Heiress (Daughters of Fortune #1) - Susan May Warren

I read Happily Ever After and thought it was a decent book.  When this book popped up for free, I decided it sounded like something I might read and picked it up.  I thought that I had read more from this author, but I think I confused her with someone else.  Regardless, the summary hooked me and I started reading.

This book follows the two daughters of August Price, the publisher of the New York Chronicle.  These two sisters are as different as they can be.  Esme wants to be a journalist and run her father's paper while Jinx wants to take her place in society.

Esme is being pushed to marry Foster Worth, a society man, but Esme has a secret.  She has been sending articles to her father's paper.  He has been publishing them, not knowing who has written them.  Esme's partner in crime, Oliver, has been by her side and supporting her efforts.  Esme is scared of what would happen should she reveal her secret, place her faith in God, and see what the future brings.  When she decides that she might be able to follow her heart, the option is taken away from her and she moves west to make a name for herself.

Jinx can't understand why Esme won't just cooperate and help secure the family's name. She wants to avoid a scandal.  Spending time with Foster, Jinx believes herself in love with him, and with her mother's help, Esme escapes and Jinx takes her place as Foster's bride. The issue is that once they are married, Foster isn't the man Jinx believed him to be and Jinx becomes lonely.  A chance encounter one night brings Bennett, Foster's brother, into her life and it will never be the same after that.

This book ended up being a lot heavier than I was expecting.  Abuse, neglect, lies, poverty, and death are all very present in this book and it ended up not being the light-hearted read that I am used to.  It was a well written book and I admit having issues putting it down.  I kept reading, waiting and watching for the happy ending.  When it came, it was a bittersweet ending, but the story doesn't end there.  Baroness is the second book in the series, following Esme's and Jinx's daughters.  Duchess just came out last month and it looks like a continuation of Baroness.  I'm not usually a fan of the series where you have to read all three to finish the story, and had I known that ahead of time, I most likely wouldn't have picked them up.  While the story of Esme and Jinx is pretty well finished at the end of Heiress, you have a sense that the story isn't over and look for that sequel.  I have Baroness, but I'm going to hold off reading it for a while and do some light reading in between.  Good Book!