Marian Baay reviews THE HEIRESS OF WINTERWOOD by Sarah E. Ladd

THE HEIRESS OF WINTERWOOD

By Sarah E. Ladd

Reviewed by Marian Baay
~5 stars~

Amelia Barrett must marry before her 24^th birthday to inherit her fortune, including the Winterwood estate. After her parents died, her uncle became the master of Winterwood until Amelia would marry. Her uncle has found a suitable match in Edward Littleton, but there is one thing they don't agree on; nine months ago Amelia promised her dying friend Katherine to take care of her baby Lucy. Amelia loves the baby as if she was her own child, but Edward doesn't want to take her in after they get married. The closer they come to their wedding day, the more Amelia sees of Edward's true nature, and doesn't want to marry him.

When Lucy's father—Captain Graham Sterling—returns home to see his daughter for the first time, Amelia proposes to him. It is the only way to keep her promise to her deceased friend to never leave Lucy.
Graham is surprised by Amelia's proposal. He has never met her before—and now this strange woman is asking him to marry her! And it must happen soon too, because she is turning twenty-four in a couple of weeks.

Now there's a jealous, rejected fiancé, an uncle who sees his business fall apart when Amelia isn't going to marry the man he had chosen for her, and there's Graham's drunken brother who needs money to pay his debts.
When baby Lucy suddenly vanishes and a ransom note is found, they are not sure who is after the kidnapping. This incident makes Amelia, as well as Graham, think about their strengths, failures, and nightmares. Can they really trust God to deliver?

I immediately fell in love with Amelia and Graham. Both are strong characters with flaws—which they must overcome. The storyline is strong and believable. The characters are real and likable. There was never a good time to stop reading—I kept turning the pages and the ending was satisfactory. I'm looking forward to Sarah Ladd's next book!

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