Author: Sally Britton
Series: Inglewood #2
Genres: Historical Romance
Format: eBook, Print
Pages: 222
Date: August 13, 2019
Publisher: Blue Water Books
To avoid being sent across an ocean, Grace switches places with her sister. The only man aware of their deception? A dear friend, and her secret love.
Grace Everly has no desire to set sail for the Caribbean, unlike her adventurous twin sister, Hope. Thanks to her sister’s irresponsible behavior and subsequent banning from the journey, Grace’s father decides to send her in Hope’s place. Desperate to remain where things are familiar, Grace proposes an unthinkable plan: that she and Hope switch places. They only have to keep up the act long enough for Hope to board a ship in London. When the man who has stolen Grace’s heart learns of their secret, things get more complicated.
Jacob Barnes, soon to be ordained a vicar, has known Grace and Hope his whole life. Though close to both sisters, he’s dreamed of courting Hope for months. When he realizes his friends have switched places, putting the woman he admires out of his reach, he agrees to help with the subterfuge despite his bruised heart. As he watches Grace stumble in her acting abilities, attempting to change who she is, he realizes how much she means to him. But how does he tell her, without risking their friendship?
The deception puts their relationship to the test. As Grace hides her heart and her identity, Jacob examines his feelings, and no one in their community will be happy when the truth is discovered.
Rating: Mild. Mild kissing.
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Sweet story. I liked Grace from the first book and my heart ached for her quiet heart. She loved Jacob who only has eyes for her sister. Both Jacob and Grace grow a great deal in this book. Grace grows beyond being the woman at her sister’s side and becomes her own self. She’d always been content to be the unseen, unheard sister but by the end of the book she stands up to be seen and heard. Great growth. For her it must have been awful to sit and hear herself spoken of by other people. She wouldn’t like it whether they spoke positively or negatively but how painful to hear the negative. Jacob too grows as he begins to see himself, his new role as vicar and the others around him more clearly.
I liked that though Grace and Hope are opposites in nature and Hope overshadows Grace most of the time, their relationship itself is not so uneven. They love each other so well. It would have been easy to make Hope be snotty or unseeing toward her sister but even though Hope is thoughtless in her thirst for adventure she appreciates her sister’s qualities.
Even their father grows in this book. He isn’t a main character but it is his temper over Hope’s antics that sets up the premise of the book and by the end he is able to see more clearly and be forgiving as well.
I also loved Jacob’s mother. How Jacob treats his mother is a good indicator of what kind of a husband he will be. He is not only kind and appreciative but also see her gifts in a way that children are often oblivious to.
This book is a slower paced, clean, gentle read much like Grace and Jacob. It fits their personalities beautifully.
No sex, language or violence
*I received a complimentary advanced copy of this book and voluntarily choose to review it.