Review: A Rumored Fortune by Joanna Davidson Politano

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About:

A lonely young heiress becomes the poorest wealthy woman in Victorian England when her father dies without telling anyone where he hid his fortune. Can Tressa and the no-nonsense estate manager find the fortune before the greedy relatives get to it first?

My Thoughts:

A Rumored Fortune is the second book I have read by author Politano and I must say that I have really been enjoying her writing style. This story is about an heiress of a hidden fortune, a castle in need of repair, workers who need to be paid, and a young woman who is in need of answers. Tressa and her mother receive some rather shocking news- that her father has died. There is sinister and superstitious circumstances surrounding his demise that reach back all the way to the previous occupants of the castle.

Tressa was a conflicted character looking for love and hope when all else seems to point to the hopeless. She is a character that held on with all she had even when confronted with unimaginable circumstances and what senseless acts her father may have committed.

Enter the new vineyard manager her father hired just before he died, and Tressa has the makings of a romantic, dark, and mysterious hero. Donegan Vance is an interesting character. I knew him to be a hero, yet he was that darkly mysterious and conflicted himself. Especially with the secrets he withheld from Tressa.

There is also a bevy of other characters in search and in want of the hidden fortune and poor Tress is not sure who to trust- if anyone.

One of the things I really liked about this book was at the beginning of each chapter we are given advice on how to take care of the grape vines from the notebook of a viticulturist (a new word for me). There were so much spiritual connotations that could be taken away from the way the vines and branches work. It was really a great word picture of the verse in John 15:5 when Jesus talks about the vine and branches.

If you are looking for a little mystery, a little romance, and a bit of gothic adventure I recommend this sophomore novel by author Politano.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.