The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope, 4/5

With good humour, skill, and psychological insight, Trollope tells a twisted tale of love and loss that centers around passionate Lily Dale and her more sensible sister, Bell; social climber Adolphus Crosbie; John Eames, the quintessential boy-man; and a collection of other characters who inspire love, disgust and pity by turns.  Though the preceding two books in the series were disappointing, I feel that in this fifth novel Trollope captures once again the unique voice and perspective that made me fall in love with the Barchester Chronicles.  Fingers crossed that the sixth and final book in the series will be similarly inspired.

[Why I read it: I am reading my way through the Chronicles of Barsetshire, having started with The Warden a few months ago.  Strangely, my library contained all the books in the series except for this one, which they kindly purchased at my request.  They are the best!]