I don’t read romance very often. Nothing against the genre, but my To-Be-Read pile of mysteries is huge, so I rarely get a chance to venture into other genres. However, when Susan Karsten told me about her book, I decided to try something different and put this atop the mountainous pile of books and I’m glad I did.
In the 1800’s the outlook for women wasn’t great. Women were expected to marry and produce babies, whether they wanted to or not. In fact, the woman’s wishes in the matter had very little to do with it. Rosanna Cabot is fortunate. She’s in her early twenties and although orphaned, she was raised by a caring uncle and her family provided for her future. Not interested in an arranged marriage, Rosanna convinces her uncle to allow her to buy an estate outside of London, a refuge from the “marriage mart.” That’s how Rosanna ends up the owner of Honor’s Point, the hereditary estate of Lord Winstead, which he had to sell to cover the gambling losses incurred by his father. However, Rosanna isn’t just looking for a refuge for herself. She hopes to make Honor’s Point a refuge for other young women who find themselves in similar positions, forced into unwanted marriages.
It isn’t long after she and her lady’s maid, Barton, arrive at Honor’s Point that Rosanna realizes that having a refuge is one thing. Getting the word out to the women in need of a safe haven, is a completely different matter. Providence intervenes when a friend, Elspeth Mordant, writes notifying Rosanna that she is fleeing the exact same situation and invites herself to Rosanna’s home. In the hopes of keeping her location concealed, the ladies decide to shorten Elspeth’s name to Ellie Moore. Things move along swimmingly. The neighbors are all pleasant, especially the handsome and somewhat secretive, Lord Winstead. There’s the helpful, Lady Brook, and the pleasant parish vicar, Mr. Clough. There’s also the extremely attractive, Lord Halburt who is diverting, but relentless in his quest to satisfy his curiosity about the secret treasure of Honor’s Point. Is there a secret treasure at Honor’s Point? Could pursuit of the secret ruin Rosanna’s life and any chance she could have of a happy ending?
A Refuge for Rosanna has likable characters and a satisfying end with just enough twists and turns throughout to keep things interesting and the reader flipping pages. The novel manages to bring attention to a serious topic regarding the historic plight of women’s rights without distracting from the romantic plot line. If you like sweet historic romance with a Christian theme, you should give this story a try.