Recent Reads - Until the Dawn

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Until the Dawn by Elizabeth Camden - I was captivated by this novel right from the first page, as I got to know Sophie and her love for the abandoned Dierenpark estate. Sophie has had three failed engagements, and unfortunately the tour guides on the Hudson River tend to exaggerate her story as they suggest that her connection with Dierenpark may be to blame. After all, the Vandermark family that owns the estate abandoned it sixty years previous and it's believed that there is a curse attached to it. When the story opens, Sophie overhears a tour guide frightening a young boy on the tour and steps in to calm the child. She soon finds out that he is the son of Quentin Vandermark who has just returned expecting to take up residence in Dierenpark. Quentin is angry when he sees that Sophie and the estate caretakers have made themselves at home there in some ways, and Sophie fears that he will refuse to allow her to continue her work collecting data in the rooftop weather station.

The two certainly get off to a bad start, but Quentin does relent when he realizes that Sophie has a special rapport with his son. Their tenuous truce is at risk when Sophie finds out that Quentin plans to demolish Dierenpark completely. She is determined to do whatever she can to change his mind, and in the days ahead they both find respect for each other and a growing friendship and trust between them. But Quentin's grandfather is still determined that the estate should be destroyed, and as Dierenpark's past begins to be uncovered and new challenges arise, the relationship between Sophie and Quentin is greatly tested.

This is the first novel by Elizabeth Camden that I've read, but it will definitely not be the last! The story had some elements of Jane Eyre to it, but with a unique American setting. The characters were well-developed and fascinating, and it was easy to be sympathetic to their flaws and be drawn into their hopes, dreams, and fears; and cheer them on silently as I read.

From the publisher:

Fascinated by Dierenpark, an abandoned mansion high atop a windswept cliff in the Hudson River Valley, Sophie van Riijn sees no harm in setting up a rooftop weather station for her work with the newly established Weather Bureau. While the villagers are suspicious of the mysterious estate and its tragic history, Sophie has come to see it as her own enchanted piece of paradise.

The first Vandermark to return to the area in sixty years, Quentin intends to put an end to the shadowy rumors about the property that has brought nothing but trouble up on his family. Ready to tear down the mansion, he is furious to discover Sophie trespassing on his land.

Instantly at odds, Quentin and Sophie yet find common ground when she is the only one who can reach his troubled son. There's a light within Sophie that Quentin has never known, and a small spark of the hope that left him years ago begins to grow. But when the secrets of Dierenpark can no longer be kept in the past, will tragedy triumph or can their tenuous hope prevail?

Visit the Baker Publishing Group for info on where to buy.

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