Review: The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron

The Painted Castle

by Kristy Cambron

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Pages: 368

Format: eARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  It was supposed to be a one-week job: survey an art find, collect a hefty fee, and use that to settle historian Kiera Foley’s life back into balance. But from the moment she sets foot in the East Suffolk countryside, the mysteries surrounding the old English manor and the enigmatic art thief who’s employed her stir more questions than answers. Then, Kiera finds the existence of a portrait captivating enough to upend all of her expectations. This one could be a twin—a painting so close in composition to a known masterpiece, it may be rendered priceless if it truly captured the likeness of a young Queen named Victoria.

Kritters Thoughts:  Just as in the first two books in this series, there are three story lines in this book, with one present day and two different time periods.  This is book three in the series and each story is self contained, but there are characters from previous books and there are connections that I would say its best to start at the beginning, but not necessary.  

To review this specific book.  This may have been my favorite of the trilogy.  This book felt as though all three stories were connected and felt more cohesive than the other two.  Kiera is the star of the current storyline and she has returned to Ireland after some drama while she was trying to pursue her dream job.  Her dream job will come into play with the other storylines and I loved that.  

One storyline is from 1833 and follows a young woman who watches her father get shot and from there is trying to figure out what is next for her and her mother.  In 1944 England, Amelia Wood is a widow and living in a large home, she is "invaded" by the US army to take over her home as a base of sorts and interesting things happen from there.  Because I am more familiar with English history over Ireland or France, I think I could sink into these stories more and had to do less research to understand the implications of the time and place.  

I hope there are more to come in this series, I have enjoyed inhabiting these big castles and homes and learning about the history of the place in three different time periods, so interesting to see a home's function throughout the years.


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.