In 1929, a spark forms between talented watercolorist Eliza and William, a charming young man who has been hired to forge her popular paintings. Her aunt makes it clear Eliza should stay away from him because of a feud between their families over missing heirloom silver. But the source of the rivalry was long ago, and as the two get to know each other, they fall in love. William regrets the job that desperation led him to take and their families' ongoing bitterness, but setting things right comes at a cost.

In present-day Charleston, Lucy Legare has just inherited an old house from a mysterious benefactor, along with all the secrets it holds, including an old silver heirloom. Declan Pinckney is determined to buy the house for his family's development company. But as Lucy uncovers secrets about the house, garden, and silver, she becomes more determined than ever to preserve the historic Charleston property, not only for history's sake but also for her own.

My Review:

Okay, despite the fact that I preordered this one literally as soon as I closed the cover on the first one in the series, it took me until just now to finally read it. Those impossible TBR piles! I’m glad I finally got the chance to dig into it though. I wish I remembered more of the side details from the first book as there were certainly connections between the two, however I think someone could also easily read this one as a standalone. The author doesn’t reintroduce the previous cast of characters, but seemed to pick up where she left behind assuming the reader is already aware. I think this piece of the story is key as to the level of depth the reader is able to take away from the read, however the plot itself could be handled without the prior knowledge.

I liked that the story had me guessing, and that I truly wasn’t able to put all the pieces together until the author was ready for all to be revealed. I also thought the Romeo & Juliet-like relationships that kept the flames burning on the family drama over the generations played another interesting role in how events unfolded and characters’ intentions were uncovered. The emotions were high, and tension was palpable. The story had many layers to it, both in the historical and contemporary timelines, and that kept both the pages turning and my brain spinning.

I really enjoyed this one and can’t wait to dig into the next one in the series which happens to be next up for me. Ashley Clark is very quickly becoming a must-read author for me!

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