I received this title as an ARC on Net-galley in exchange for a honest review. Thank you Covenant Communications for the copy!

The Good
I liked the tone of this book. It gave slow and romantic vibes. I liked the early conversations between Anna and William as they began to connect. I also liked how much love Anna had for those in her charge.

The Bad
I understood Anna but sometimes her doormat personality exhausted me. While I know because of her position there is so much she can do, she does nothing and never stands up for herself most of the book. She accepts every mistreatment and I suppose her willingness to do so is her "kind spirit" but it made me roll my eyes. The middle of the book also drags on with a lot of repetition of events. Anna is forced to go to events and is mistreated. Lucy doesn't behave right in some fashion. Her and William interact. Repeat. I also feel as though it did not have a satisfactory ending. Her relationship with her cousins could have been concluded better. The resolution felt hollow and she was still marrying a racist who did not develop at all. None of the characters we saw consistently in the beginning changed much after her "big" moment. There needed to be more conversations with the characters we saw at the first 60% of the book whose change would be more meaningful in a conversation with Anna than just off-page assumed improvement.

Format:
Ebook — Netgalley

The Rating
I give this book a 1/5