Book Review: A Divided Inheritance by Deborah Swift

A Divided Inheritance by Deborah Swift
Paperback, 544 pages
Pan
October 24, 2013 (UK Release)
★★★½☆☆

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from review from publisher

“London 1609…

Elspet Leviston’s greatest ambition is to continue the success of her father Nathaniel’s lace business. But her dreams are thrown into turmoil with the arrival of her mysterious cousin Zachary Deane – who has his own designs on Leviston’s Lace.

Zachary is a dedicated swordsman with a secret past that seems to invite trouble. So Nathaniel sends him on a Grand Tour, away from the distractions of Jacobean London. Elspet believes herself to be free of her hot-headed relative but when Nathaniel dies her fortunes change dramatically. She is forced to leave her beloved home and go in search of Zachary – determined to claim back from him the inheritance that is rightfully hers.
Under the searing Spanish sun, Elspet and Zachary become locked in a battle of wills. But these are dangerous times and they are soon embroiled in the roar and sweep of something far more threatening, sending them both on an unexpected journey of discovery which finally unlocks the true meaning of family . . .”

This book took me a little longer to finish than I might have liked – It look me a lot time to get into the story. I really wasn’t into it until about two-thirds of the way through. I think what just didn’t work for me were the characters - I didn’t really like any of the characters through most of the novel. I think Elspet is supposed to be the sympathetic protagonist, but for the most part I found her wilting and boring. Zachary was more interesting – probably because he actually did something, his true nature was hidden for quite some time, and he had an intriguing personality. In the end they all evolved a little bit and I ended up liking both of them more than through most of the book. 

The setting is well done – I could feel the heat of the Spanish sun and the blacksmith shop. By comparison, England was dreary and sad. I think that maybe this mirrors the attitudes of events that occurred in the two places?

The plot was sort of a plodding pace for most of the book. Again, once the two-thirds point came around the various plotlines began coming together and it was a more cohesive story and the pages just moved by. The ending was satisfying, although not what I would have ultimately wanted.

I liked the book, but wouldn’t say that I loved it. I enjoyed The Gilded Lily MUCH more.

Author Deborah Swift has written these additional books: The Lady’s Slipper and The Gilded Lily. You can also visit Deborah Swift’s website or one of her blogs for additional information about the books.

My reviews of other books by this author:

• The Gilded Lily

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Reading the Past
• The Lit Bitch

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon UK.

You can follow along with the rest of the blog tour by visiting the HFVBT website or on Twitter with the following hashtag: #DividedInheritanceTour.

This is a re-post of the giveaway I originally posted on the In-Process Review.  The giveaway is for one paperback copy of A Divided Inheritance and it is open INTERNATIONALLY!  Make your entries through the Rafflecopter below.  Last day to enter is November 24th.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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