Two Friends on Valentine's Friday

Review by Kim D. Taylor

Opening a book written by Julie Klassen is like jumping on the speedway in the middle of rush hour traffic (in a car, of course.) Klassen's extraordinary characters will thrill you to your fingertips and drive you mad with page-turning adventure. Recently, I read "The Maid of Fairbourne Hall" and couldn't put the book down.

"The Maid of Fairbourne Hall" is about a young woman driven to escape a marriage crafted by her desperate step-father. With her inheritance seized until her birthday, society's Margaret Macy flees to the country disguised as a maid. But never in her wildest imagination did Margaret see herself working at Fairbourne Hall, the estate of recently returned, Nathaniel Upchurch.

Klassen weaves second-chance love in and out of a story accelerated by near misses, past love, and upstairs-downstairs drama—an adventure you won't want to miss. If you love heart-pounding romance charged with suspense, and the hope of everything right, then you are in for the ride of your life.

So buckle up, sit back, and relax—or try to relax, as Margaret and Nathaniel's story propels you from one page to the next. You will be begging, as I did, for Nathaniel to recognize Margaret, and when he does...hold your breath.

"The Maid of Fairbourne Hall" is only one of five Julie Klassen awarding winning novels. You're sure to enjoy her other books, too.

Klassen's artistry shines through in this tale of hope and second-chance love. "The Maid of Fairbourne Hall gets of Five Star rating for it's amazing characters, high stakes, and rich storyline. Read a Klassen novel and you'll find a work of art.
Bio: Kim D. Taylor writes inspirational historical fiction "Finding Hope Around Every Corner" and is represented by Tamela Murray with the Steve Laube Agency. A member of ACFW, she lives in Virginia where her pastor husband is finishing an advanced degree.  They have two adorable boys. Kim and her family love beautiful places and especially the Mountains of Montana and Idaho, she enjoys writing historical stories set in the mountains.

Valentine Week Friday Review of Julie Klassen’s 

“The Maid of Fairbourne Hall”
(Bethany House, January 2012)

 by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Love is in the Air

Whew! I am glad I got to read this wonderful book which I LOVED. Now I can finish my own proposal.  My critique partner, Kim D. Taylor, borrowed this book from me because we both LOVE Julie Klassen and her writing.  She called me and told me that I MUST read the book because of the amazing story and pacing.  And we tag-teamed to tell our other CPer, Sarah E. Ladd, that she needed to set aside her current manuscript to read this book!  It is that good both from a reading and a writing perspective.  And am I ever glad I read this book, despite my original Kindle frying out on me. I was hoping to wait for the audio version, which is how I have “read” all of Julie’s other books.  Instead I read it on a heavy backlit Kindle Fire that is probably more conducive to headaches, but it was worth it.  This book has several commonalities with my current manuscript and so I am going to use it as a comparable in my proposal for those elements (mine is in America, though, during the same time frame).  Okay, on to the real LOVE…

This story breaks out of the gate with strong tension.  The pacing, like Kim had told me, is amazing and the plot tight.  Julie makes you feel concerned for our heroine despite her being, shall we say, a wee bit uppity.  Oh, but that is about to CHANGE!!!  And with a poet in the mix and poetic justice in how the hero is once again reunited with the sweetheart who rejected him, well – make sure you have a couple of days free to read this story as you will not want to set it down.

 

I LOVE (there is that word again this Valentine week!) how she hooks you into rooting for the hero right from the get-go.  And what a mesmerizing man his brother is – the way Julie writes the story you find yourself understanding why women would be that blind to his character faults.  One of my favorite scenes is the bathtub scene because of what unexpectedly happens – I LOVED that!

Don’t even allow yourself to think that the ending will be straight forward.  Admittedly I usually prefer the horse riding straight on into the stable (hmm – not as good as train coming into the station but this was early 1800’s!),  but from experience reading Julie’s other novels, I figured it wouldn’t be. What a satisfying conclusion.  And Kim is right about the kiss!!! 

Weird little notes:  When I heard in the HisWriters group that Julie was setting this story in Maidstone I got very excited. My great-grandparents Emily Wenham and William Fancett lived in Maidstone, England, and were married there.  I have no idea if they were in service there (one account said they worked in the hops fields) but after reading Julie’s story I can see why they would have jumped at the opportunity to have land of their own in Michigan, a half a world away.  And the young couple lived with and worked for a farming family (per the Michigan census) while establishing themselves for the land grant and their own farm.  Too bad the grandparents of the staff at Downton Abbey hadn’t done the same!  

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall is available for purchase on Amazon and on CBD and other books.

GIVEAWAY:  Leave a comment and your email to be entered in this week’s contest.  Drawing will be late Saturday.  Your choice of Julie Klassen’s books, choice of format (ebook or paperback).