Description: A thirteenth century castle, Chateau de Doux Reves, has been forgotten for generations, left to ruin in a storybook forest nestled deep in France's picturesque Loire Valley. It survived a sacking in the French Revolution, was brought back to life and fashioned into a storybook chateau in the Gilded Age, and was eventually felled and deserted after a disastrous fire in the 1930s.
As Ellie Carver sits by her grandmother's bedside, she hears stories of a castle . . . of lost love and a hidden chapel that played host to a secret fight in the World War II French resistance. But her grandmother is quickly slipping into the locked-down world of Alzheimer's, and Ellie must act fast if she wants to uncover the truth of her family's history.
Sparked by the discovery of a long forgotten family heirloom, Ellie embarks on a journey to French wine country to uncover the mystery surrounding The Sleeping Beauty--the castle so named for Charles Perrault's beloved fairy tale--and unearth its secrets before they're finally silenced by time.
Set in three different 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, and an enchanted castle that inspired the epic fairy tales time left behind.
My Thoughts: In all honesty, I had not anticipated that I would enjoy this novel once I realized that it followed three different timelines. It is a method of storytelling which I have never been a fan of, since I always love one story line more than the others. As such, the one beloved story line makes it difficult to even care about the others, instead skipping over those. However, in The Lost Castle, I was surprised to find myself really enjoying two of the stories, those of Avaline and Ellie.
Perhaps the strangest part about my love of those two story lines is that they took place in time periods which I am also not a fan of, that being the French Revolution and modern day. However, Avaline's story is different from so many others in the French Revolution. Though the events of those years still affected her in a horrible way, there is none of the blood and anger usually found in those stories. Instead, it is a story of forgiveness and one woman's desire to understand those around her.
Vi story is no less interesting than the other two, perhaps more so with the threat of war and danger far more prominent. Yet I found myself unable to connect with a story I would have normally enjoyed. Maybe it was because I felt as though I already knew how it would end. However, somehow knowing how Vi's story ended made Ellie's all the more engaging. I knew what it was that Ellie was going to learn at the end of her journey and was excited to experience that discovery with her. And that scene in the Chapel toward the end... it was beautiful what all she was able to find.
For readers with a love of history, as well as a desire to know their own family history, this is a wonderful read. Though at times slow, the narrative holds a wealth of family legacy many people hope to find for themselves, some of it joyous and some of it bittersweet. All of which is tied up with a glimmer of hope for our own stories.
I have provided an honest review after having received a copy of the book through the Fiction Guild.
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