I picked up a copy of The American Heiress at Target one day on an impulse buy. I enjoy watching Downton Abbey, so I thought this would be an interesting read for me.
Here’s the summary from Goodreads:
Traveling abroad with her mother at the turn of the twentieth century to seek a titled husband, beautiful, vivacious Cora Cash, whose family mansion in Newport dwarfs the Vanderbilts’, suddenly finds herself Duchess of Wareham, married to Ivo, the most eligible bachelor in England. Nothing is quite as it seems, however: Ivo is withdrawn and secretive, and the English social scene is full of traps and betrayals. Money, Cora soon learns, cannot buy everything, as she must decide what is truly worth the price in her life and her marriage.
There were things I liked about in this book and things I didn’t. In all honesty, I didn’t like the main character, Cora. I have a weakness for the romance genre, and wanting the guy and girl to fall in love, but she had too many flaws and things about her that kept me from truly liking her. However, flaws are what make us human, so while I didn’t like her personally, it didn’t keep me from reading the story and continuing to hope.
As I also have a weakness for historical romance, I loved the setting and time period in this book. The drafty castle with its history in England was compared to the new amenities and comforts that Americans were used to. This is a good tale of how old meets new and can come together to be something better, though not really perfect. There’s a ring of truth in that part of the tale. I can also appreciate how difficult it would be to marry into a completely different world than you’re used to, with different customs and traps that you have to avoid.
All in all, not one of my favorites, but good.
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I'm a lover of writing and books. I graduated from South Dakota State with a master's degree in communications in 2011, the same year I was first published. I'm a wife and mom, and I work in content and digital marketing in South Dakota.
Me and my writing life 
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