By D. E. Stevenson

‘Who said I was going to be married?’ cried Julia in alarm. ‘Nobody. Nobody at all,’ he replied, with a little chuckle. ‘But there’s always a chance that some misguided man might take a fancy to you.’ Julia laughed

This is gentle story of a girl who finds her independence by escaping from her controlling fiancé and cold uncaring father. Along the way, she meets and falls in like, then love with a nice, interesting guy who’s crazy about her, moves away from home to a boarding house, meets new friends, gets a job, makes a bit of money in the stock market, finds a long lost uncle, gains a possible new love interest, helps save her uncle’s life, and becomes an heiress.

I couldn’t have asked for more in her final confrontation with her jerk-wad of a fiancé. I did wish that there had been more closure with her equally awful father, but the fact that she just moves on is probably more realistic. As with The House on the Cliff, I felt sorry for the sad fate of our heroine’s mother. So far D.E. Stevenson’s novels have been happy but tinged with a bit of melancholy lurking in the background. That’s not a bad thing.**4 stars out of 5**

March 23, 2019

By D. E. Stevenson

The House on the Cliff Is a simple sweet story of how a girl out of place finds her place. Young Elfrida has been drained by being in the wrong profession, infatuated with the wrong man, and by the death of her beloved mother. When she inherits a lonely house on the Devonshire seaside, she recovers her spirit and her health and finds the right man for her.

What makes it compelling and charming is its sense of place and time, and the deft characterizations including the growth of our shy heroine. She is challenged by a greedy relative, gentile poverty, and the re-emergence of the heartthrob she had a crush on in London. This guy turns out to be a real piece of work and is one of the most interesting if hiss-worthy characters in the book. What rescues it from a run of the mill light romance is an overlay of the sadness of lost opportunity and the fate of an emotionally abused and ill-treated young boy. The happy ending has few remaining wisps that could have been incorporated into a sequel. I would have loved to read about young Patrick 10 or 12 years down the road.**3 1/2 stars out of 5**

March 16, 2019