Ellie Carver arrives at her grandmother’s bedside expecting to find her silently slipping away. Instead, the beloved woman begins speaking. Of a secret past and castle ruins forgotten by time. Of a hidden chapel that served as a rendezvous for the French Resistance in World War II. Of lost love and deep regret . . .
Each piece that unlocks the story seems to unlock part of Ellie too—where she came from and who she is becoming. But her grandmother is quickly disappearing into the shadows of Alzheimer’s and Ellie must act fast if she wants to uncover the truth of her family’s history. Drawn by the mystery surrounding The Sleeping Beauty—a castle so named for Charles Perrault’s beloved fairy tale—Ellie embarks on a journey to France’s Loire Valley in hopes that she can unearth its secrets before time silences them forever.
Bridging the past to the present in three time periods—the French Revolution, World War II, and present day—The Lost Castle is a story of loves won and lost, of battles waged in the hearts of men, and of an enchanted castle that stood witness to it all, inspiring a legacy of faith through the generations.
The Lost Castle was an interesting novel with a truly unique unfolding in its storytelling. The novel covers three different time periods and alternates between the three. The first is present day as Ellie Carver travels to rural France to discover the man her grandmother first loved. The second perspective is during WW2 in the same area of France where Violet (Ellie's grandmother) finds herself helping the French Resistance from the ruins of an old castle. The final intertwined perspective is during the French Revolution where the first love story plays out in the same castle. At first I had trouble connecting to all the storylines as the book kept jumping from one story to another. However, as the stories played out, I was caught up in the dangers of the two past time periods and their connections to one another. I fell in love with the area described and was drawn into the emotions of each period. I was brought to tears by Vi's story as Ellie discovered the truth of her grandmother's past, and I rejoiced with members of the original story of the castle. Once I got past the initial confusion in the plot, I highly enjoyed this novel and the interconnections between the castle's rich history. I would highly recommend this novel.
I received this novel from Thomas Nelson through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All words and thoughts are my own.
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