Beyond Ivy Walls by Rachel Fordham (Bibliolifestyle & Austenprose Book Tours)

 

Title: Beyond Ivy Walls

Author:  Rachel Fordham

Narrated by:  Em Eldridge, Jason Keller

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Length: Approximately 10 hours and 56 minutes

Source: Thank you @bibliolifestyle @tnzfiction @rachel_fordham for the physical review copy, @netgalley audiobook review copy, and @austenprose for the digital review copy.

If you could jump into any fairytale, which one would you pick?  I’ve always thought of Beauty and the Beast mainly because I want the library that is in the Disney cartoon.

Beyond Ivy Walls is a Beauty and the Beast type story.  Sadie West’s father has been in an accident, and her family desperately needs money.  Sadie goes to work in Monticello Iowa at a feather duster factory to earn money to help her family.  While there through a series of unfortunate events, she found herself homeless and living in an abandoned factory.  One day she befriends a dog only to discover that he belongs to a mysterious man who has just returned to his family estate.  Otis Taylor was sent away by his father years before and has only recently returned after the death of his brother to settle the estate.  He discovers that his brother may have had a secret child and that he may still have family in this world.  He also discovers Sadie living in his abandoned factory.  Will Otis find his brother’s daughter?  Will Sadie be able to help her family?  Will these two find love?

My thoughts on the novel:

·       Poor Otis has alopecia and loses his hair as a child.  His father tries many “cures” such as pouring boiling oil on top of his head, which scarred Otis for life.  His father never had him come home again and Otis spent his life alone.  He longs to feel loved and to have a family.

·       The one good thing Otis’s father did was to send him to a place where he can practice his beautiful music and become a great musician.

·       Sadie is ridiculed at the factory for being dirty and smelly.  There is a pretty viscous “mean girl” in this novel.  Luckily, the kind servants who live in the Taylor mansion offer her a part time job which includes board.

·       The story was told through the alternating viewpoints of Otis and Sadie.  On audiobook, each has their own narrator.  It was pleasant to listen to.

·       I especially enjoyed that there were many mentions of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester throughout the novel.

·       This was a clean read.

·       I really enjoyed the author’s note.  Author Rachel Fordham described her research including a real feather duster company and skating rinks in early twentieth century Monticello Iowa.  She also included a picture of the historical factory and the patent of the “featherless” duster.  It was interesting and made for a very unique setting and story.

·       I enjoyed the mystery of trying to find Otis’s niece.  That story had many twists and turns.

·       This novel really made me ponder what is “normal?”  There is a beautiful scene in the epilogue where a doctor has “horrible” news about a facial birthmark of a child, but the mother only sees the child as beautiful.

·       As it is a Beauty and the Beast type story, I did enjoy the overall theme of looking beyond appearance and looking at the character and personality of the person.

·       There are also great discussion questions at the end of this novel for a book club.

Overall, Beyond Ivy Walls is a lovely historical romance novel with a unique setting, and thoughtful story.

The Winged Tiara by J’Nell Ciesielski (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

Title: The Winged Tiara

Author:  J’Nell Ciesielski

Narrated by:  Ann Marie Gideon

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 31 minutes

Source: Thank you @jnellciesielski @thomasnelson @austenprose for the physical review copy and @netgalley audiobook review copy of of The Winged Tiara.

What book are you most likely to gift to a friend?  I like to give books to friends or family that I think they will like.  Sometimes I read a book, enjoy it and immediately think of who else I know that will also enjoy the book.  The Winged Tiara was a book I instantly knew a few friends and family members would enjoy.

Jasper and Esme were caught up in celebrations after the end of WWI and had a quick alcohol filled marriage.  Esme slipped away the next morning.  Years later, the two meet up again as both are famous jewel thieves on the hunt for the elusive winged Valkyrie Tiara. Will they find the tiara, and will they find their way back to each other?

My thoughts on this book:

·       I loved the witty banter and romantic tension between the two main characters.  Sparks definitely fly in this novel.

·       This book reminded me of many of my favorite movies that had romantic tension, witty dialogue, a love/hate relationship, and one upmanship among the leads including To Catch a Thief, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, The Thin Man, or The Thomas Crown Affair.

·       I loved the constant adventure with their pursuit of the winged tiara.

·       The audiobook had a great narrator with unique voices for all the characters.  It was so fun to listen to this audiobook!

·       The narrative was fast paced.

·       I loved the roaring 20’s setting among the elite and glamorous in Europe.

·       This was a clean read.

