Review: The Maid at Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing The Maid of Fairbourne Hall Bethany House (January 1, 2012) by Julie Klassen

About the book:

Pampered Margaret Macy flees London in disguise to escape pressure to marry a dishonorable man. With no money and nowhere else to go, she takes a position as a housemaid in the home of Nathaniel Upchurch, a suitor she once rejected in hopes of winning his dashing brother. Praying no one will recognize her, Margaret fumbles through the first real work of her life. If she can last until her next birthday, she will gain an inheritance from a spinster aunt—and sweet independence. But can she remain hidden as a servant even when prying eyes visit Fairbourne Hall?

Observing both brothers as an "invisible" servant, Margaret learns she may have misjudged Nathaniel. Is it too late to rekindle his admiration? And when one of the family is nearly killed, Margaret alone discovers who was responsible. Should she come forward, even at the risk of her reputation and perhaps her life? And can she avoid an obvious trap meant to force her from hiding?

On her journey from wellborn lady to servant to uncertain future, Margaret must learn to look past appearances and find the true meaning of "serve one another in love."

My rating:

My thoughts:

Before I share what I thought about The Maid of Fairbourne Hall, I have to mention that Julie Klassen is one of my mom's favorite authors - she's read all of Julie's books and when she saw that I had this book for review - she immediately took it from me and had to read it first! And guess what? My mom loved this book from the first sentence on... literally!

While Julie Klassen is not a new author to my mom, she is to me - this is the first book I've read of hers and I don't know why. It was phenomenal! Absolutely stunning and vivid in details! If all of her other books are like this one, I've completely been missing out.

"He is reading my letters now too...."

That opening sentence had me wondering who was reading her letters? What else had this person been doing? There is so much just in that first sentence! :)

The characters in The Maid of Fairbourne Hall had such interesting stories and what happened between Margaret and Nathaniel years ago made it impossible for me not to care for these characters and what would happen in their lives.

This is shocking to me, since this book is over 400 pages long, but I read The Maid of Fairbourne Hall in less than 24 hours! I couldn't stop reading for long, and after a few pages/chapters, I was hooked. It was that good and entertaining that I found there wasn't a good place to stop and before I knew it I was done with the book! Too soon, I might add - I was not ready to say goodbye to the characters. I'm hoping for a sequel (as I normally do with books I love).

My mom and I don't always agree about books, but in this case we do. The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen is a definite winner and as you can see from the award above, this is now a favorite book of mine! I 100%, without a doubt, recommend this book - especially if you enjoy reading historical novels!! 

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via CFBA. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*