Within These Gilded Halls by Abigail Wilson

Within These Gilded Halls
by Abigail Wilson

ISBN-13: 9780785253303
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Released: October 4th 2022

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
After studying art for two years under Miss Drake, a renowned painter, Phoebe Radcliff is thrilled when Miss Drake employs her to complete a complicated ballroom renovation. Everything changes when Miss Drake is murdered. With her last breath she imparts the location of a clue to Phoebe. Can the rumored treasure of Avonthorpe Hall be real? Phoebe is tasked to finish the detailed trim work in the ballroom by Miss Drake’s infuriatingly regimented yet all-too-handsome nephew, Lt. Graham Burke. She's determined to fulfill her promise to find the treasure but must do so before Lt. Burke leases the house.

Phoebe soon realizes she’s not the only person with knowledge of the clues—and she’ll need Lt. Burke’s help to stay ahead of whoever is hard on her heels. If only she wasn’t so attracted to the gentleman. She’s always had far greater plans for her life than an uncomfortable romance with a former military lieutenant. Caught up in a deadly race for answers, Phoebe must find a way to breach the shroud of lies that surrounds every last resident in the house and, more importantly, face a past she’s been running away from for far too long.


My Review:
Within These Gilded Halls is a romance set in 1819 in England. The author used a noticeable number of incorrect words (like several times people were referred to as "lifeless" when those people were still alive) and odd phrases (like "she tethered her lip between her teeth" yet "tether" usually means to tie something up). I found these distracting.

The main characters were interesting enough but weren't very well developed. The focus was more on the clues for the treasure hunt and figuring out who's trying to get the treasure ahead of them. They didn't really try to uncover who killed Miss Drake, either, just get the treasure so they could save the Hall. I felt like a good bit of what was going on was pretty obvious from the hints dropped here and there, but they came as a surprise to Phoebe when she finally worked it all out in the end. Phoebe and Graham worked well together, and their friendship (and attraction) grew as they spent time hunting the treasure together. There was no sex or bad language. I guess I'd recommend this book to fans of treasure hunts.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.