Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Dawn at Emberwilde


Free-spirited heroine Isabel Creston chafes under the rigid rules of Fellsworth school where she has been a student for years and hopes to become a teacher.  Thinking herself without family other than her young sister Lizzy-- for whom she is responsible-- Isabel resigns herself to a predictable life of hard work at Fellsworth.  When a dashing stranger appears at the school with an offer to reunite her with her estranged mother's family, Isabel and Lizzy find themselves swept away to an unknown world of wealth, excess, and an entirely different set of rules.  Will Isabel find a way to navigate her way through her new role and the expectations her new family places on her?  Will the dark family secrets and mysteries keep her from embracing a life of love and security she never dreamed was possible?

In Dawn at Emberwilde, Sara Ladd takes her readers on an entertaining and thought-provoking adventure.  The mysterious Emberwilde Forest and the secretive Ellison family add a depth to the novel that some of Ladd's latest efforts have lacked.  Particularly realistic is Isabel's personal struggle to balance the austere nature of her upbringing with the striking excesses of her new home.  Any parent will also empathize with Isabel's fears for Lizzy's future and questions as to which type of childhood will prove most beneficial and healthy.  The auxiliary characters were well-developed and entertaining, and the central love-story compelling and sweet.  This new work definitely ranks among Ladd's best thus far.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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