Title: A Refuge at Highland Hall (Edwardian Brides #3)

Author: Carrie Turansky

Publisher: Multnomah 2015

Genre: Historical Romance

Pages: 354

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: A to Z - R; Library Love; Finishing the Series

Penny Ramsey has always considered Highland Hall her home, but when Britain becomes involved in World War One she travels to London to assist her sister Kate with the eight orphan children she and her husband Jon have taken into their home. Doing her part for the war effort takes priority over Penny’s dreams of romance until she meets Alex Goodwin, a Royal Naval Air Service pilot in training.
 
Alex is determined to prove his worth and do his part to defend his country. Knowing he is heading off for the dangerous assignment of chasing Zeppelins across the front line in France, he feels it’s unwise to form any romantic attachments. But he can’t help admiring the pretty, warmhearted Penny and wondering what it would be like to find her waiting when he returns home from the war. 
 
As Penny writes to Alex, their friendship blossoms, and she becomes his tie to home and normalcy as he faces the hardships war. But being an RNAS pilot means confronting the enemy, and the fallout from those experiences push Alex beyond Penny’s reach. Can God mend the brokenness left by the losses of war? Will faith and forgiveness bring them together again?

A strong finish to a decent romance trilogy. I think Penny and Alex were my absolute favorite pair of the series. I was all-in immediately with their story. Setting the book during WWI was an interesting change to the usual historical romance setting. I appreciated that Turansky got into the down and dirty of the war instead of glossing over it in favor of focusing on the romance. The inclusion of the German prisoners was surprising, but interesting. I sped through this book and enjoyed my time.

Edwardian Brides:

• #1 The Governess of Highland Hall
• #2 The Daughter of Highland Hall
• #3 A Refuge at Highland Hall

Next up on the TBR pile: