Procure Havencross Picturized By Julie Daines Copy

its not my favorite genre, I enjoy a historical romance from time to time, But I like them to be clean, and I like the characters to have both internal and external obstacles to overcome.
This book delivered on all fronts, with mystery, some past trauma, and runins with ruthless smugglers, A very enjoyable read with great characters and a great plot, Elaine has been carrying the weight of her brother's disappearance for years and she hopes the recent disgrace of her father will not ruin her chances of a secure future.
Quickly she learns that the past can threaten the present,

This is set at a time when every level of society had ties to smuggling and keeping that work secret meant anything could happen.
Elaine's entry into this environment as someone who didn't have a part to this business was believable, She was a rather difficult character to like at first, but she does progress through the story,

Gareth was even harder to enjoy, so the romance aspect of the story suffers, The mystery was rather predictable, making the suspense what I took from the story,

There was also hints of supernatural with the hinted appearance of a ghost to lead Elaine to what she needs to find.


Overall, it is an interesting novel and one I would recommend to readers who like suspense in their historical fiction.


I received a copy from NetGalley for reviewing purposes, What I love about Julie Daines' books is that the mystery often takes center stage, and the romance perfectly complements the action and intrigue.
LOVED the setting, loved Gareth, and it was so interesting learning all about smuggling, I always enjoy this author's books and this one wasn't any different, I was expecting a nice, sweet Regency romance but got a great mystery/suspense as well, The mystery was gentle swirling in and out of the pages throughout the book, but the suspense isn't always present, which made it quite shocking and a fun surprise.


Elaine is a fun character because she's so brave and forthcoming for her time, She's resilient and strong, which makes her a perfect complement to both Gareth, a childhood friend, Gareth is more simple than the recent London citizen Elaine and feels a strong tie and connection to his Cornish roots.


The setting and plot are very engaging and I could picture the caves and cliffs quite well.
The twists and surprises left me almost reeling at times, but don't get me wrongI loved that! I was completely hooked from the first page until the last because this one is packed with danger, romance, friendship, and loyalties and it's one that Regency lovers won't want to miss.


Content: mild violence death, fighting, killing mild romance sweet,

I received a copy through the publisher, which had no affect on my opinion, All thoughts are my own, There are some hard lessons learned in this book! I think I could also learn a thing or two from it!

This story kept me on my toes and had me finishing it without making dinner! There is action, adventure and second chances where the heart is concerned! Elaine Cardinham and her brother grew up in Cornwall until Elaine rejected their neighbor Gareth Kemp's, proposal of marriage, and her brother disappeared.
Then she and her parents moved to London,

Fast forwardyears and the family's suddenly moving back to their Cornwall home, Havencross, to hide from the disgrace a scandal involving Mr.
Cardinham is bringing to the family, Elaine never thought she'd return to Havencross, and if she did it would be with a husband just visiting her family.


Elaine feels as if the happy life she envisioned for herself has been snatched away by her father's indiscretion.
No one will want to marry her now, Her parents don't speak to each other, her father locks himself away in his library, which leaves Elaine playing companion to her mother.
She relieves her stress by visiting childhood haunts where she, her brother, and Gareth played together,

I really liked the two main characters, Elaine was strong and brave, which was different for the women of her time, when they were expected to play piano, embroider, and other frivolous pursuits.
Gareth was also a strong person, but kind, He took care of his recently widowed mother, and worked hard, He was perfect for Elaine, but could she see that, and if so, how long would it take her

The author does a wonderful job describing the scenes and it was easy to envision it in my head as I read.
This isn't just a love story, there are smugglers and possible ghosts from King Arthur's time, This is only my second book by Julie Daines and I've loved both of them, so it certainly won't be my last.
Really enjoyed this one! posting on the blog this week, This is a straight upstar story, if there was such thing asstars! Julie Daines is an absolute master, and I was sucked hook line and sinker into this Cornish tale of murder, smuggling, legends, scandal, mystery amp lost love.
Cornwall is such a beautiful county, with such rich history it's one of my favourite places, I first went to Tintagel, Jamaica Inn amp Bodmin Moor as a teenager, and I totally fell in love.


Imagine Poldark, Regency amp the legends of Merlin amp Camelot all rolled into one, and you have Havencross.
Many attempt to write this era, and most do a fantastic job, This one however was the cream of the crop, There was zero predictability in the plot, I was constantly being surprised and I had no idea who would live or die!

Julie deserves a lot more national attention as a writer of this genre, with her classical style of story telling.
This is my top pick for historical fiction for, Absolutely stunning read that you will not put down, and curse the mundane life around you that gets in the way!

