Heidi Reads...: Review: Road to Rosewood by Ashtyn Newbold

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Review: Road to Rosewood by Ashtyn Newbold

Heidi Reads... Road to Rosewood by Ashtyn Newbold

My rating: 4 stars / I really liked it

https://deseretbook.com/p/road-to-rosewood?ref=Grid%20%7C%20Search-1&variant_id=158545-paperback

Synopsis

Lucy Abbot longs to return to the country estate where she spent the best days of her childhood with her cousins and their charming neighbor Nicholas. Her protective parents, however, have other plans for her. When she finally dares to escape, her carriage is besieged by highwaymen with a familiar man leading them. Could this mysterious outlaw be exactly the person Lucy has been searching for?

My Review

The book begins with scenes from Lucy's childhood and she is a happy eleven year old with a fun personality. As an adult, however, she is sullen and depressed, even though she has attempted to be content in a dreary climate on the north coast. Her desperation to return to her memories of the beautiful south and her cousin's estate of Rosewood drives her to defy her parents and embark on the journey on her own. Her new feelings of independence brought light back to her heart and personality, although I didn't understand some of the rather ridiculous choices she made. The plot takes twists and turns and I didn't know what to expect next as I read. Nicholas is a bit of an enigma and there are so many secrets that are alluded to, but everyone keeps Lucy in the dark. I was as frustrated as she until the layers of mystery began to be revealed. Lucy's personality is easily flustered, somewhat contradictory, and her thoughts seem to go a million miles a minute as she loses some of her naïveté and has her eyes opened to the reality of the what has changed in Rosewood and her family. Even though I didn't quite connect with the characters, the pace of the story is swift and kept me entertained.

(I received a complimentary copy of the book; all opinions in this review are my own)