Houses of Yorkshire Series: Book 3
Publication Date: September 3, 2024
A long-held family feud reignites when two rival antiquities brokers arrive at the same house party in Regency England.
Olivia Brannon knows her goals are unconventional. As a young woman in Regency England, her best bet—according to society—is to marry well and secure a steady future for herself. But Olivia has never been interested in convention. She’d prefer to follow in her deceased father’s footsteps and journey to foreign lands in search of rare and valuable antiquities.
Eager to make a name for herself in the antiquities world, Olivia jumps at an invitation to join a wealthy widow at the famed Cloverton Hall to evaluate her private antiquities collection. Secrecy of the task is vital, and in order to conceal her efforts Olivia must pretend to be a house party guest to avoid suspicion and to explain her presence.
Lucas Avery, whose father was a rival of Olivia’s father, has also arrived at the Cloverton Hall house party, hired by the new master of Cloverton Hall—the widow’s nephew—to appraise the renowned Cloverton Hall collection. When Lucas discovers Olivia masquerading as a party guest while covertly conducting her own assessment, he’s keen to renew the family rivalry. But as their paths frequently cross, he’s unprepared for the effect the refreshingly honest—and beautiful—Olivia has on him.
Yet all is not as it seems. Both Olivia and Lucas are shocked by the astonishing discovery of counterfeit pieces, and when the unexpected occurs, everyone is a suspect . . . and Olivia and Lucas both must choose whom they will trust. Only the hidden treasure will allow Louisa and her sister to gain their freedom.
- Sweet Regency romance set in the same time period as Bridgerton
- Part of the Houses of Yorkshire series but can be read as a stand-alone novel
- Book length: 83,000 words
- Includes discussion questions for book clubs
One never knows what intrigues might be uncovered at a summer house party, and such is certainly the case in Sarah E. Ladd’s latest, The Cloverton Charade.
Olivia Brannon has been invited to the party but with the task of quietly and discreetly evaluating the private collection of artifacts belonging to the widowed estate owner, Mrs. Milton. Lucas Avery has also been invited, more in the role of a guest but also as an antiquities expert to evaluate the estate’s extensive collection left to the new estate owner, George Wainbridge. It is imperative for Mr. Wainbridge to get the highest value possible for the artifacts in order to save the luxurious estate from falling into financial ruin. However, the bereaved Mrs. Milton is seeking to hold onto every item in memory of her husband.
Former business partners, Olivia and Lucas’ fathers ended up bitter rivals, leaving their children the legacy of their family’s estrangement. When Olivia and Lucas encounter each other at Cloverton, each wonders what the other’s true purpose in attending the party might be. As each begins their evaluation of the two collections, serious inconsistencies start to surface.
During the course of normal house party activities, Olivia and Lucas find themselves drawn more and more toward each other—both professionally—and otherwise. When Olivia’s true role in attending the house party is discovered through unfortunate circumstances surrounding an item of high value, all seems lost—both professionally and in the growing attraction between her and Lucas. Forced to return home without completing her task and the additional loss of building her own reputation as an antiquities expert, Olivia discovers there’s still more afoot than what she and Lucas had already uncovered.
Olivia and Lucas work together in a formerly unlikely but now delightful alliance to develop a plan to get to the bottom of what has been happening at Cloverton. It’s risky and dangerous, but it’s necessary to salvage their professional reputations in the antiquity world in which they grew up.
The story in The Cloverton Charade steadily and skillfully unfolds beneath Sarah Ladd’s skillful hand until an unforeseen climax brings an ah-hah resolution to the mysterious happenings at Cloverton. The reader is delightfully drawn along with the characters thanks to the twists and turns dropped so smoothy throughout the story.
A charming Regency mystery with just the right amount of intrigue, romance, and danger thrown in along the way, The Cloverton Charade is delightful at every engaging level.
Sarah E. Ladd is an award-winning, bestselling author who has always loved the Regency period—the clothes, the music, the literature, and the art. A college trip to England and Scotland confirmed her interest in the time period, and she began seriously writing in 2010. Since then, she has released several novels set during the Regency era. Sarah is a graduate of Ball State University and holds degrees in public relations and marketing. She lives in Indiana with her family. Visit Sarah online at SarahLadd.com
