Review: The Painted Castle by Kristy Cambron

The Painted Castle (Lost Castle, Book #3)
by Kristy Cambron
Release Date: October 15th 2019
2019 Thomas Nelson
Kindle Edition; 381 Pages
ISBN: 978-0718095529
ASIN: B07QK71PX9
Genre: Fiction / Contemporary / Historical
Source: Review copy from publisher

4 / 5 Stars

Summary
It was supposed to be a one-week job: survey an art find, collect a hefty fee, and use that to settle historian Kiera Foley’s life back into balance. But from the moment she sets foot in the East Suffolk countryside, the mysteries surrounding the old English manor and the enigmatic art thief who’s employed her stir more questions than answers. Then, Kiera finds the existence of a portrait captivating enough to upend all of her expectations. This one could be a twin—a painting so close in composition to a known masterpiece, it may be rendered priceless if it truly captured the likeness of a young Queen named Victoria.

My Thoughts
The Painted Castle is the last book in the Lost Castle Trilogy, and while I haven't read the first two books in this series, I still enjoyed it tremendously and had no problem following along.  

While this was the first for me in this trilogy, I have read other books by this author, and this one follows a similar pattern to her other books; the story was divided into three separate POVs from three separate time periods and eventually they all connect.  The timelines all work rather well together and I enjoyed them all, particularly the one from WWII, maybe because I have a soft spot for that time period.  However, I tend to be a sucker for anything to do with castles and secrets so the contemporary one was interesting as well.  That is the timeline where I felt I missed the most simply because events did carry over from the first two books into this one; it didn't affect what happened in this one too much, but it did raise my curiosity so I went hunting and found the first two books on my shelf. Who knew? So I will be reading them as soon as I have a chance.

So the book was separated into three separate time periods: Keira, sister to Quinn and Cormac (who featured in the first two books), decides to take a job in East Suffolk hoping to heal a broken heart and restart her career as a renowned historian; Amelia, her RAF husband died a few years earlier leaving her with a large estate to run and a broken heart; and Elizabeth, who as a young girl watched her father die in front of her eyes, spending the next few years bent on revenge.  All three of these women were interesting in their own way, and any one could have been a whole book on their own, they were that interesting.  Unfortunately, character development does get a bit lost when you are constantly switching POVs, so while I was definitely sympathetic to their plights, I was not necessarily empathetic, if that makes sense.  

The author has a wonderful writing style that really draws you into her stories and makes you feel like you are really there.  Because I've visited the area, I could visualize myself there, the misty rain, the glorious sunsets, and so on, and really wished I could back.  I really do love her writing style. 

Verdict
The Painted Castle is a light, wonderful read, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in art history, intriguing questions and connections, and some light romance.