Aurora is sure that she and Reid will be married soon, but life has other plans. And by life, I mean Julia, Reid's evil mother. His father's illness and Reid's own misguided sense of duty pull them further apart, but if not for Julia's interference, all other factors would have been insignificant.

Instead, Aurora ends up far from home and everything familiar, struggling just to survive. Yet she finds unexpected allies in her new life. When life takes yet another tragic turn, the story could easily have gotten ridiculously depressing. Instead, it leads to a happy resolution. (It's a romance, so I'm not giving away anything there.) I got a little irritated at Reid's indecision and desire to please everyone else, but I did think it was sweet that he didn't give up on Aurora or blame her for anything that happened. Had he turned into a self-righteous jerk, it really would have ruined the book for me. One villain is enough for any book.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

To Take Her Pride by Anne Brear is a fabulous story set in Yorkshire in 1898 that is full of drama, mystery, intense suspense and romance.

Aurora Pettigrew has grown up in a happy, loving family of means. She grew up with their neighbors, the Sinclair’s sons as her best friends. In the last couple of years her relationship with the eldest son, Reid, has developed into much more than friendship. Or at least that’s what she believes. Lately he is away more than he is home and she is no longer as sure of their relationship. Then there is Reid’s mother, Julia, who takes every opportunity to tell Aurora that she and her family are not good enough for the Sinclairs. The Sinclairs are old money and Julia considers the Pettigrews to be new money which makes them unsuitable to be in the same circles. When Julia begins to suspect that there is a romance budding between Reid and Aurora she takes drastic measures and hires a detective to dig up family secrets. What she finds turns Aurora’s life upside down. Aurora, who has always lived in comfort, goes in search of a relative she never knew about and must survive in a completely different world of poverty that she has never known.

I VERY highly recommend this book! I cannot tell you how much I loved this book! It’s beautifully written with such compelling characters. I read this one in one day and practically in one sitting because I could not put it down. I was completely hooked from the start and adored every minute of the story. It’s full of mystery and suspense that had me on the edge of my seat. I laughed and I cried and when it was over I wanted more. I read a lot of books, and if I’m totally honest, many of them are a little predictable, but I didn’t find that at all with this one. There were so many twists and surprises that I never knew what was going to happen next. It’s an emotional roller coaster and even heart-wrenching at times, but I so loved the characters that I couldn’t stop turning the pages until the very end. This is the first book I have read by Anne Brear but I am certainly a big fan now and can’t wait to read more of her work. ( )