Within These Gilded Halls
by Abigail Wilson
Pub Date: October 4, 2022
Thomas Nelson
*Historical Fiction *Christian
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.
An intriguing mystery with a sweet romance. A very enjoyable book for those who love regency romance. A slight gothic feel with a touch of international intrigue. The heroine's voice is strong yet leaves room for her to grow and change.
The cover was awesome and really drew me to the book! I have never read this author before.
4 stars

An intriguing mystery with a sweet romance. Very enjoyable book for those who love regency romance. A slight gothic feel with a touch of international intrigue. The heroine's voice is strong yet leaves room for her to grow and change.

Within These Gilded Halls covers it all, murder, secrets, and romance. Phoebe Radcliff left her childhood home 2 years ago due to a mistake and what she felt was an embarrassment to her family. She wants to carve a new life for herself as a painter. She takes a commission to renovate the ballroom trim in Avonthrope Hall back to it's original under the direction of owner and well known painter Miss Drake.

Josiah Drake, the original owner, is said to have hidden a treasure for his son Christopher to find when he returns from sea. He never does and when Josiah dies, the clues to the treasure are included as an entail in all subsequent wills. Miss Drake, a descendent, is found murdered. Before she dies, she tells Phoebe where she has hidden the clues to find the treasure.

Phoebe sets out to try and locate the treasure, but she is unsure who she can trust in the household. She teams up with Miss Drake's nephew Lt. Burke. He inherits all after her death. They discover all the clues and find the treasure but in the meantime, find Miss Drake's murderer as well as romance between each other.

Only thing I had a hard time with was the book's language. Not being familiar with some of the terminology, it would have been nice to have a glossary in the back. I found the book to be very descriptive and flowed well which certainly added to it for me. It was a fast read as I couldn't wait to read who was good and who was not.

I have receiver a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.

I really feel it's almost unfair for me to write a review of this book because I couldn't make myself read enough of it to make a complete judgment. I just knew after the first five chapters that I didn't care to read any more because I felt that I didn't "know" the characters enough to care about them and found that the premise for their presence at the "gilded halls" didn't make much sense. I found it almost boring. #NetGalley #WithinTheseGildedHalls

I've read several books by Abigail Wilson in the past, and this did not disappoint!

Phoebe studies art under Miss Drake and is restoring the original art in her large ballroom. Graham Burke, a relative of Miss Drake, is visiting when the old woman is murdered. With her dying breath, Miss Drake reveals a clue as to where a magnificent treasure is located on the property. The Drake family has been trying to determine its location or generations, but no one has found it yet. Together with Graham, Phoebe sets off to solve the clues and find the treasure before the murderer can. As they search, their attraction to each other grows, but circumstances keep the pair from giving into their feelings.

The mystery and treasure hunt in this book were so fun! There were aspects of the clues that I could solve and some that I couldn't. I loved all the surprises and trying to figure out why characters were behaving in the ways that they were. Like the clues, there were some characters whose motivations I could ascertain and others who surprised me. Graham was a wonderful hero, and I cheered for the pair as they searched together. I thought Phoebe was perhaps a bit immature in some of her actions and thinking about her past, but the author led her on a believable path of growth and the character development was well done.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who love a clean mystery and romance. While Miss Drake was murdered and there were other incidents of violence, there were no graphic details. The love story between Graham and Phoebe was sweet and satisfying.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review and opinion.

This was my first book by this author and the premise of the story sounded good.

Sadly I had trouble getting through the book. I had to start several times. The writingstyle just wasn’t for me and I felt the characters were flat. I ddn’t connect to the story or the characters..

I selected this book based on the period and the description and was hoping for no political agenda in my face in a fiction book. I also selected this as a Net Gallery offering and chose to review.

While the writer worked hard to create in interesting and conflicted mystery plot, she overwhelms the reader with too many words including repetitious phrases when describing characters thoughts and actions.. Because it was a free book and I rarely put a book down (good or bad) without finishing it, I felt like the story and writing needed one more really strong, good edit. The introductory pages were confusing initially and it felt like the reader walked into a conversation that needed some sort of context. It was only by chapter 3 that the opening conversation fully made sense. Also, the transition from bad guy to good good for the main character's love interest seemed to happen very suddenly rather that over time and actions as I think was the author's intent.

The book was very ambitious and at times the characters seemed to grow and evolve, but I feel that the plot twists were stronger than the character development. If you enjoy Regency writing without the bodice busting and heavy breathing, this is a good choice for an easy read.

