Welcoming Renee Yancy and her book - The Test of Gold - to my blog

 Today I'm welcoming Renee Yancy and her book - The Test of Gold (Book 1 - Hearts of Gold series) - to my blog as part of the blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club (founded by Mary Anne Yarde)

I am delighted to share a review with you all, but first I will introduce the book.

The Test of Gold

Raised in the shadow of a mother who defied convention, but won’t allow her own daughter the right to make the same choices, heiress Evangeline Lindenmayer has been groomed since childhood to marry into the British aristocracy.

When Lindy challenges her mother’s long-laid plans by falling in love with a poor seminary student, the explosion is bigger than the Brooklyn Bridge fireworks on Independence Day.

Publication Date: 15 March 2021

Publisher: Vinspire Publishing

Page Length: 335 pages

Genre: Historical Romance

You can purchase a copy of the book via -

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08WM2HCH7

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08WM2HCH7

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-test-of-gold-renee-yancy/1138727180?ean=9781736366202

And now for the review…

The Test of Gold is a little different from the other historical romances that I have read. Instead of trying to catch a Duke, Evangeline “Lindy” Lindenmayer is doing her very best to avoid them all, for she has no desire to become a Duchess - if asked, she would rather become an archaeologist. But no one is asking.

Lindy’s father is a successful American businessman, and her family is incredibly wealthy — her mother certainly likes to make sure that everyone knows this. From the moment of Lindy’s birth. Vera (Lindy’s mother) is determined that her daughter will marry into the English aristocracy, and thus she would then be able to boast about such a triumph.

This novel really pulled at my heartstrings. Lindy is such a gentle and compassionate young woman who suffers terrible abuse at the hands of the one person who should be protecting her - her mother. Vera uses every tactic in the book to ensure her daughter’s obedience. Vera is very domineering, and if she were a real person set in this era, I am sure she would have been diagnosed with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder - she certainly knows how to beat her daughter into submission with her sharp tongue, and her even more offensive play-acting. I did struggle a little with why her father does not step in and stop this terrible abuse from occurring under his roof. His timidity and inability to say no to his wife and bow to her every whim certainly did not help our poor heroine’s situation.

The romance in this novel is very sweet and gentle - a stark contrast to the abusive relationship Lindy has with her mother. But it is the relationship with her mother that really takes centre stage in this novel, and it is therefore not so much a romance book, but one about the resilience of the human spirit and the determination to break free from the incredibly toxic relationship that she is being forced to endure.

The Test of Gold is undoubtedly a novel that held my attention throughout—in fact, I read it in one sitting. I also felt that there was something of Edith Wharton’s The Buccaneers in this novel, and I could not help but compare Lindy’s situation with that of Nan’s—although Vera makes Nan’s mother something of a saint!

If you enjoy historical fiction with a strong character-led story, then this book should certainly be on your to-read list. I will most definitely be reading more books from this author.

Renee Yancy

Renee Yancy is a history and archaeology nut who writes the kind of historical fiction she loves to read – stories filled with historical detail that immerse you in another place and time. When she isn't writing historical fiction or traveling to see the places her characters have lived, she can be found in the wilds of Kentucky with her husband and two rescue mutts named Ellie and Charlie. 

You can connect with Renee Yancy via the following platforms -

Website: https://www.reneeyancy.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YancyRenee

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reneeyancy/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YancyRenee

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/renee-q-yancy-842a1631/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/reneeyancy/_created/

Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/renee-yancy

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Renee-Yancy/e/B00726MJDQ

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55044611-the-test-of-gold

You can learn more about the author and the book by visiting the other blogs on this tour -

That's it for now.

Till the next time.

Take care Zoe