📖 Book Review ~The House of Second Chances by Lauren Westwood

Boldwood Books
1 January 2025

If you save a crumbling mansion, will it mend a broken heart?

A month ago, Amy Wood had her perfect home, perfect boyfriend, and perfect job in London. Now she’s broken-hearted, living in her parents’ tiny bungalow, and working in an estate agents in Bath.

But Amy gets a new lease on life when she undertakes to sell Rosemont Hall, a crumbling Georgian mansion riddled with woodworm, dry rot – and secrets.

Amy searches for the perfect owner to restore the house to its former glory, but time is running out for Rosemont Hall. As Amy clashes with unscrupulous property developers and the enigmatic heir to the house, she begins to uncover pieces of the past that some people would rather remain hidden.

📖 My Review…

After a disastrous breakup with her boyfriend, Amy returns to her parents bungalow and with her self esteem at a low ebb she takes on a minor role at a local estate agent. Once there she is given the task of finding someone who would be interested in buying a seriously neglected property. With emotions running high, Amy discovers an affinity with the neglected Rosemont Hall and is determined to do her best for this crumbling estate. The house very soon becomes another character in the story and I loved watching Rosemont Hall come alive in the imagination especially as Amy encounters lots of problems and hidden secrets along the way.

The story flows beautifully, Amy is a lovely character and grows both in  confidence and self esteem as the story progresses and the author describes everything in such detail that I could well imagine the dusty rooms and the allure of the mysterious painting of the young woman whose identity is gradually revealed.

The House of Second Chances was everything I wanted in a story, a crumbling gothic mansion, a feisty heroine and a cast of characters who each bring their own dynamic to this lovely story.

Previously Published as Finding Home.

About the Author

Lauren Westwood is the US author of bestselling atmospheric historical mystery novels. Her first new book with Boldwood, The House of Light and Shadows, will be published in February 2025.

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