Loved it!

Carved in Stone by Elizabeth Camden is the first book in a new series about the Blackstone family, a very rich but very complicated family haunted by scandal. Gwen is an heiress and widow, she lives her live quite happy in a house near the college the Blackstones founded, and she loves botany and holding weekly informal gatherings with the professors, which makes her a bit of an outcast in the family, as she is quite modern. However, her life gets shaken up quite a bit when the supposed abducter of her baby brother wants to publish a memoir about the scandals of the Blackstone family, and about her brother. She was born after he disappeared, and this book might just give a clue what happened to him, but a handsome lawyer stands in her way… or maybe not.

Patrick almost took vows into priesthood, but found God’s calling by helping those in need with legal councelling. He is quite poor as his clients often pay in eggs and favors. But when he meets Gwen, he falls head over heels and decided to help her where he can, and that feeling is mutual, but will their life styles match even slightly or is this relationship doomed from the beginning?

I always love the level of authenticity Elizabeth Camden has in her novel. Never before did I wonder how international business deals were done in this era or how publishing worked, but Elizabeth just throws it in and makes it entertaining, she sneaks in some information and I love it! Ok, this is probably not the best way to start a review, but I honestly like how offhandedly new information is brought up, you get really emerged in the story! Not only that, the characters are outstanding, each with their own personality and dreams and fears, and I love how realistic they feel too. And the plot kept me guessing, and the mystery of the abduction that happened long ago made me want to read on, as more unfolded. Gwen and Patrick fit perfectly together, but their problems about their background were very founded and real. Especially when Patrick is confronted with her family, everything gets very intense. I loved all the interesting characters in the Blackstone family, especially grandpa. I hope we get to see more of him in the next novel as he’s quite a character. The contrast between rich and poor was done very well, too. And I can’t even talk about the best part as that would be a huge spoiler!

I think this is a very original story, and I loved everything about it, and just wanted to keep on reading!

I received a free e-arc thanks to the publisher, but it hasn’t influenced my opinions.