My 4 feather #bookreview of A WHISPER IN THE WIND by Sonya C Dodd

A WHISPER IN THE WIND by Sonya C Dodd

BOOK BLURB:

Following the life of the Gampton family, set on a country estate in Georgian England, the novel opens with the death of a servant who begs Henry Gampton, her master, to take care of her baby daughter, Angelina. Against his wife’s wishes, Henry agrees and the child is raised alongside his own daughter, Sophia.

Unaware of Angelina’s background, the girls become like sisters as they grow up.

However, Sophia’s life is turned upside down by the death of first her mother and then her father.

Inexperienced in matters of the heart, Sophia turns to her father’s stable manager for comfort as her world is threatened by the evil intent of her uncle who wishes to ensure that the Gampton estate does not fall into his niece’s hands, nor those of the daughter of a mere servant.

Unable to trust those around her, Sophia decides to run away with Robert and face a life of poverty, yet full of love, rather than be forced into an arranged marriage.

However, her plan is thwarted when her fiancé: Charles Longford, finds Sophia about to depart with Robert in the cold early morning air. Unwilling to see his future disappear, Charles decides to take drastic action in order to stop them.

MY REVIEWW:

This is a historical romance which takes place in Georgian, England.  It’s the tale of two sisters 17 years of age: Sophia, the rebellious, outdoorsy and strong woman, and Angelina, the quiet, passive girl.  They both fall in love; unfortunately Sophia’s love is the stable manager, Robert.  After both of their parents died, Sophia must fight to stop her uncle, George, from taking over possession of Longley Hall, her and her sister’s birthright.  There is a fatal confrontation, when George’s scheme backfires.

The characters that stuck out for me were Henry Gampton and his daughter Sonya.  Both were strong-willed and trying to do what they deemed right.  The villains were Georgiana Gampton and George Gampton.  They fit their parts really well.

I thought the dialogue and setting fit the genre of a historical romance.  I did think the use of the word ‘whilst’ was overused.  Every time I came across that word, it felt like a jab with a pin.  I did enjoy some of the description of the surrounding land and the ducks around the pond.  Ducks do like to scold.

It did take me awhile to get into the story, partly because of the constant shifting of POV from one character to another in the same scene/sequence.  Also I agree with another review, that a big plot twist was missed by not adding the first part of the story as background AFTER the parents died.

When the conflict between Robert, Charles and Sonya came out at the end, I was on the edge of my chair . . . until the accidental second shot from a black powder gun.  Or, it could have been a cap and ball pistol.  The author never specified.  That brought the whole story, for me, to a screeching halt.  Authors need to research if they use guns as a prop.  In that era, there were no such things as an automatic weapon.  The gun would have had to be primed to be shot again.

Anyway, it had a good contrast of good against bad, it brought tears to my eyes and the conflict at the end did not come out the way I anticipated, so I would recommend this story.  I give it 4 feathers.