Keys to the Castle

Author: Donna Ball
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Berkley Trade
(January 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425239306

Book Description:

The author of the Ladybug Farm series delivers an exhilarating new novel of a middle-aged woman who follows her heart to love and happiness.

When a dashing French poet swept forty-something workaholic Sara Graves off her feet, she did something completely unexpected: She married him. Then three weeks later he died, leaving her a house she can't afford to keep in a country she's never been to. Traveling to France to settle the estate, Sara is shocked to discover that her husband wasn't the impoverished poet he claimed to be- and that the estate he left her is a 400-year-old crumbling castle in the Loire Valley. Now Sara must sell Chateau Rondelais before it (not to mention her late husband's disarmingly handsome lawyer and best friend) makes her question her decision to leave-and opens her heart to change and all its unexpected possibilities.

My thoughts:

Sara Graves has fallen in love with and married a man that she knows very little about, other than he is a handsome French poet. Shortly after the marriage he dies and leaves her with the responsibility of settling his estate in France. Upon arriving in France, where the laws and customs are foreign to Sara, she finds that her deceased husband was the owner of a castle which she must sell. This story is about lost love, finding a new romance, and an unexpected mid-life decision.


Like other Donna Ball novels, this one is well-written, delightful with unexpected twists and turns, and moves along swiftly. Ms. Ball has become one of my favorite authors! Thank you goes to her for my review copy. 5 stars*****