Book Review #3- Shadows of Swanford Abbey

    

Today's book review is on Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen. I enjoyed this book immensely! Almost every spare minute of the last few days were spent reading it. I finished it in two days and comprehended all of it. I believe that may have been a personal record. Needless to say, go read this book. 

Genre: Mystery/Historical Fiction/Romance

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (2021)

Series: Stand alone novel
Time Period: Regency era
Setting: England

Summary: 

After many years away, Rebecca Lane returns to her home village- and to an odd and desperate request from her brother, John. He begs her to go to the nearby Swanford Abbey and deliver his manuscript into the hands of an author staying there. Rebecca feels responsible for his desperate state and reluctantly agrees. 

Once she gets to Swanford Abbey, a medieval abbey turned grand hotel, Rebecca begins to notice strange happenings, including a black hooded figure gliding down a corridor. She wonders if the rumors about a haunted Swanford Abbey are true. 

Whether it's haunted or not, Rebecca is sure of one thing- Swanford Abbey's very foundations echo with whispers of the past and it's very essence throbs with mysteries waiting to be solved. 

Characters: 

Miss Rebecca Lane

Sir Fredrick

John Lane 

Writing Style: 

written in third person, switching between Rebecca and Sir Fredrick's POVs. The writing flowed naturally and kept you engaged the entire time. The mystery was hard to solve- I did not predict the ending in the least

Character Development: 

This is a bit difficult to answer. The characters were deep. Their struggles were real and well written. You feel what they're feeling, you sympathize with them, you share their doubts and their joys. 

Mostly their developments were in their hearts. Rebecca struggled through old hurts, Fredrick juggled doubts about his past, and John wrestled with betrayal and revenge. In their own ways, they each overcame their problems. 

Plot Development: 

It was definitely a complex plotline. It took me some time to get everyone and everything straight. So many people were connected to other people who were connected to another person until it basically went in a circle. It made it a bit confusing as the story unraveled. 

You learned the backgrounds of the characters slowly as the story went on. A couple times I became annoyed because it was taking so long to find something out, but looking back, it wasn't bad at all. Julie Klassen wrote the story in a way that made you hang onto the book wanting more and waiting for each revelation. 

The main plot of the story was a mystery surrounding a mysterious murder. But throughout the entire book, there were multiple other mysteries that popped up. The main mystery was difficult to solve. The solution was revealed as Rebecca solved it. It was impossible to correctly predict the solutions to any of the mysteries until Rebecca herself predicted it.         

Theme of the Book: 

Second chances

Spiritual Content: 

The characters were Christians, although their faith was not a super important part of the story. Rebecca's father was the village's vicar.  

Positive Content: 

Rebecca sticks up for her brother no matter what, Fredrick choses to believe the best rather than jump to conclusions even when evidence points towards the worst

Warnings: 

Mentions of adultery, rumors of ghosts, a murder, an unfortunate accident that ended in death, a couple nondetailed kisses, and falling in love

Age Rating: 

16+ 

Pre Teens:

Young Teens:

Older Teens:

Personal Rating: