THE LADY OF BOLTON HILL by Elizabeth Camden

Clara Endicott was born of privilege. She had a love of music but also a love for writing and wanted to write for her father's newspaper. Daniel Tremain was born in poverty but also harbored a love of music. Though these two were from opposite sides of the track they became best friends. But when it becomes a hint more than that her father sends her away to London to live with her aunt. It's there she writes an article concerning the poor working conditions of miners but especially the poor children sent down to work in the mines. It stirs such hostility that she is deported back to the US. There she meets up again with Daniel. All the feelings are still there and yet things are very different. He has become a very wealthy man but much of his drive comes from old grudges he can't let go of. As Clara speaks of God's forgiveness he turns into a man she hardly recognizes. But when Clara's life is endangered he is forced to deal with issues he has kept close to heart.

What a wonderful debut novel. Elizabeth Camden writes like a seasoned author. This story was full of likeable characters, zippy dialog and spiritual truths. Clara was the type of woman you could look up to. She wasn't perfect but she truly tried to live out her faith. I liked that Clara was willing to take a stand for her faith even though it would personally cost her. Daniel was such a charming fellow. I love the way he was with Clara and the relationship they had. Though there were spots where you could see his bitterness come shining through. How true that could be for us too. The cover of this novel is beautiful and gives you the idea of a somewhat sedate story, but not so. It kept me turning pages but especially the last third of the book. Wonderful suspense and unexpected twist! You also don't find out who the real culprit is until the end. I like that. I also really liked how this author brought everything together at the end. I look forward to future offerings by this author. If you haven't read The Lady of Bolton Hill I recommend you pick it up. A thank you goes to LibraryThing and Bethany House for this complimentary ARC for my review.