The Secret of Pembrooke Park

The Secret of Pembrooke Park is a tough book for me to rate because while I did really enjoy it, there's something preventing me from giving it more than 3 stars.
I loved all of the mystery surrounding Pembrooke Park (and it's previous inhabitants). It's a bit predictable but there are a few twists thrown in to keep you engaged..if not solely for the plot then to see how the characters handle the revelations.
This is beautifully written with a sweet romance and a number of likable characters. That said it probably could have been a little shorter.
I'd say it's worth a read, especially if you're a fan of regency romance novels with an added dose of mystery.

Wow, great read for anyone who's ever enjoyed Northanger Abbey or Jane Eyre! Secret of Pembrooke Park has a delightful mix of Austen-like hardship, family, community, and tension, while balancing some Bronte-style mystery. It makes for an awesome combo.

Abigail Foster is a practical, sensible heroine. Although her life is far from content from being in the shadow of her beautiful sister, struggling with her father's financial worries, lack of prospects, and moving, she doesn't complain. Instead she adapts to her new surroundings, the eerie Pembrooke Park, curious to understand its mysteries and tragic history.

Along the way, she finds new friends and suitors. Especially the strong and kindhearted local curate, William Chapman. As a show more reader, I was eager to finally know the deep secrets of Pembrooke Park. However, I was even more impatient for William to confess his feelings! He was perfect. Handsome, gentle, good sense of humor. The tension was too much. I was clinging to every conversation between William and Abigail.

I have to thank the Goodreads Choice Awards for introducing me to this book and author! I have a new favorite in both areas. Highly recommended to Regency romance fans. Great way for me to start my 2016 reading. show less

My favorite new-to-me author of 2014 is, by far, Julie Klassen. I've read five or six of her books this year, and loved every one. Tonight I finished her latest, The Secret of Pembrooke Park, and it's my favorite yet! Combing the elements of romance and mystery, and placing them in my favorite historical time setting---Regency England---Klassen has written up a true treasure. Mrs. Klassen, if you're reading this, please hear my plea: write more mysteries!This book has all the elements I love in a great historical novel. An old house (in England, to boot!), a girl, a secret, a mystery...wonderful! At over 400 pages, you'd think I'd grow tired of the story after a bit. Not at all---this one kept me interested from beginning to end. Had I show more the time, I easily could have read it straight through in a day. It's one I definitely did not want to end. My only complaint---and not really so much a complaint as just a bit of a bummer---is that I had the whole thing figured out very early in. This happens to me often, though, so I just enjoy seeing how it's all going to play out! show less

One for the Keeper Shelf!!

I just recently read a quote to the effect that a good book is one that when you get to the last chapter, you read slowly because you're sorry the book is at an end. This could truly be said about the characters that Julie Klassen creates in The Secret of Pembrooke Park. I found myself easily identifying with Abigail, feeling her pain when the family loses their fortune and then moves to a mysterious manor. William Chapman, the curate, and Gilbert Scott, the architect make for strong opposing suitors. Leah is a case study with her fears and secrecy.

Speaking of secrets. I would almost contend the book is misnamed. There is not ONE, but MULTIPLE, secrets that are a part of Pembrooke Park's history. Will Abigail show more discover what they are before she and her family are run off the property or hurt or killed?

The book starts a little slow, but once the stage is set and the action commences, that slowness is easily forgiven.

A couple of quotes:
"One might open the book idly, but one never knows what treasure one might find." -William Chapman about the Bible
"Good from bad, God excels at that." -William

This is a story of fear, of rumors, of love over-protecting, and love releasing and of choosing to live by faith. This is one for the Keeper Shelf!!

I received this book from bookfun.org in exchange for an honest review. show less

Mystery, murder, treasure and romance. All of which can be found in Julie Klassen’s most recent book, The Secret of Pembrooke Park. This book will have you turning pages until the wee hours of morning.