Thank you to Covenant amp Netgalley for the eARC.
This is my honest review, Quick recap: Elaine Cardinham's family must leave London after a scandal and retreat back to the country, Cornwall is full of memories that she never wishes to revisit, Of course, Gareth Kemp, her childhood friend, still lives there and has moved up in society, She is torn between her feelings for a rich Earl or a gentleman miner, Plenty of smugglers, adventure and romance abound,

My thoughts: Julie Daines is a new to me author, I always love the Regency era and this book didn't disappoint, It had a touch of the speculative to it, but overall it flowed well, Characters had depth and were lovable, I felt like the plot moved along at a great pace, although, it was definitely predictable, Definitely check it out! The link is in the pic above,

Thanks for this book in exchange for my thoughts! As always, this is my honest review! Here's to many more!!.
stars. Liked the mystery but needed more connection with characters, I absolutely loved this book! The writing was incredible with the setting so real, I felt like I'd been pulled back in time to Cornwall, England.
The main character, Elaine has essentially been banished from London society because of a scandal with her father.
I found it interesting how each person dealt with their new place in Cornwall after being gone for

so long.
I loved how Elaine connected with her surroundings, while at the same time wishing herself back in London.
The developing romance with Gareth was welldone surrounded by several different mystery aspects, I love a great mystery and even though this novel is a regency romance, the mystery intertwined in the story is strong enough to delight mystery readers as well.

And of course, who wouldn't love the references to King Arthur of old as Elaine walked through the ruins of what might have been his castle.
The little hint of magic around King Arthur and Gwenevere added another layer to the story that kept me reading.
I look forward to reading more by Julie Daines,/stars. I am beginning to love regencies more than almost any other genre, in part because society was so vastly different then than it is now.
Women for the most part has no real role other than securing the best marriage match that will grow their own fortunes.
It was all about society, propriety and wealth and the higher you climbed the more that was expected of you.
Women for the most part were considered property unless their dowry allowed a marriage that would generously benefit all parties.


Take the traditional regency romances, we've all come to love like that of Pride and Prejudice, Downton Abbey or others and place it along a rich coastline filled with its own legends and stories, castles and myths like King Arthur and Camelot and the greatest love between Arthur and Gwenevere and you have the basics for the novel Havencross by Julie Daines.
For the Cardinham family they had the title and prestige and up until their son John died, all was well.
They had left for London in hopes of leaving that part of their past behind, their family home of Havencross in the small country village of Cornwall.
But amid rumors of her father's soiled reputation they were forces to head home, It seems her father was seen having an affair with another woman and much to the families dismay, everything that they had hoped for was now in ruins.
Even the match Elaine had secured with Lord Chiverton seemed lost as well,

She had left behind all her childhood memories, those she shared exploring the cliffs and caves, once rumored to house magical mysteries of Merlin and Camelot.
Even those old castle ruins spurned many of their own legends and the childhood love she once had for Gareth Kemp were best kept in the past.
She needed to figure out how she was going to find a future and with Gareth being less the above poverty, still working in the tin mines.
So once more she wished upon the hand of Merlin's to find a way out of her mess.
She wasn't expecting to find a wounded woman in one of the caves in need of medical attention, but the only help closest to her was the Kemp's and she would have to try and convince Gareth to help even if he refused to believe her childhood stories.


I received Havencross by Julie Daines compliments of Covenant Communications, There is something amazing about this novel, Perhaps because it contains tidbits of everything we love, Regency fans will love everything about this book and even fantasy fans will love the connection with King Arthur along with some mysterious smuggling that seems to be happening right in their own backyards, but for now, those remain a secondary concern.
With Gareth's hard work, he is no longer a nobody and is in position to marry above his previous social standings and unfortunately the only woman he has loved is finding herself in her own possible marriage proposal from a man she had thought forgotten about.
Mystery, adventure, romance and even a bit of magic will find its way into a reader's heart by the conclusion of Havencross and now Julie Daines will be a watch author for me, one that will go on my must have list.
This one easily garners aout ofin this readers opinion, I wanted to love it, but I didn't, I felt like I never really connected to the characters or the story really, It was just ok for me, A fun read and exciting adventure! Fairly enjoyable read, Grade B. I love this author's writing style, so I was so excited to read her new book! And it did not disappoint.
I felt transported to the setting and loved the rich historical details and descriptions of the landscape, Elaine and Gareth are easy to like, and I loved how their relationship developed as they grew close again.
The danger and tension of the plot kept the pace moving steadily along and I felt like there was a good balance between the various aspects of the story.
This is definitely a book I plan to read again and highly recommend!

I received a complimentary copy of the book all opinions in this review are my own Author Julie Daines has a fabulous, excellent, exciting, fun, new, and unexpectedly thrilling story that readers will not want to miss!! A delightful sweet regency romance adding a wellrounded twist of mystery and suspense, a fun surprise for this genre, that readers will absolutely love!! Relationship development between characters, as well as the wellwritten plot will capture the attention of readers from page one and they will not want to put down this thrilling novel! This is a book that readers are not going to want to miss!!

Genre: historical, regency, romance, mystery, suspense, Christian
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Publication date: August,
Number of pages:

A review copy of the book provided by Covenant Communications.
A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own, .