The Art of Inheriting Secrets: A Novel

They say Americans are obsessed with British culture and this book just proved it! Unable to Put it down, I thoroughly enjoyed every character, every mystery, every story on every page!

This is my kind of romance. Slow and simmering, with realistic characters and satisfying people relationships. When you select a book online, you can never tell if the bodice will start ripping at the end of the first chapter, and the so-called plot is just an excuse for steamy sex. This book was so NOT that. There were a few moments when I wanted to shake our heroine, and the dying mother really wouldn't have put her daughter through what ... you'll find out ... what she did. But these minor things can be forgiven in the interest of an enjoyable, thoroughly readable book. IMO!

I love this author and this book lives up to her fame. Each of her books is so different which is nnot usually the case with other authors. I do so wish there was a sequel to this particular book. Fathers, weddings, money - so many loose ends to follow. If you read this book you will find yourself in the world of an old brittish home and gardens, with another layer of relationships all of which are very complicated but you will love characters.

“The Art of Inheriting Secrets” by Barbara O’Neill A novel as beautiful and wonderful as its cover. Olivia Shaw has inherited a castle, as well as a formal title, upon her mother’s death. What she has also inherited was a life she knew nothing about including a castle that is in very bad shape, a history of her mother’s life that she knew nothing about, that she had a great deal to learn, relatively quickly, about the castle, her title, and life...and a man that seems to center her when she most needs it. With multifaceted characters from many countries, backgrounds, and knowledge, the reader truly falls in love with each one for different reasons. Their passions, their beliefs, and their connections to one another due to similarities and differences. It is a realistic novel, in which the author truly brings the many storylines together which are made stronger by the characters and ones which make the characters more interesting and add to to the storylines depth. Barbara O’Neill has written an enthralling novel that brings the past and the present together, unlocks many secrets and brings closure, friendship, healing, rebuilding, trust, and most of all love. Rating: 4.8 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was the story about a California woman who is around forty, has a very good life although the man in her relationship seems like a user. When her mysterious mother dies and leaves her a 37-room mansion on a 400-acre estate in England, Olivia travels there to see it, to decide what to do. Various factions pressure her, from neighbors wanting her to sell, to neighbors wanting to buy, to neighbors wanting to swindle her. The heart of the story is about the mother, and the mysteries she left her daughter to figure out. During the course of her decision-making, she falls in lust with a younger man whose family is from India, and racial sensitivities ensue (on the part of his family not wanting him with a non-Indian.) His grandmother and hers had a history that was mysteriously entwined, another series of clues to follow. He is five years younger than she, and children are not in her future, which further angers his mother. Also, Olivia needs to know what to do with the user-man she left back in San Francisco, about whom she has doubts, and the stakes are very high. So there is plenty of drama here. I will say that there is a bit too much rumination where more action could be helpful, but O'Neal could scrawl a message on the bottom of a shoe and I'd pay to read it.

I didn't want this one to end. I wanted to see Olivia & Sam live their lives & have adventures. It was a glorious book.

First the pros. As others have noted, the descriptions of Rosemere and the countryside are lovely. Absolutely mesmerizing. The writing is wonderful. Detailed descriptions of gardens, colors and food. I loved the way the author lets us see the ruined, but still-beautiful mansion. There is a mystery, or several mysteries, at the heart of the story, but they are almost secondary to Olivia's exploring her sudden inheritance and title. Now the cons. The first issue I had was the fact that everyone seems to fall for Olivia immediately. Pavi, Sam, Lord Barber, Jocasta, all immediately like her and do whatever she asks, provides what she needs no questions asked. Sure she is titled, but these people don't know her, don't know what to expect, yet right away do her bidding. Everyone thinks she is wonderful, adorable, beautiful and special. It didn't make sense to me, I would expect English villagers to be much more standoffish around the new Lady of Rosemere. This is picky, but with all the tasks and things she has to keep straight, she never writes much down. She keeps track of a few things on a white board but hardly references it. Most people would find the number of tasks overwhelming and though Olivia says she is overwhelmed, she finds time to go to luncheons and dinners, walk around somewhat aimlessly, and have wild sex. But my main criticism is about the loose ends. It's as if O'Neal did all the lovely writing, then got to the end and realized she had a plot with a whole bunch of questions still unanswered, so things are wrapped up quickly. However, we never find out who Olivia's father is or what happened to her life in San Francisco when she didn't move back, or why Sam left teaching. We never found out what the paintings and other things she found in the house were worth or even what she did with them. Too many unaswered questions.

Oh, what a wonderful story! I really enjoyed reading this book! It has everything in it. Sadness, mystery, happiness, fear, love, friendship.. the list goes on. I really did have a hard time putting it down. A woman loses her mother, and discovers after her mother’s death, that she had been keeping secrets about her past. She has to go to England to discover more about these secrets ! She learns more than she ever imagined! I look forward to reading more of this authors books!