Book Review: The Headmistress of Rosemere

Author: Sarah E. Ladd
Publication Date: December 31, 2013
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Series: Whispers on the Moors # 2

Patience Creighton will finally find the peace she lost years ago--if she can open her heart and forgive the man who loves her.

Bright, sensible Patience knows what is expected of her. At twenty-five, her opportunity for a family of her own has passed, so she finds contentment teaching at her father's school for girls. When her father dies suddenly and her brother moves away to London, she is determined to keep her father's dream alive.

Confirmed bachelor William Sterling also knows what is expected of him, but mistake after mistake has left him teetering on ruin's edge. As master of Eastmore Hall he owns a great deal of land but possesses little money to manage the upkeep. He is desperate to find a new source of income, including the sacrifice of land connected to Rosemere.

When her brother returns with a new wife to take over management of the school, Patience is heartbroken to no longer be responsible for her beloved school and is forced to reassess God's purpose for her life. After her sister-in-law's matchmaking brings Patience and William together, they both learn new truths about their character and find a common goal in restoring Eastmore's legacy.

Patience loved the school – and her young charges within its walls. It had been her home since the day she was born. But the heavy weight of seeing to all the details alone wore on her. She set her lips, angry that her brother had abandoned her. She dipped her quill in ink and pressed the tip to the paper. She would tell him just that.

The memory of that bold expression in his ice-blues eyes refused to leave her alone. Perhaps it was the lure of things unknown. Of things beyond the walls of Rosemere. Of a world – a life – she would never know or understand. Or simply the thrill of possible romance.

For today at least, she resolved to put her troubles aside and enjoy her day.

Patience smiled at her little girls, all gathered by the fire, their stocking feet poking out from the hems of their plain, white muslin gowns. The scent of lavender water from recent baths hung sweetly in the air. Their cheeks, rosy and fresh, glowed with smiles, and their eyes held the glimmer of promised secrets and shared dreams.

Sarah E. Ladd is a charming author who in the last two books has been able to climb the charts as one of my favorite authors. On the cover of this book reads the following blurb, “If you are a fan of Jane Austen and Jane Eyre, you will love Sarah E. Ladd…” I find this blurb to be incredible accurate. Her writing is very eloquent and descriptive, much like Jane Austen’s. The characters and the places she describes, like Rosemere and Winterwood, leap off the page with so much detail that it feels as if you are dances down their halls and corridors. Patience Creighton is our leading lady in this book, accompanied by William Sterling, a reckless man with a bit of a gambling problem. The two meet on a cold, winter’s night and nothing was quite the same after that!

I connected with Patience mostly because of her calling; she serves as a mentor, role model, and guidance for the girls in school at Rosemere. She values her work and her purpose, and manages to get by with all odds against her. Her father recently deceased, her mother critically mourning his death, and her brother running off for the past six months leaving the financial concerns lying at her feet. Patience is a strong character which I can appreciate mostly because of her intelligence and patience, no pun intended. She thinks situations through before she approaches them and is strong of mind and heart. She is a phenomenal heroine!

This story is full of mystery with an overarching theme of forgiveness and learning to move on and remember the lessons the past has taught you, but not to dwell on it by any means. Patience and William were obviously my favorite characters but not for the reasons you would probably expect. Yes, their relationship blossomed and the chemistry between them was obvious from the start, but I mainly loved them both because of how different they were and how well their differences seemed to work together. By the end of the book it was obvious to me that they were both meant to teach each other things!

***A copy of this book was provided to me by the publishers at Thomas Nelson in exchange for my honest review***