Amanda L. V. Shalaby

I received a complimentary copy of this book as a part of a book tour for a fair and honest review and rated it 3 out of 5 stars.

An interesting genre blend of sweet romance and gothic mystery, Bleddyn Hall by Amanda L.V. Shalaby, takes place in Regency England during the year 1860. Set in both London and the English countryside, Bleddyn Hall is filled with colorful characters, Regency fashion and behavior and a mystery with several twists and turns. If you like historical suspense, this just might be the book for you.

In London and on the marriage hunt during “The Season”, Lady Isabel Sutton has been enjoying her stay with her aunt and uncle. Determined to find both a wealthy husband, and a man she can fall in love with, Isabel is considered one of the two best ‘catches” of the season. Beautiful, intelligent and extremely well behaved, Isabel knows her prospects are good and is slowly considering all of the attentive gentlemen until the night she meets Lord Tresham Bleddyn, Earl of Dancy at a ball and falls head over heels in love.

Quickly becoming engaged, Isabel’s plans for the rest of the season and a beautiful wedding get put on hold when Tresham’s father dies and his family must go into mourning. Transported to the countryside with his family, Isobel soon wonders if the man she’s fallen in love with is the real Tresham or just an illusion. All she knows for sure is that something is not right at Bleddyn Hall.

Ms. Shalaby does a good job developing the characters and I found them colorful, easy to like and a good representation of the “types” of people I’ve come to expect in a Regency romance. While I liked Isabel and found her easy to connect with, I did think she was a bit too much of a romantic because she pretty much fell in “love at first sight” with Tresham and didn’t really know anything about him other than he was a very handsome man with good manners and a reported fortune. For his part, Tresham, the oldest son of a wealthy noble family, knew next to nothing about Isabel before he too is smitten with her. Though in reality I think both families would have done a “background” search, such as it was, to make sure the object of affection really was who they claimed to be.

The secondary characters are mostly Tresham’s family and I also found them colorful, especially Annalise and Rosamund, his two younger sisters. His mother and younger brother, Clement, also prove to be very important to the mystery plot of the story. The villain is not as well developed as I would have liked but his identity and his purpose were quite the twist. Overall the mystery is easy to follow and it was enjoyable watching Isabel get involved in solving it and in the end helping to save the day.

Will Isabel and Tresham get a chance to have a happy ending? Will the secrets of Bleddyn Hall prove to be too much for a Regency era lady? You’ll have to read it to find out. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of Ms. Shalaby’s work.… (altro)

Was it love at first sight? Lady Isabel Sutton and Lord Tresham Bleddyn meet at a ball in London and were immediately attracted to each other. As icing on the cake, their families take an instant like to each other. Isabel feels like she’s known Tresham’s sisters all her life. For several days after the ball, everything went along so well for them and they become engaged. I began to wonder if there were going to be any hiccups in this romance at all. But then, Tresham receives word that his father died. He takes off for Bleddyn Hall and the family follows behind him. They include Isabel.

When she gets to Bleddyn Hall, things are drastically different. His brother, Clement explains that it appears Lord Bleddyn had been killed. Upon arriving, Isabel looked forward to being with and comforting Tresham; however, he’d locked himself away and would not see any of them. His mother finally forces a meeting with him; then she begins to seclude herself. Isabel makes fast friends with Tresham’s brother, Clement. Then one of the help is killed in the same manner. Clement and Isabel begin to investigate as many happenings just don’t add up.

This was a historical romance set in 1862. The added mystery was spellbinding. The romance is sweet and clean and I enjoyed their flirting and the couple’s initial conversations. I loved the character of both of them. Tresham was very insightful. Clement had not attended the ball. Tresham had written to him about Isabel. He said, “…although they [Tresham’s sisters & Isabel] are getting along famously together, I am convinced it is you and Isabel that are destined to be the closest of friends.” Bleddyn Hall had delightful secret passages that ended up playing a big part in the mystery. Rating: 4 out of 5.… (altro)