Jillian Chantal

I bought the paper copy of Love on a Dime by Cara Lynn James for my mother for Christmas and I downloaded the digital version for myself.  It’s a lovely story set near the turn of the last century- 1899- It’s set mostly in Newport, Rhode Island, enclave of the rich. There are some scenes that occur in New York City as well.

This is the story of Lillian (Lilly) a wealthy young lady that has turned to secretly writing what were called dime novels. She writes romances under a pen name as it would be disastrous for her position in society to be found out. She writes these stories to earn money to help support a charity she is committed to. She enjoys volunteer work.  She fell in love as a young woman and her fiance left her to go and find his fortune.  He didn’t feel that her parents would allow them to marry as he was not wealthy.

The story revolves around her decision on who to marry as well as how to keep her secret from society. 

I found this inspirational novel a lovely read. I liked the story line and the fact that the heroine prayed about the decisions she faced. The religion was not too much. It was blended into the story in a nice way without slapping one in the face that this was an inspirational story.  The setting was nicely described and I felt I was really there. There were also some elements of intrigue which I enjoyed. I recommend Love on a Dime for a light afternoon read- a little adventure story.