Cavendon Hall : A Novel

The cover of this book is lovely…and therein ends my love for the book. I can’t say that I hated it, there were some intriguing plotlines that, had they been more developed, would have made an interesting story. That being said, the relationship between the incredibly good-looking, wealthy and good natured Ingham’s and their servant family the Swanns is unrealistic.

The Swann family has served the Ingham’s for decades. On more than one occasion they have even sworn their lives to the Ingham’s. This is flattering but unlikely. They are constantly quoting a rather cheesy oath “Loyalty Binds Me.” They keep a diary of sorts of every detail of the Ingham’s lives and the Ingham’s seem to be ok with this. Really?

I was very confused by some of the characters as well. Many would act one way and then their personalities do a 180 by the end of the book. They would often say things out of character. Some characters made me wonder why they were even in the book. For example, the story constantly mentions Deirdre the eldest sister and her poor attitude but never explains what her problem is and then at the end of the book she seems to be happy but why? Felicity is somewhat likeable at the beginning but is unbelievable as a mother in my opinion.

I was also confused on what the focus of the story was meant to be. A large part is devoted to a heinous act committed against one of the daughters, then the focus switches to a war, then we are back to the strange connection between the families followed by unsatisfying awkward ending.

The writing style was good but overall, not my favorite.