The Rose of Winslow Street

February 15, 2012

In 1879, Libby Sawyer and her father return from their summer vacation to find strangers living in their house. Widower Michael Dobrescu has come to Colden, MA, from Romania with the intention of taking over the home that was willed to his father. Libby's father, however, has no intention of handing his family homestead over to a stranger. Documents that could determine the outcome of the legal battle between the two families are missing, forcing Libby to play detective. Unconvinced that Michael and his family are the thieves, she soon finds herself unexpectedly drawn to the foreigner. VERDICT Camden's second evangelical historical romance (after The Lady of Bolton Hill) successfully combines suspenseful intrigue with a lively, unpredictable love story. Recommend this one to readers of M.L. Tyndall or T. Davis Bunn for the same genre blending. [20,000-copy first printing.]

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2012
Romanian Michael Dobrescu acted swiftly to save his sister, Mirela, and now he and his small entourage occupy the Massachusetts home willed to him years ago. Professor Sawyer, a perfectionist inventor, and his daughter, Libby, are vacationing at their summer beach house when they receive word first that gypsies have moved into their house and then that there is some doubt as to their ownership. When Libby arrives at the house to remove treasured personal possessions, she is charmed by Michael's two young sons and Mirela but enraged by Michael, a plainspoken soldier who is also a skilled perfumer and farmer. Soon, however, Libby feels compelled to help them because the town sides with the Sawyers, refusing to even sell the Dobrescus food. Camden's stand-alone inspirational historical romance addresses such social issues as prejudice, illiteracy, and the dearth of options open to women in the late nineteenth century. Camden also entrances readers with vibrantly drawn characters and intriguing plot twists to create a tenderly evocative novel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)