By Kelly Bridgewater
Hidden treasures and betrayal
mingle with unexpected love in Abigail Wilson’s latest Regency romance.
After studying art under Miss Drake, a renowned painter, Phoebe
Radcliff is certain she can finally move beyond the childish mistake that’s
kept her away from home. She is thrilled when Miss Drake employs her to
complete a complicated ballroom renovation, believing it will lead to a new,
happier future.
Everything changes, however, the moment Miss Drake is murdered.
With her last breath she imparts the location of a clue to Phoebe. Can the
biggest secret of Avonthorpe Hall be true—the rumored treasure real? Phoebe is
tasked to finish her work in the ballroom by Miss Drake’s infuriatingly
regimented yet all-too-handsome nephew, Lt. Graham Burke. Determined to fulfill
the promise she made to her beloved teacher to find the treasure, Phoebe also
works to uncover the truth about Miss Drake’s death—surely the two must be
linked. If only she can do so before Lt. Burke leases the house.
But dark shadows line the gilded halls of Avonthorpe and soon
enough, Phoebe realizes she’s not the only person who knows about the clues.
What’s worse, she’ll need Lt. Burke’s help to stay ahead of whoever is hard on
her heels. If only she weren’t so attracted to him. And why is she? She’s
always had far greater plans for her life than settling into marital bliss.
Caught
up in a deadly race for answers, Phoebe must find a way to breach the shroud of
lies that surrounds every last resident in the house and, more importantly,
face a past she’s been running away from for far too long.
My
Thoughts:
Within
These Gilded Halls by
Abigail Wilson is a unique treasure hunt set on the cliffs of an estate in
England. Right from the beginning, readers are introduced to Phoebe and her
love of doing things in the correct way especially with restoring Miss Drake’s
ballroom to its previous glory. The hunt for treasure was different, and I love
the idea of one clue leading to another rhyme clue that made no sense at first
glance. It reminded me a lot of the movie National Treasure with
Nicholas Cage. The plot was handled nicely with plenty of twists and turns as
Phoebe hunts for the treasure with the help of Graham Burke. As for the
romance, it is lightly handled. Not thrown into the readers face but does come
down to the predictable happily-ever-after moment near the end of the novel. As
for Phoebe, she is a woman who is running from what she assumes in an error in
her past, but she realizes the love of a father overpowers any wrong that she
thinks she has done. Overall, Within These Gilded Halls by Abigail
Wilson was a wonderful treasure hunt through the Regency era filled with bad
guys and historical treasure. I definitely want a copy of this novel to add to
my Abigail Wilson shelf.
I received a
complimentary copy of Within These Gilded Halls by Abigail Wilson from Thomas
Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.
My
Rating: 4 out
of 5 stars
Purchase Within These Gilded Halls
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