Beauty Among Ruins: A Tale of Love and Redemption During the Great War, (Paperback)

In Beauty Among Ruins, Lily Durham is a rich American girl who is shipped over seas to stay with relatives. Before her return trip is scheduled, World War II begins, making it unsafe for her to return to America. She decides to join her cousin Bertie in becoming a nurse to help the convalescing soldiers, and the girls are sent to Scotland to Kinclavoch Castle, the estate of the MacGregors, to work at the makeshift hospital that has been set up in the castle. Alec MacGregor is the head of the MacGregor family since his fathers passing, and hes doing all he can to save his family from ruin and from losing all they have thanks to debt his father left and the deteriorating state of the ancient castle. And now hes also housing soldiers, but he wants to do his part since his own injury prevents him from joining the fight. Angry, stressed-out, and shut off from the world, Alec is unprepared for the upheaval that the arrival of a lively American girl will bring. As one disaster strikes after the next, will Alec be able to save his family home? And will Lily be able to help Alec see his own worth? I really loved this story. From beginning to end, I didnt want to put the book down. I thought the characters were very well developed. Lily was relatable and funny, and Alec was moody and emotional. The chemistry between Lily and Alec was slow-building but tangible from the start. I enjoyed the element of mystery throughout the story. And I appreciate that this was a clean romance. This is the first book Ive read by this author, but after reading this one, I will definitely be on the lookout for her other titles. *I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have had the pleasure of reading and enjoying books by J'nell Ciesielski previously. I was not disappointed with this one. It is by far my favorite that I have read by her to date. It was so very good. I loved Lily and Alecs right from the start. It had a mixture of history, mystery, suspense, danger, adventure and romance. I devoured this book in just a few hours. I could not find myself putting it down until the very end. Beauty Among Ruins will be getting a very well deserved five plus stars from me. I am eagerly waiting for more releases by J'nell Ciesielski in the future. I highly recommend this one for readers who enjoy reading clean historical fiction and romance. I do not think it should be missed. I received Beauty Among Ruins from the publisher. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.