·       Two of my favorite tropes were in this novel including enemies to lovers and second chance romance.

·       Esme and Jasper were both great characters.  They were both interesting with flaws, fears, and ambitions.

·       There is a nice set of discussion questions at the end of the novel which would be great for a book club.

Overall, The Winged Tiara is one of the best books I’ve read this year.  I highly recommend this historical romance.  I would love to see this as a movie.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Diamonds and danger dazzle in Ciesielski's latest enchanting romp through post-war Europe as estranged spouses and jewel thieves hunt an elusive Valkyrie tiara.

November 12, 1918. It was a match made in champagne-soaked heaven, but all too soon the bubbles dried up, and Esme Fox awakens the morning after celebrating the end of the Great War to find herself shockingly and accidentally married. She gathers her belongings and slips out before her new husband can stop her. After all, she knows it's best to leave before he does.

Four years later, Jasper Truitt, after having made a name for himself in the underground world of jewel thieves, is on the hunt for a valuable heirloom: a one-of-a-kind winged tiara--the last Valkyrie tiara ever created. So it's with great surprise that he discovers it at a charity event atop the head of a woman he's never forgotten. His long-lost wife . . . who happens to be pursuing the tiara for a vengeful opera diva desperate to obtain the jewel for herself.

The reunion is cut short when Esme vanishes--again--but their separation is temporary. With a hitman on their heels and a deadline looming, the pair find themselves in an epic game of cat and mouse across Europe following leads from the French Riviera to a shop of wonders in Venice, a fairy-tale castle in Bavaria, and a veritable circus thrown by a champagne heiress, all before a dramatic horseback flight through the French countryside.

In the end only one can win, and with both of their hearts on the line, the winner may well turn out to be the loser.

In her latest glamorous historical romance, J'nell Ciesielski spins a sparkling story filled with her signature snappy dialogue and vivid atmosphere that will keep you reading late into the night to see what happens next.

AUTHOR BIO

Bestselling author J’nell Ciesielski has a passion for heart-stopping adventure and sweeping love stories while weaving fresh takes into romances of times gone by. When not creating dashing heroes and daring heroines, she can be found dreaming of Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. She is a member of the Tall Poppy Writers and lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and lazy beagle.

Scandalous Women by Gill Paul (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @williammorrowbooks for the review copy of Scandalous Women by Gill Paul.

Have you ever read any books by Jackie Collins and Jacqueline Susann?  I have had their novels on my TBR forever, but I still need to read them. I know just a little about both authors and I was excited to review a new novel about them, Scandalous Women by Gill Paul.

In the 1960’s Jacqueline Susann revolutionized publishing in the United States with her new racy book, Valley of the Dolls, and her groundbreaking way to advertise it by have a cross-country book tour.  Meanwhile, in London, Jackie Collins has written her own shocking novel, The World is Full of Married Men. Nancy White is an assistant editor for both and lives the type of life that is could be a story in a Jacqueline Susann or Jackie Collins novel.  Will the women be able to help each other to achieve their dreams?

My thoughts on this book:

·       I enjoyed this novel.  It was another book that I couldn’t put down.  I quickly read it and relished it.

·       The book was told through alternating narratives from the viewpoint of each of the three women.  I found all three storylines to be fascinating.

·       I learned so much about Jacqueline Susann and Jackie Collins.  I more than ever want to read their books. I empathized with both women.  Jacqueline Susann was a fierce woman on the outside, but behind closed doors, she struggled with breast cancer and with trying to earn money to ensure that her disabled son would be able to have money to be taken care of for the rest of his life.  Jackie Collins had an abusive first marriage but found love with her second husband.  She was devoted to her three daughters.  Both women wanted to make a name for themselves, and they dared to by writing about women who liked sex, which was unheard of in 1960s publishing.

·       I enjoyed Nancy’s fictional story as well.  She’s a naive newcomer to New York City that through her own grit and determination, is able to make it in the big city.  She also has problems with love along the way.

·       I had never really thought about modern day book tours, they are just what every author does.  I did not realize that Jacqueline Susann was the first person to do this and shape the modern book tour.

·       It was fascinating to me to think about how these two women “invented” a grittier type of women’s fiction.

·       I liked the relationships between the three women in the novel.

·       I enjoyed the historical afterword about the real history of these amazing women at the end of the novel.

Favorite quote: “I don’t approve of women’s novels being patronized by the literary establishment.  We should all read whatever we want without shame.”

This book was published on August 13, 2024.

Overall, Scandalous Women is an addictive story of two powerful women authors who were able to find their own path in the 1960s.  This was great historical fiction that I could not put down.

