Book Review: Jillian Dare by Melanie M. Jeschke

About the book:

Jillian Dare leaves her Shenandoah Valley foster home behind and strikes out on her own as a nanny at a large country estate in northern Virginia. She is delighted with the beauty of her new home, the affection of her young charge Cadence Remington, and the opportunity for frequent travel to the Remington castle in England.

She is less certain about her feelings for her handsome but moody employer, Ethan. In spite of herself, Jillian realizes she is falling for her boss. But how can a humble girl ever hope to win a wealthy man of the world? And what dark secrets from the past is he hiding?

This contemporary story, inspired by the well-loved classic Jane Eyre, will capture readers' hearts.

My thoughts:

This book was a very quick read for me, and frankly, it was a bit too quick.  I had zero connection with any of the characters because this story had such a fast pace.  It was what I would call a surface story, told in the first person, and only giving the basic info of the story without much detail.  I loved reading about the occasional trip to England, and Jillian's sweet relationship with Cadence, but that's really about all I enjoyed.  I would've liked to have seen Jillian and Ethan's relationship develop at a more realistic pace than what it did.  When they suddenly became engaged, I found it, and the drama that followed, just plain unbelievable.

I honestly don't know if I will venture to read any of Ms. Jeschke's other works in the future after reading Jillian Dare.  It did not have the depth that I like to see in novels, and it focused a little too heavily on the divorce issue within the church, in my opinion.  I am giving Jillian Dare a rating of 3 stars.

**I received a copy of Jillian Dare to review from the Goodreads Firstreads program.