out.

That SummerWell, it is a dual timeline novel that has the female character inheriting the manner house in another, going to clean it out and sell it, meeting the guy and well you know… pitted against the past timeline where there is a loveless marriage and an artist who paints her portrait and guess what? Yep, there is an affair! Now I know I might have made this sound like I didn’t enjoy it, and that would just not be true! I did! I mean I want to inherit the manor house in another country and...

I found this book HIGHLY disturbing. The pedophile murderer of the star crossed lovers then raises their daughter??!!? Gross, gross, gross. If the author had made him gay instead of attracted to girl children, and that's why he was not sexually interested in his wife, I'd have NO PROBLEMS with the book.I knew they had to die because the past was linked to the present with the house. If it had been a painting she inherited the couple could have lived. I'm usually a fan of Lauren Willig. This one

Another book with two stories, in different generations where the characters are connected--this time through a house outside London that Julia Conley inherits from her Aunt Regina. That is the modern-day protagonist. With alternating chapters we are introduced to Imogen, Julia's ancestor, who lived in the house in a loveless marriage. As Julia cleans the house of years of belongings, she is drawn to a painting of a lady that hangs in the house. Along with cousins and their friend, Nicholas, an

2009 - Julia Conley has just inherited a house in England from a great-aunt she never knew she had. Since age six, she and her father have lived in New York City, moving there after the death of her mother. Dad, a well-known surgeon, his second wife, and their two sons are all the family Julia has known. With little to no information about her mother’s family, Julia sets off for England to claim the house, sell it, and return to New York. There’s no big rush, though, since Julia has been unemplo...

This is a dual time line story set in both 2009 and 1849. In 2009 a young woman inherits a home in England full of unknown family history. In 1849 in the same home another young woman is struggling with marriage to a cold older man. The two stories are tied together by a mysterious pre-Raphaelite painting.I enjoyed the 1849 story line much more than the 2009 one. I was frustrated with the protagonist's seeming lack of direction or drive or even enthusiasm about her situation. If Goodreads allowe...

A really good dual storyline novel, with both time periods holding my interest. Although the premise seems a bit cliched (young woman inherits house from unknown relative), the story was well done. I liked the characters in both timelines. The 1840’s story had an extremely high level of tension. The main character in the modern story had a nuanced history which was revealed over time.

I am currently on vacation with wishy-washy internet connection, so this will be brief. If you like a murder mystery, art history, Austenian relationships, and dual time settings, this book is for you!Go Cards! L1C4!!

Totally loved it. It's perfect mix of historical events and romantic moments.

This was a delightful summer read! It's the story of two women who lived in the same home outside London: Julia's tale is set in 2009 and Imogen's is from 1849. Modern-day Julia learns she's inherited a house from her mother's side of the family and goes to England with the intention of cleaning out the home and selling it. But her plan changes when she discovers a hidden painting from the 1800s, and she gets caught up in the mystery of who created the artwork and what really happened to her anc...

My Review: Have you ever finished reading a book and don't have a firm grasp on how you feel about it? You kind of liked it, but kind of didn't. That's where I stand with this book. On the surface this book has a lot of things that I enjoy in a book - a Gothic setting in a rather creepy ancestral home, dual narrative in two eras and historical references. Sounds great, right? I was expecting this book to be along the lines of the The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton or The Winter Sea by Susanna K...

Here is another dual-story novel where a young woman from our current time inherits a house in another country and, although she intends to just clear it, sell it, and leave, she discovers family history, mystery, and Love. I must say, this is the perfect formula for “chick lit” and I love it, especially when something extra is added such as ballet (Wildflower Hill) or Pre-Raphaelite art and artists in That Summer.However, in this book, Julia (main modern character) is hard to like because she’s...

I loved this book! It is a page-turning romantic mystery with compelling characters, a clever plot, wonderful imagery involving the chivalric paintings of the pre-Raphaelite artistic movement (I SO WANT one of those!) and a twist that left me gutted. Hugely recommended.

Interesting plot. Someone should have fired the editor.

I really liked this book when I began. It's the story of a young woman who inherits a house in London from a great aunt she's never met. When she goes there to clean it out, she finds a painting of Tristan and Iseult painted by one of the original Pre-Raphaelites. Trying to find out the details of the painting, she uncovers a mystery involving the painter and a woman who lived in the house in the 1850's. The story is told in parallel time between the contemporary time and the young woman in the

I can't say if I am giving it 3 stars because it is worth 3 stars or the fact that I have been reading books lately that I'm not liking , this one seem good. You get the idea - I've even been behind writing my reviews lately - Sheesh! Anyway - another book folks that I would suggest you read some other reviews and go from there!