Saved by the Matchmaker by Jody Hedlund (Austenprose PR Book Tour)

 

What is your favorite romance trope?  Marriage of convenience, second change romance, friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, etc.?  Saved by the Matchmaker is a romance novel with one of my favorite tropes, marriage of convenience.

Enya Shanahan thought she found the love of her life when she eloped with Brian.  After he abandoned her, her family quickly had her marriage annulled.  One problem is that she is pregnant.  Her father hires a matchmaker to find her a husband quickly.  The matchmaker pairs her with steamboat Captain Sullivan O’Brian, who also needs a quick marriage to appease his father and keep his job.  Will these two find love and understanding?  Will they be able to work together to help enslaved people find freedom?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       This was a very romantic story full of romantic tension.

·       Sullivan has scars from rescuing people from a devastating fire during the Mexican American War.  He is afraid no one will love him because of these scars.

·       The story had hints of Beauty and the Beast, if the Beast was actually a nice man with unsightly scars.

·       This story takes place in the 19^th century in St. Louis, New Orleans, and along the Mississippi River.

·       Both Enya and Sullivan were wonderful, deeply developed, and well-rounded characters.  I loved their growth through the novel, as well as their romance.

·       This was a clean read, but oh my – the romantic tension was definitely there!

·       This is the second book in the series, but it can be read as a standalone.

·       I loved that Sullivan gave time for Enya to fall in love with him.

·       The story is told through Enya and Sullivan’s alternating points of view.

·       It was an interesting detail on how Sullivan used his river boat as part of the underground railroad to help enslaved people escape to the north.  Enya loves this about him and wants to help.

Overall, Saved by the Matchmaker by Jody Hedlund is a beautiful historical romance with well developed and likeable characters, and great romantic tension.

Book Source:  Review copy from Bethany House Fiction as part of the Austenprose PR Book Tour. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

After her annulment is finalized, Enya Shanahan finds herself caught in a web of scandal and obligation while carrying a secret that threatens to shatter her family's reputation. Determined to find a suitable marriage for Enya, her father turns to a wily matchmaker to save them from their circumstances.

Sullivan O'Brien, a steamboat captain committed to aiding enslaved people on their path to freedom, is faced with an ultimatum from his father. Forced to marry or lose his livelihood, a marriage of convenience seems to be the only solution. As he and Enya face the trials of their pasts and a city consumed by fire, they must confront their deepest fears and learn to trust in love, even when darkness threatens to engulf them.

AUTHOR BIO

Jody Hedlund (JodyHedlund.com) is the bestselling author of more than fifty novels and is the winner of numerous awards. Jody lives in Michigan with her husband, busy family, and five spoiled cats. She writes sweet historical romances with plenty of sizzle.

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

 

Title:  Wandering Stars

Author:  Tommy Orange

Narrated by:  Shaun Taylor-Corbett, MacLeod Andrews, Alma Cuervo, Curtis Michael Holland, Calvin Joyal, Phil Ava, Emmanuel Chumaceiro, Christian Young, Charley Flyte

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 9 hours and 37 minutes

Source: Audiobook purchased from Amazon.com. 

Are you a book club member who reads every pick or do you skip reading some of the books?

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange was the Rogue Book Club pick for May, but the meeting was cancelled.  I usually read the book each month, but I hadn’t finished it yet, so I was okay with the meeting being rescheduled to July to give me time to finish it.  I discovered at the meeting that I was one of the only people that read the book as most others couldn’t get into it. It is not a light summer read. I loved it.

Wandering Stars tells the story of one Native American family and how the harsh treatment of ancestors in the past trickles down to impact the lives of modern day descendants.  The novel starts with the Sand Creek Massacre in Colorado in 1864.  Star, a young boy survives and is sent to jail where he is forced to learn English and Christianity by Richard Henry Pratt.  Pratt goes on to found the Carlisle School where Star’s son Charles is sent and abused.  In the present, decedents struggle with a mass shooting, PTSD, and drug addiction.

My thoughts on the novel:

·       This novel was written in a stream of conscious narrative with beautiful language.  These first-person narratives felt like the personal story of each of the characters.

·       I have not read the first book, There, There.  I need to read it.  I was able to read this as a standalone novel, but I have a feeling I missed a lot of connections by not having read the first novel.

·       I enjoyed that the novel was a unique way of storytelling.

·       This book really hit home for me on how traumatic events of the past still affect lives of people living today. 

