Review: Fun & engaging read!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 24, 2013
In Doubting Abbey by Samantha Tonge ,Gemma is taking her roommate, Abby's place in a reality show where stately homes are competed against each other to win a prize of million dollars for renovations for their properties. The winner is decided by the public and its up to the aristocratic families to convince them to vote in their favor. Abby's uncle, Lord Croxely has put up Applebridge Hall in the reality show and to win the grand prize he needs the help of his estranged niece. Now Abby has already made plans to go on a restoration project in Africa with her boyfriend and is not willing to pull out the last minute for a reality show but mending relationships with her estranged uncle and cousins is also important to her.Enter Gemma Goodwin, her roommate and best friend who is an exact doppelganger of Abby when she does not have layers of makeup on. She just needs to take Abby's place at Applebridge Hall and play pretend in front of her estranged family and national TV. Now it is not easy as it sounds because Gemma is nothing like aristocratic Abby and she soon manages to mess things up as soon as she reaches her destination.With everyone doubting her identity,Gemma's job to play pretend starts getting a lot harder than what she imagined and her feelings for her supposed "cousin" Lord Edward complicate things even more.Doubting Abbey by Samantha Tonge had a well written, different and well executed plot line .I liked how the concept of reality TV show is incorporated in the story and I don't know how a concept of competing stately homes for a huge restoration prize would fare in real life but it was certainly impressive in fiction. Gemma was such a lovable character and she made me laugh every time she made a goof up or showcased her acting and cooking abilities.She was the main reason I loved the book and it was so easy to like her.Lord Edward was a buttoned up character who was active on the blogging sphere and he reminded me of Mr.Darcy and despite his declaration that "he will never, under any circumstances, resemble some sort of romantic hero like Mr Darcy."The other characters are also fun to read and are a great addition to the story.The only thing which let me down was the slow pace and a ending which seemed incomplete.Overall Doubting Abbey by Samantha Tonge is a well written, engaging and fun read due to a different plot line and lovable characters. A recommended read for all the lovers of Rom com and chick lit.