Blog tour review! Dawn Crandall's "The Captive Imposter"

I'm so excited to be able to review Dawn Crandall's latest book, The Captive Imposter, today on my blog!

Book Summary (Goodreads): Sent away for protection, hotel heiress Estella Everstone finds herself living undercover as a lady’s companion named Elle Stoneburner at one of her father’s opulent hotels in the mountains of Maine—the one she'd always loved best and always hoped to own one day, Everston. The one thing she doesn't like about the situation is that her ex-fiancé is in the area and is set on marrying someone else. Reeling from her feelings of being unwanted and unworthy, Estella reluctantly forms a friendship with the gruff manager of Everston, Dexter Blakeley, who seems to have something against wealthy young socialites with too much money, although they are just the kind of people Everston caters to. 

When Estella finds herself in need of help, Dexter comes to the rescue with an offer she can't refuse. She sees no other choice aside from going back home to her family and accepts the position as companion to his sister. Throughout her interactions with Dexter, she can't deny the pull that's evidenced between them every time he comes near. Estella realizes that while she's been hiding behind a false name and identity, she’s never been freer to be herself than when she's with Dexter Blakeley. But will he still love her when he finds out she's Estella Everstone? She's not entirely sure.

My thoughts...

Once again, Dawn Crandall has taken me back in time, to the rugged mountains of Maine, and into the heart and mind of another heroine.  When I read this story, which is also told in first person, it's more like reading the pages of someone's journal than a piece of fiction.  Crandall has told each story in the Everstone Chronicles in first person, and has done so expertly in each one.  Not every author can create an page turner told primarily from one character's perspective...but that's exactly what it was.  A page turner!

Estella was not a character that stood out to me from the previous novels in the series...and that's exactly why I was drawn in to her story.  The author did this in The Bound Heart as well.  She took a character that we are introduced to before but don't know much about and lets us into their world...all of their fears, insecurities, hopes and dreams.  So because I didn't know much about Estella, I wanted to know why she acted the way she did, how she felt about things that happened in the previous novel, and I was completely drawn in from the beginning.

Estella, even though she is an heiress, has all the struggles that any girl may go through...very relateable.  Her whole life she has been judged by her family name, and feels she must act a certain way with everyone, masking who she truly is inside.  When there is a threat to her family (some events happened in the previous novel that explain this), Estella must assume a secret identity to protect herself from harm.  But the secret identity allowed her to experience freedom for the first time.  Freedom to be herself, to show her emotions, and love and be loved by a man who could see her for who she really was.  Her journey is a pleasure to read and at times my heart ached for her as she struggled with all the pain from her past.

This story revolved around Estella's journey, but a big part of her journey was Dexter.  He had a broody demeanor when we are first introduced to him.  Dexter has past hurts as well, and his comes out initially as hardness towards Estella, but as she continues to interact with him, we see a different side.  Dexter struggles with letting go and allowing himself to love, just as Estella did, but as both of their walls they've built up around their hearts begin to crumble...beautiful things begin to happen.  Crandall does an amazing job at balancing the interaction between Estella and Dexter.  There are the much needed serious moments, where they are discovering who they are and how they feel....and then there are the sizzling moments where they cannot deny the physical attraction they have for one another!  A definite page-turner!

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I know you will, too!  

**I was given a free copy of this novel by the publisher for an unbiased review...which I gave**

  

Dawn is a wife and mom to a cute little boy named Rhett.  She is already winning awards for her debut novel, The Hesitant Heiress, the first book in the Everstone Chronicles.  Be sure to stop by Dawn's blog for lots of giveaways, updates, and links to other great reviews of her books. I would also love for you to check out my reviews of The Bound Heart, The Hesitant Heiress and my interview with Dawn.

Happy Reading!!