#Bookreview Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict @Marablaise

Carnegie's Maid by Marie Benedict
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

In the industrial 1860s at the dawn of the Carnegie empire, Irish immigrant Clara Kelly finds herself in desperate circumstances. Looking for a way out, she seeks employment as a lady's maid in the home of the prominent businessman Andrew Carnegie. Soon, the bond between Clara and her employer deepens into love. But when Clara goes missing, Carnegie's search for her unearths secrets and revelations that lay the foundation for his lasting legacy. With captivating insight and stunning heart, Carnegie's Maid tells the story of one lost woman who may have spurred Andrew Carnegie's transformation from ruthless industrialist into the world's first true philanthropist.

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I was thrilled when I got the chance to read this book long before it was released. I mean as I write this review is it more than half a year left before the book is released. But, I just had to read it!

So, by the two stars rating have you probably figured that I did not truly love this book. Now, before I start to explain what worked and what did not work for me will I just tell you that I'm sure many will love this book. It's not badly written or anything. It's just that I'm pretty picky when it comes to romance, and that what in the end made this book fail for me.

Now, the book had potentials. The beginning was intriguing and I was eager to see how the story would develop. Now, I did know that this was a romance story. The blurb clearly stated it, but, despite not being a fan of romance books, do like to read romance in a historical setting. Clara is imagined characters, but that I didn't mind that even though I prefer reading historical romance stories between real-life characters. I did enjoy reading and learning more about Andrew Carnegie. Such a fascinating man. And, here is the problem, I would have loved the story to have been more about Andrew Carnegie's life and career and less about Clara, her tribulations and the romance between them. It just didn't work for me, I felt no sparks between them. To put it bluntly, Clara was not an interesting character and that made the romance pretty uninteresting.

And, the ending. I can't give it away of course. But, it felt very unbelievable. The beginning of the book clearly shows how it all would end. But, for my life can't I fathom that ending. It just doesn't make sense for me. Love always finds a way, and that ending was such a letdown to a story that already felt like a letdown.

I'm sorry to say, but this book was just not for me...

I want to thank Sourcebooks Landmark for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review!