Within These Gilded Halls by Abigail Wilson is a unique treasure hunt set on the cliffs of an estate in England. Right from the beginning, readers are introduced to Phoebe and her love of doing things in the correct way especially with restoring Miss Drake’s ballroom to its previous glory. The hunt for treasure was different, and I love the idea of one clue leading to another rhyme clue that made no sense at first glance. It reminded me a lot of the movie National Treasure with Nicholas Cage. The plot was handled nicely with plenty of twists and turns as Phoebe hunts for the treasure with the help of Graham Burke. As for the romance, it is lightly handled. Not thrown into the readers face but does come down to the predictable happily-ever-after moment near the end of the novel. As for Phoebe, she is a woman who is running from what she assumes in an error in her past, but she realizes the love of a father overpowers any wrong that she thinks she has done. Overall, Within These Gilded Halls by Abigail Wilson was a wonderful treasure hunt through the Regency era filled with bad guys and historical treasure. I definitely want a copy of this novel to add to my Abigail Wilson shelf.

I received a complimentary copy of Within These Gilded Halls by Abigail Wilson from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

I am a loyal fan of Abigail Wilson, and have read all of her books. Her characters are endearing and there is always a mystery in her stories. This book, however, lacked the excitement of some of her previous books. Although the mystery is complex and I wanted to know how it would end, there wasn’t enough action outside of that one pursuit to make this book more interesting. It has a completely linear storyline with one plot.

Some of the things I didn’t like were that the misunderstandings were avoidable; Phoebe is too impulsive; and the secondary characters were totally unlikeable.

Some of the things I did like were: Lt. Burke! He was a gentleman with integrity and he had the most enchanting way of getting ruffled by his attraction to Phoebe. I liked that we got a chance to see her father again, who I like very much. I also like the references and connections between the characters in her previous books and the way they are linked.

I would definitely read another Abigail Wilson book. I think she is an excellent writer!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#WithinTheseGildedHalls #NetGalley

2.5 stars

I was intrigued by the premise: gothic suspense, a treasure hunt, and a regency romance. However, it fell a bit flat for me. There were a couple unexpected twists. The dialogue was a bit flat and there were numerous info dumps. Characters weren't that distinct. The treasure hunt helped with the pace and engagement, but it wasn't quite enough.

This is a Regency romance with a twist – there’s also some treasure hunting adventures to be had.

Phoebe is a great character. Confident and independent, she is artistic and training to paint and restore under the tutelage of Miss Drake, the owner of Avonthorpe Hall. Despite her insecurities and fears that a past mistake will have a long term effect on her future, she is sparky and determined to to find happiness in her own terms.

Her relationship with Lt. Burke develops through the book as they are brought together to solve tge mysteries hidden in the house.

The treasure hunt clues are clever and fun. As tge treasure hunt was set with a specific person in mind the clues are hard to decipher. While some can be researched, some answers are stumbled upon.

There’s lots of fun and lots of twists. Altogether a great read. Thank you Netgalley for my gifted digital copy.

Is there anything more wonderful than a mystery, regency romance? I thought there wasn’t!! And then Abigail Wilson added a treasure hunt! How fun and awesome is that?! And to make it even better, this is Pheobe Radcliffe’s story. (If you read Masquerade at Middlecrest Abbey, she has a slight role in that story- though not critical to have read in order to read this book) Which causes me to wonder if her sister, Juliana, will have a story too, that would be so wonderful!
Pheobe is such a talented artist, and all around beautiful person, I loved seeing her get a happy ending! And *sigh* Lt. Graham Burke, a man who likes his orderly appearances, a true military man, but has a hidden side to him that makes him absolutely perfect for Pheobe.
This is such a fun story, murder mystery and all! If you enjoy a good mystery, with romance, humour and riddles, you’ll absolutely love this one! I highly recommend it!

Thankyou NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the complimentary e-arc in exchange for my review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Content: clean
Romance: kissing
Violence: mild
Language: none

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson--FICTION for this ARC in exchange for my fair and honest review.

Rating: 4 Stars
Publication: October 4, 2022
Pages: 336

“Within These Gilded Halls” is a first time read by Abigail Wilson, new author to this reader. Well, what to say about this story…heck it kept me up all night wanting to get to the end. Glad to have been on holiday to enable me to do so.

