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The Invention Of Sarah Cummings (2013)

by Olivia Newport(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0800720407 (ISBN13: 9780800720407)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Fleming H. Revell Company

series

Avenue of Dreams

review 1: The Invention of Sarah Cummings is book three in the Avenue of Dreams series by Olivia Newport. Ms. Newport does a fantastic job crafting the character of Sarah Cummings. She chose to stay consistent with the Sarah Cummings we met in previous books of this series, and keeps the character fallible throughout the story. We get to see how Sarah grows and changes, but not altogether so much that it isn't believable. Sarah's story is that she grew up in a happy household, but traumatically lost both parents in a carriage accident when she was still in her early years. She was taken immediately to St. Andrew's Orphanage in Chicago, but was unhappy and restless. She was put into service in the Banning household in her early teens where she continued to be unhappy. When an ... moreopportunity arose for her to act like she belonged to high society, she took it and ran. The persona she developed in order to stay recognized as one of a higher class got more and more complicated until eventually her two world collided. How the character adapts to her situation is what makes this story come alive. I am certainly a fan of Olivia Newport and will continue to stay tuned to novels she releases in the coming months. Her historical accuracy makes this novel a delight to read. I learn something new every time I embark on another Newport novel. The book appears to be a bit thinner than its competitors, but don't let that fool you. I got many hours of good reading from it and never felt for a moment that it was moving too quickly. The author did a fantastic job with the length of the book.This book was a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review.
review 2: This is an engrossing story about Sarah Cummings, a parlor maid to the wealthy Banning family in Chicago. After losing her parents when she was young, she lived in an orphanage until going to work at sixteen for the Bannings. She dreams of the day when she'll no longer be a maid and can live the life she deserves, as part of high society. She uses her talent for sewing to not only remake gowns for herself, but to start teaching a sewing class for the older girls at the orphanage. She never wanted to go back there, but is pushed into it by the orphanage director, who not only wants to help the girls, but has a personal interest in Sarah, as well. When she meets a new young woman to town, she introduces herself as Serena Cuthbert, a high society woman, and makes up a fake back story for her fake name. She's finally able to move in the circles she's always wanted to and when she meets a wealthy young man who seems interested, she finally sees a way out. Will she be able to juggle all of the lies, or will the truth finally come out? Will she discover true love and contentment?I have read book two in this series and remembered Sarah as selfish, which she still is for most of the book. However, I feel as though I understand her better and can see why she did what she did. I did have a hard time understanding why the director would like her when he didn't seem to see her good qualities very much, but I guess love is blind. I kept wondering when she would get found out, so that lent some suspense to the story. The day-to-day glimpse of what life would have been like for a maid in this time period and also some of what was happening politically and financially during that time gave a sense of reality to the story. This series has a Downton Abbey feel to it, which I enjoyed. Check it out if you like historical fiction! I received this book free from Revell in exchange for an honest review. less

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