Adventures in Reading: The Daughter of Highland Hall

65 days until season 5 of Downton Abbey starts in the USA!! Yay! I've been careful not to see any spoilers, but I just love that time period and show so much that I'm a sucker for anything related to it. So when I saw that Carrie Turansky's new book The Daughter of Highland Hall takes place in the same time period in England, I knew that I would enjoy it! 

Katherine Ramsey doesn't see what all the fuss is about - a simple curtsy in front of the Queen - how hard can it be? Since she has turned 18, Katherine travels to London for her 'coming out' into society and hopefully find her future husband. Her Aunt Louisa insists she must secure a proposal from a wealthy young man to save her family's estate. When a scandal seemingly crushes Katherine’s hopes for the society season, she uses her time time to volunteer with Jonathan Foster, caring for children in one of London’s poorest areas. As she serves with the handsome medical student, a romance blossoms. Katherine’s faith grows and she begins to question her aunt's plan as she can now envision a different future with Jonathan helping in the poor East End of London. When wealthy suitor reappears, Katherine must make a choice...

Having not read the first book in the Edwardian Brides series, The Governess of Highland Hall, I was worried that I would feel a bit lost when I picked up this book (that has happened other times when I read book 2 before book 1 in a series), but I found Turansky's story telling to be excellent. This story definitely can stand alone. I enjoyed the story, characters, and the historical aspect of this story but what I most enjoyed was the spiritual aspects. At one point, Kate realizes that she has spent most of her time focused on herself and the task of finding a husband before the end of the season. She then grows to understand that these things are not the most important things in life. She changes her focus from herself to Christ and helping others. I will be going back to read the first book and looking forward to the next in the series.