The story is about the daughter of Lord Torrington, Phoebe Radcliff who is an artist that has studied under a renowned painter. She left home after being betrayed and scandalized. She is employed by Miss Drake to complete a ballroom renovation…something she believes will bring her happiness and a future. When Miss Drake is murdered, her whole life changes. Phoebe is left with a clue to solving a murder and finding a treasure. She is later joined by Lt. Graham Burke, the handsome nephew of Miss Drake.

Knowing the clue, Phoebe finds herself in danger and with help of Graham they travel to unravel clues before other individuals of Avonthorpe Hall beat them to the punch. Love the suspense and adventure. The characters put you in the mind of Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth and you can see the comparison between Phoebe and Graham. I really enjoyed the interactions between the H/h. The story was well-written and kept me engaged right to very end. Although I found some historical hiccups in the story, but it did not overshadow the intent of the plot. Looking forward to reading more by this author. Recommend the read.

I stayed up late so I could finish this one! I couldn't put it down! Hooked from the first page trying to figure out what was going to happen next! Another fantastic book by Abigail!

I received an ARC through Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

I’m not usually a fan of regency romance books, however, this intriguing story was well written and a nice surprise. Graham and Phoebe are very similar to Mr. Darcy and Lizzie.

In 1816, Phoebe, who is the daughter of Lord Torrington, took art lessons from Miss Drake. Later Phoebe and Graham come together to solve the murder of Miss Drake, who is Graham’s great-aunt. There are a number of suspicious suspects, however, not one actually stands out as the perpetrator. As the investigation evolves, the relationship between Phoebe and Graham.

Phoebe and Graham are well developed characters, and their likable personalities went together well. This story combines mystery and romance well. What I really loved about this book is that is was clean, and faith-based.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers. All comments and opinions are my own.

Wonderful plot and characters in a setting and set up that had me turning pages as fast as I could. Delightful. Will be looking for more books by Wilson.

#withinthesegildedhalls #netgalley

This was a great story to read. I loved the storyline and the characters, definitely recommend this book!

Phoebe Radcliff and her brother Daniel are spending time under Muss Drake’s tutelage to improve their artist efforts. Phoebe does not know why Kuch way to turn when suddenly Miss Drake winds up dead!

Does this terrible occurrence have anything to do with the recent arrival of Miss Drake’s nephew, Lt. Burke? So many unknowns are involved in solving this crime!

In WITHIN THESE GILDED HALLS by ABIGAIL WILSON we come across many characters from Twilight at Moorington Cross, but the novel can easily stand alone. It is a story that is full of mystery, with interesting characters, some of whom are decidedly shady.
Phoebe Radcliff has left her home after being betrayed by Jean Cloutier and the accompanying scandal, and is working, together with her childhood friend Daniel Hill, under Miss Drake, to finish painting the frieze in the dining hall at Avonthorpe Hall. When Miss Drake is murdered, and, with her dying breath, gives Phoebe a clue for finding King John’s treasure, Phoebe’s life is in danger and she doesn’t know who she can trust. She and Lieutenant Graham Burke, Miss Drake’s nephew, who has also suffered betrayal from his best friend, work hard to unravel the clues to finding the treasure before any of the rather unscrupulous residents of Avonthorpe Hall do so.
This is a really exciting “cloak and dagger” Regency romance novel with piracy,, treachery and adventure. I recommend this read to anyone who enjoys this genre.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Thomas Nelson. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

3.5 stars

For some reason I never connected Phoebe with Lord Torrington of Masquerade at Middlecrest, which I assure you I did read so when I finally connected the dots, I got really excited.

For the same reasons I didn't fully enjoy Middlecrest, I couldn't quite get into this book. The main issue is that because we only get one POV and in first-person, there are certain subplots that get left hanging. I won't say more because of spoilers, but when I turned to the last page I said, 'wait what? We're already at the end?' However, Abigail's writing is both entertaining and poetic.

I did think Phoebe was incredibly naive to not doubt a single person the entire novel, especially concerning the betrayal in her past. It didn't quite ring true.

I loved the allusions to Jane Austen and I can definitely see where the comparison to Darcy and Elizabeth come in. The vivid descriptions drew me in and I felt like I was personally walking the halls of Avonthorpe. I really enjoyed Phoebe and Lt. Burke's interactions and how they played off each other. I didn't really get the enemies-to-lovers vibe some people were saying.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.