THE INVENTION OF SARAH CUMMINGS is the third
installment in the Avenue of Dreams series.
I’ve enjoyed this series from Olivia Newport, but I must say, at times I
found myself more frustrated with Sarah Cummings then I was rooting for her.
Sarah Cummings is determined she will not live her
life as a woman in service. Her goal is
to become a woman of society and find herself a husband that can afford her all
that she thinks she deserves. With her
own invention of Serena Cuthbert-a daughter of society- she sets her sights on
Bradley Townsend. Now, all she has to do
is juggle her job as parlor maid to the Banning household and time away to meet
suave Mr. Townsend. With the help of
Lillie Wagner, Sarah begins to make inroads into society life. But, managing her time and her deception is
getting more complicated as time goes on.
To add to the multiple pretenses she has to balance, Simon Tewell, the
director of the orphanage where Sarah grew up, is pursuing her both
professionally and personally. Though
Sarah feels her heart stirred by Simon’s attention, the life of an orphanage
director’s wife is not the life she has set her sights on. But as time progresses Sarah realizes she
might not be the only one keeping a secret.
Bradley Townsend-though showing his attention to “Serena”-is secretive
as to where he is spending the majority of his time. When faced with a choice, Sarah realizes to
have all that Brad wants to offer her, might leave her rich in possessions but lacking
the love she desires.
I have to say, Sarah Cummings was not my favorite
heroines. At times, she treated those
around her with the same haughtiness that was directed at her as a maid. You would think someone who was trying to
break out of that role, would be more compassionate to those around her. She did show some genuine compassion for
Jane, one of the girls at the orphanage, but her scheming minimized my
tolerance for her as a lead character. Even
in the end, though all ends well, it is only because she realized she was being
strung along by Brad. She didn’t make a
choice out of deep seeded love. Her
decision was spurred on because all her calculations and manipulations were
going to leave her lonely. At least that
is how I read it. So, though I liked the
Avenue of Dreams series, this was not my favorite book.
Book provided for review purposes.
Available August 2013 at your favorite bookseller
from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
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