Book Review- The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen

Photo from BethanyHouse.com

Mariah Aubrey has been exiled by her family to an abandoned gatehouse on the estate of her distant relative. She has to learn to support herself and her loyal servant, Dixon, who has accompanied her to the gatehouse. She does so by writing novels under an assumed name.
Soon after the arrival of Miss Aubrey and Dixon to the gatehouse, Captain Matthew Bryant leases the estate. Will love be in the cards for Captain Bryant and Miss Aubrey, or will her past come back to haunt her?

Julie Klassen's The Girl in the Gatehouse has everything I love in a good historical romance. It has a great cast of characters that I found myself quite fond of from the very beginning including Captain Bryant and Mariah Aubrey. I love that the minor story lines are also quite interesting and in many ways responsible for me not wanting to put the book down. The main storyline is of course the most important part of a novel, but having good secondary stories is a huge draw as well. The Girl in the Gatehouse is also full of suspense, which I find refreshing in a historical romance, which can tend to be quite predictable, albeit endearing. It was a good change of pace.

It is evident that Klassen is a huge Jane Austen fan, even with some nods throughout the novel to the late author, but not in a way that it feels like she is ripping Austen off in anyway. I feel like Klassen is one of the best authors of historical romance currently writing in the genre and The Girl in the Gatehouse is no exception.

I was hooked from the very beginning and found myself reaching for the book at every possible moment. I found myself wondering if Mariah and Captain Bryant would ever get it figured out? Will Dixon would finally find love? Who is Captain Prince? What happened to get Mariah exiled from her family? Will she be found out as an authoress when she wishes to remain anonymous? A story full of great questions, which were all brought to a great conclusion, The Girl in the Gatehouse is a wonderful read for Historical Romance fan or  anybody who just likes a good love story. Another great novel from Klassen.

*Disclosure- I was provided a copy of The Girl in the Gatehouse for review from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing. All opinions are 100% my own