England, 1817, Abigail Foster and her family are in the midst of a financial crisis that could ruin them forever, when an offer to let Pembrooke Park is brought before them. The house has been vacant for almost 20 years, and there is a lot of clean up needed before they can move in, but the terms seem too good to be true. This is just the opportunity the Foster’s need so they can begin to rebuild their lives. Abigail and her father travel to the village of Caldwell to begin fixing up the property. It is not long before whispers and show more rumors make it to Abigail’s ears regarding the previous inhabitants. Whispers of treasure and murder and ghosts. What happened here so many years ago? Will Abigail be able to uncover the truth? Clues are found and mysterious letters are sent to Abigail from what appears to be someone who lived at Pembrooke Park. Does the miniature doll’s house hold the key to where the treasure was hidden? Abigail befriends the previous steward’s daughter, Leah Chapman, who has her own mysteries of the past that she is concealing. William Chapman, Leah’s sister and the local pastor, seems to become interested in Abigail, but will Miss Foster’s sister, Louisa sweep him off his feet as she does to every man she meets? And Mr. Chapman is not the only man that has taken an interest in Abigail. Truth, faith and love are the primary factors guiding our players. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt.”

I have not enjoyed a book so much as I enjoyed reading The Secret of Pembrooke Park. I stayed up late many a night reading when I should have been sleeping. Most definitely a page turner if I ever read one. I cannot praise Mrs. Klassen enough for her fine works. The historical accuracy, the depth, the feeling. Creative liberties are used in regards to classes intermingling, but that’s what makes her books so intriguing. The suspense and mystery was mild (compared to the thrillers my husband reads), but it was enough to make my head turn at the sounds of my own house creaking in the night. I am looking forward to her next release. I told my husband that I want the rest of Julie Klassen’s books for Christmas this year!

As a part of their blogger review program, I received a free copy of The Secret of Pembrooke Park from Bethany House Publishers. All opinions expressed are mine alone. show less

The Secret of Pembrooke Park
Julie Klassen

Book Summary: Abigail Foster is the practical daughter. She fears she will end up a spinster, especially as she has little dowry, and the one man she thought might marry her seems to have fallen for her younger, prettier sister. Facing financial ruin, Abigail and her father search for more affordable lodgings, until a strange solicitor arrives with an astounding offer: the use of a distant manor house abandoned for eighteen years. The Fosters journey to imposing Pembrooke Park and are startled to find it entombed as it was abruptly left: tea cups encrusted with dry tea, moth-eaten clothes in wardrobes, a doll's house left mid-play… The handsome local curate welcomes them, but though he and his show more family seem acquainted with the manor's past, the only information they offer is a stern warning: Beware trespassers drawn by rumors that Pembrooke Park contains a secret room filled with treasure. This catches Abigail's attention. Hoping to restore her family's finances--and her dowry--Abigail looks for this supposed treasure. But eerie sounds at night and footprints in the dust reveal she isn't the only one secretly searching the house. Then Abigail begins receiving anonymous letters, containing clues about the hidden room and startling discoveries about the past. As old friends and new foes come calling at Pembrooke Park, secrets come to light. Will Abigail find the treasure and love she seeks...or very real danger?

Review: This was a long book to read and yet I could not put it down. I read it until 1 AM and than finished is quickly in the next day. I loved all the characters. Even the one who was causing the mayhem was great. I do not like to give away secrets but the were many twists and turns that I was waiting for them at the edge of my seat for them to be revealed. I loved Abigail mostly because her growth and wisdom were sincerely well written and believable all in one. No matter what I would want Abigail to be my friend. She was kind and forgiving. The secret room was the hook that held me until the end. Sometimes I just wanted to climb in the story and search every room till I found it. Who cares about a treasure of goods, a secret room is worth it weight in gold alone. Secret passages too, although this story did not have secret passages. The men in Abigail’s life were great. All of them. They ebbed and grew in many ways that provided a dynamic storyline and kept me going while the mystery stewed in the background. The time flew and the story was well written. I will definitely read this story again someday.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy and I was never asked to write a favorable review by anyone. show less

This was a beautiful novel set in the Regency era in England. The setting was beautiful and I loved the characters and plots. This was a very suspenseful novel with several secrets of Pembrooke Park, all of which surprised me. It kept me turning the pages and enjoying every chapter.

I loved the characters. The romance was beautiful, but the mystery…oh my! It was fantastic. I loved William, the curate (or vicar) and his messages from the altar. Such wonderful words of God’s love and mercy and forgiveness. This was just a beautiful novel. It was long…456 pages, but I never got bored. I’ll read more by Julie Klassen now!