Book Review: Love on a Dime by Cara Lynn James

Lilly Westbrook has been brought up as a genteel young lady. The daughter of a banker, she is destined to marry well and preform her duties as a wife and a member of good society. And all outward appearance show her to be such a young lady: courted by a rich young man, soon to be engaged and involved in  worthy charity work.

But Lilly's calm life hits troubled waters when a local gossip paper threatens to unveil her biggest secret. Lilly has been writing dime novels under a false name and it seems the editor of the newspaper has found her out! Grossly looked down upon by her peers and family, if anyone finds out about her hidden work, both she and her family will be put to shame. To make matters worse, Jackson Grail, an old love, has bought the publishing house that publishes her books. How can she keep her secret from her family, her new love and her old love?

I enjoyed reading this story, although I will admit that the main characters struggle seems a little too drawn out. She is presented with many opportunities for help and I found myself getting annoyed with her stubbornness (although maybe that was the point).  I found the Christian viewpoint of the guilded age interesting, and I liked watching especially her mother grow in her struggle of what people think about her. I wouldn't exactly call it a page turner, but it was a pretty good read.  I'll probably read it again sometime down the road :-)

Thanks to Thomas Nelson, the publisher, for a free copy of this book to review.