A Pursuit of Home

September 9, 2019
Hunter (Return of Devotion) centers the pleasing third entry in the Haven Manor series on Jess Beauchene, heir to a lost European kingdom who is living in hiding. Twenty-five-year-old Jess escaped from France to England 10 years ago in 1806, after her family—the last remaining members of the fictional kingdom of Verdonne—were captured and their home was burned down. Now Jess works as a cook at Haven Manor, an estate in the English countryside. After she receives a cryptic letter and learns that a family member might still be alive, she risks exposing herself to find the truth. Derek Thornbury, a rare artifacts expert, spends his days at Haven Manor analyzing paintings and is skeptical of Jess’s request to help her decipher clues in an old family journal. As they follow the journal’s clues, they draw closer together, but locating the lost crown of Verdonne, which will prove her family’s claim, proves harder than they expected. Faith elements are light, and though the supporting cast is used mainly to further the plot, the chemistry between Jess and Derek develops organically. Hunter nicely blends historical romance and mystery in this satisfying tale.

October 1, 2019
Jessamine Beauchene didn't mind asking people for help, but why did it have to be Derek Thornbury? Working as a cook at Haven Manor, Jess has done her best to avoid Derek, who has been hired to catalog and appraise the estate's art collection. However, she now needs Derek's help deciphering a diary that may hold the key to where one of Jess's ancestors hid something of great value. Not only does the fate of Jess' family rest on finding this treasure before anyone else, the political future of Jess' country of Verbonne lies in the balance as well, For the sake of her family and her country, Jess will simply have to find a way to work with Derek no matter how annoying he might be. RITA Award-winning Hunter concludes her Regency-set Haven Manor series, following A Return of Devotion (2019) and A Defense of Honor (2018), on a high note with a sweetly romantic tale that expertly mingles high-stakes treasure hunting and quieter moments of faith, family, and love.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)