The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House book review

Set in 1901, this curous mix of gothic mystery and Edwardian innovation centers on Sydney Forrester, an orphan who desperately wants to provide for the aunt who’s cared for her all her life. When a mysterious woman shows up at Sydney’s clockwork shop with a puzzle and a request, Sydney fears this chance to help her aunt might be too good to be true. However, her aunt pushes her to try, so Sydney heads for a secluded island where the locals fear to tread—mostly because of the crew of misfits that stay on as servants at the house. Her unconventional arrival combined with suspicions that her cousins harbor against her place Sydney in the crosshairs of the law. She has to navigate her precarious situation while confronting her misbeliefs about the God she thinks abandoned her as a child and solving the mysteries surrounding her uncle’s death.

Joanna Davidson Politano beautifully interwove the gears and gadgets of late Victorian and early Edwardian ingenuity into this tale. Sydney Forrester’s genius mind thinks in the winding path of these gears, and it would open doors for her future if her world didn’t look down on a woman tinkering with such things. Everything changes when she enters Blakely House. The whole building seems to have a life of its own, tempting her deeper into its secrets, just like the previous master. With the inheritance in question, this connection might be the only thing that gives her an advantage over her cousins, but will she get so lost in it that she’s unable to find her way back into real living?

So much goes on in this fantastic tale that’s impossible to glean it all in one read. It combines mystery and tinkering with a bit of romance and adventure. The house was probably my favorite character, along with Uncle Emmett. Additionally, I enjoyed the way these very gadgets that Sydney holds dear are the very same things that begin reopening her eyes to the truth about the Lord that she abandoned as a little girl.

What is the genre for The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House?

This is definitely a historical romance, but there’s so much mystery packed in that I enjoyed it anyway. Sydney’s romantic interest—Andre—served as Uncle Emmett’s butler, but he became a friend to the older man. With everything that’s happening, that makes him suspicious of Sydney though. It takes awhile for him to reconcile what he’s heard with what he sees in her.

Was there inappropriate content in The Curious Inheritance of Blakely House?

I didn’t notice any questionable content in this read. There weren’t innuendos or foul language. In fact, it was pleasant to read such an intriguing story where the author didn’t feel the need to include such things.

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