The Lost Castle opens with Ellie Carver in the Loire Valley of France searching for answers. Throughout the novel, the chapters change time periods ranging from the French Revolution in the late 18th century to World War II to current day, primarily with the Loire Valley as the setting. All three time periods are separate stories tied together through a now crumbling castle.
The 18th c. character, Aveline Saint-Moreau is slated to become the wife of Philippe and mistress of several estates. However, she secretly wishes she could escape the life she is expected to live. With a soft heart, she can't ignore the revolution in her beloved France and feels for its people, torn between them and her very life.
Ellie's grandmother, Viola, finds herself in the very same area during WWII as a fugitive. Her time there changes her life. As Alzheimer's strips her of who she is, she is able to share with Ellie of her experiences, driving Ellie to a quest of her own.
This is my first Kristy Cambron novel and I enjoyed it, particularly the 18th c portion because of my love of 18th c. history, but I found I needed to devote a bit more attention to the reading than many other authors. The language stumbled me a bit. It isn't that I am an ignorant person, but I have students who tend to use flowery language to impress and I felt that way at times when reading The Lost Castle. I also had some difficulty with background knowledge. Cambron does a nice job with filling the reader in on important history but I would have liked to have more in by toolkit. While the story does switch regularly between time periods, Cambron does a nice job of helping the reader understand which storyline she is in.
Initially, I chose this book simply for its setting, the Loire Valley. It will forever be one of the favorite places my family has ever visited. Thank you, Kristy Cambron, for selecting this setting for your first installment in your split-time romance series. This book also comes with discussion questions for personal reflection or book club use.
I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review and am in no way obligated to write a positive one.
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