A love that can get through any obstacle even when the couple is married to other people is considered very rare. However, star-crossed lovers at court were practically unheard of, especially multiple couples from the same family. Anne Brandon knows how rare these matches are as her father Charles Brandon married the sister of King Henry VIII. Now she must figure out her feelings about romance while navigating court life. In the modern day, Caroline Harvey has relationship problems while she navigates the loss of her famous writer, grandfather Dexter Blake. How are these two women from different centuries connected and can they fight for who they love or are they destined to be alone? Alexandra Walsh tells both women’s stories in her novel, “The House of Echoes.”

I want to thank Boldwood Books and Net Galley for sending me a copy of this novel. The concept of this novel and the cover were what pulled me into the story. I know about the children of Charles Brandon and Mary Tudor, but when it comes to Charles’ other children, I don’t know much. I wanted to learn a bit about Anne Brandon and have a good time with the story of Caroline Harvey.

We begin with the story of Caroline Harvey as she returns home to England from America after a bad break-up with her former fiance Travis Hibbert. She is the personal assistant to her grandfather, the recluse writer Dexter Blake, the author of the Ether Heracles book series. Dexter Blake is dying and it is up to her and her family to announce it to the rest of the world while releasing the last book in the series and making movies about the books. While the world mourns Dexter’s death, Caroline is given the gift of Dexter’s home and she begins researching the history of the house, which will lead her to an old fling Gideon and his book store Ten-to-Midnight. It is through Caroline’s research that she discovers the story of Anne Brandon and the truth about her life.

Meanwhile, in Tudor England, Anne Brandon is getting used to being the step-daughter of Mary Tudor, the sister of King Henry VIII. She is not used to court life, but she has friends who will become famous like Anne Boleyn and Margaret More Roper. As a young girl, Anne falls head over heels in love with Randall Hanworth and she believes that she is destined to marry him. However, fate and her father have someone else in mind; Edward Grey 3rd Baron of Powis, which made Anne Baroness of Powis. That doesn’t mean it was a happy marriage as the couple never had any children. Anne lived throughout the reign of Henry VIII, saw two of his wives beheaded including her friend Anne Boleyn, and had a great falling out with her father Charles Brandon before he died, which meant that she was left out of his will. Anne was willing to fight for the lands that she believed rightfully belonged to her and the love of her life Randall.

This was a fun novel with so many twists and turns, including one at the end that I did not see coming. I especially love the little details that Walsh included especially coming up with blurbs for each of the Dexter Blake books as well as the inner workings of the Brandon household. As someone who reads a lot about the Tudors, it was refreshing to read about Tudors that were new to me. If you want a fresh take on the Tudor with a modern twist, I greatly recommend you read, “The House of Echoes” by Alexandra Walsh.