Best-selling author Sandra Byrd combines romance with gothic mystery in her new book, Bride of a Distant Isle. The release follows her successful launch of the Howard Books’ Daughters of Hampshire series with Mist of Midnight.
Current Byrd fans and new readers alike will be captivated from the very beginning of this story about one women’s strength, faith, and honor as she fights to save her mother’s reputation and preserve her legacy.
Byrd sets her story in Victorian England. Its rich history and often ethereal features will enthrall readers, drawing them deep into the story. Anglophiles and lovers of period pieces, including Downton Abbey fans, will especially love Byrd’s attention to detail in Bride of a Distant Isle.
In Bride of a Distant Isle, Annabel Ashton, a teacher at the Rogers School for Young Ladies in Winchester, decides to forever make a brief visit to her family home, Highcliffe Hall at Milford-on-the Sea. Little did she expect her life was about to change.
Her mother has died, and life at Highcliffe Hall isn’t what it used to be. Annabel’s cousin, Edward, has inherited the estate, and everything Annabel knows as home is at his mercy. Unfortunately, so is Annabel. The illegitimate daughter of a woman deemed insane, Annabel has little influence to set things right.
Running out of money and time, Edward puts Highcliffe Hall up for sale, and, in his desperation, arranges for Annabel to marry the wealthy but sinister Mr. Morgan. As the house is being packed, Annabel mysteriously begins to receive certain items—items that suggest she is the rightful heir and owner of Highcliffe Hall. Will anyone believe her? Can she truly trust her new friend, the handsome but troubled Maltese Captain Dell’ Acqua? Will Annabel be able to save Highcliffe Hall and obtain what is rightfully hers?
In Bride of a Distant Isle, Byrd has deftly combined suspense and romance in a book that will captivate all types of readers. As an added feature for readers who like to go even deeper into the story, Byrd has included Author’s Notes at the end of the book that share even more of Byrd’s fascinating research.