Monday, August 13, 2018

Joanna Davidson Politano: A Rumored Fortune


By Kelly Bridgewater

Tressa Harlowe's father did not trust banks, but neither did he trust his greedy extended family. He kept his vast fortune hidden somewhere on his estate in the south of England and died suddenly, without telling anyone where he had concealed it. Tressa and her ailing mother are left with a mansion and an immense vineyard and no money to run it. It doesn't take long for a bevy of opportunists to flock to the estate under the guise of offering condolences. Tressa knows what they're really up to. She'll have to work with the rough and rusticated vineyard manager to keep the laborers content without pay and discover the key to finding her father's fortune--before someone else finds it first.

Award-winning author Joanna Davidson Politano welcomes readers to Trevelyan Castle, home of the poorest heiress in Victorian England, for a treasure hunt they'll not soon forget.

From Amazon


My Thoughts:

I have read Joanna Davidson Politano's first novel, Lady Jayne Disappears, and it was like nothing I ever read before. Chalked full of mystery and a unique Victorian voice. So of course, when I read the synopsis on her second novel, A Rumored Fortune, I couldn't wait to dive into a treasure hunt in a castle in the Victorian era. Unfortunately the book fell flat for me.

Politano does a fabulous job at creating the setting and allowing me to experience the world of Trevelyan Castle. The house and the surrounding city sparkled on the page. Politano dives into the characters' emotions at the right time and the right place. Sometimes a little too much. She does write the main character of Tressa Harlowe in first point of view, but the hero, Mr. Vance, in third point of view.

I enjoy the ability of Tressa to see past the outward appearance of all the other characters. She looks for the best in others and wants to settle everything up right, either with the employees who work for her families vineyard or the debts her father has accumulated. Meanwhile when Mr. Vance enters the story, he is on the hunt for treasure to right the wrongs done to his small hometown. By the end of the novel, he realizes he doesn't have to hurt someone else to accomplish these little tasks.

What is better than a hunt for treasure during the Victorian era in a castle? I really couldn't wait to see how the story develop. But for me, it was slow going. The way the story is written, the story focuses more on the emotions of Tressa than the treasure hunt. Every time, it seemed, she came on the scene, she was more focused on Mr. Vance and her budding relationship with him or what she should do with Andrew than worried about hunting for the rumored fortune. She did focus on the treasure hunt at times, but I think she should be doing more to find the treasure than she did.

At the beginning of the novel, Tressa seemed immature in her reasonings for a relationship, but by the end of the novel, she finally realized what makes a man a man. Someone who is willing to help someone without any known reward. Tressa leaned on God more to fulfill her purpose in life.

Overall, A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano is a neat idea with the race for the treasure and the mysteries behind the house, but it fell flat for me. The plot didn't move fast enough, and most of the story focused on the romance of Tressa than the treasure left by her father. If you like  historical romances like The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen, then this might be the book for you.

I received a complimentary copy of A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Joanna Davidson Politano
From Amazon
About the Author:

 Joanna Davidson Politano freelances for a small nonfiction publisher but spends much of her time spinning tales that capture the colorful, exquisite details in ordinary lives. Her debut novel, Lady Jayne Disappears, releases October 3 from Revell. She lives with her husband and their two babies in a house in the woods and shares stories that move her at www.jdpstories.com.(Taken from Amazon)

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