·       One character in the middle of the 20^th century goes to the library to find a book about Native Americans by a Native American. The librarian says there are none.  They must instead read their own history written by “the very kind of men some of us had seen wipe our people out.”

·       Author Tommy Orange is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. He was born and raised in Oakland, California, which is the setting for a large part of this novel.

·       There was a full cast for the audiobook and it made it a great listening experience.  I think the format of the novel worked particularly well as an audiobook.

Favorite Quotes:

“These kinds of events were called battles, then later – sometimes- massacres, in America’s biggest war.  More years at war with Indians than as a nation. Three hundred and thirteen.”

“Bear Shield had told me the woman who wrote the book knew Indians. That she’d understood everything from way over there, where she was from.  And that being made to take a name like they’d wanted, being made to be the kind of person they wanted us to be, it was just like that woman’s monster, was just like she called Dr. Victor Frankenstein in the book, that was why he chose the name Victor, he was the man making the monster be agreeing to take their kind of name and living life the way white men like Pratt demanded.”

“Outside he sees the buffalo carcasses stripped of their hides, and beyond them the bones of buffalo piled up as far as he can see, and in the distance like an approaching storm cloud, countless vultures coming to swarm the waste.  It was the end of a world out there.”

Overall, Wandering Stars had beautiful writing, deep thoughts, and a compelling story.  I will be thinking about this book for a long time.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

 

Have you ever had a job that you dread going to?  I love my current job, but the job I had immediately before this job was one that I dreaded every day.  I only stayed at that job briefly.  Co-workers and bosses can make a big difference on whether you have a good experience at work or not.  Luckily, I was only at this bad job for a few months.

Jolene has been living life in a drunken fog, paralyzed by anxiety.  She has no friends, is estranged from her parents, and has no love life.  All Jolene has is her job.  She entertains herself by writing her true thoughts on the bottom of emails and then changing the text color to white.  One day she forgets to change the text color and she is reported to HR.  She is sentenced to sensitivity training with the new HR guy Cliff.  She soon discovers that when IT updated her computer, they accidentally gave her access to everyone in the office’s emails and chats.  She tries to report it to Cliff but is not believed.  When she discovers that layoffs are coming, she decides to use her new powers to help her keep her job.  What could go wrong?

My thoughts on this novel:

·     
  This novel was set in Canada.

·       The start of this book was bleak and felt like a downer.  Jolene’s life and outlook is depressing.  Luckily the mood changed as the book continued and it grew more lighthearted, sarcastic, and fun.

·       I loved the theme that once you get to know people, you will find out that everyone has something going on and we can all give others grace.

·       This novel has great character development, and I grew to care for so many of the characters.  They were very relatable.

·       Jolene is a great character. She is working through the trauma of her high school best friend dying and she has great growth throughout the novel.  She is half Persian and must deal with her Persian mother’s expectations.

·       Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. 

·       This novel had a sweet and believable romance between Cliff and Jolene.

·       This was a fantastic debut author, and I can’t wait to see what author Natalie Sue has next.

·       This novel was witty and well written.  I loved the sarcasm and dry humor.

·       I read and enjoyed this novel in May and I’m working on catching up on reviews.

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue has romance, comedy, office politics, anxiety, family drama and heart-warming moments.  I enjoyed this unique novel and highly recommend it.

Book Source:  Giveaway copy from Book Club Girls and William Morrow Books. Thank-you!  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

One Last Word by Suzanne Park

 

If you could send loved ones one last message before you die, what would you say?

Sara Chae has invented an app, One Last Word, which allows you to send messages to anyone you want to when you die.  It stores the messages you have written and sends them off after news of your death.  After a drunken night of fun, Sara’s messages are accidentally sent out including to her long-time crush, Harry.  Will Sara be able to get her app launched successfully into the world?  Will she and Harry finally have a chance?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I have read and enjoyed Suzanne Park’s novels in the past.  I enjoy her characters and stories and this one did not disappoint.

·       I enjoyed that Sara was a strong woman in the Tech world.  As a female engineer, I love and enjoy STEM novels.

·       The book was overall on Sara’s journey as an Asian female in a primarily white male dominated tech world.  How can she work to carve out her own place in this world?

·       Sara’s parents also have ideas of what Sara should be, especially compared to her sister Jia.  The family interactions and expectations were interesting.  Sara was a workaholic trying to meet her family’s expectations, but she felt like she was never meeting them.

·       I loved the sweet romance between Sara and Harry.  It is a second chance romance if they never acted on their mutual crush in high school?

·       There are a few steamy scenes in this one.

·       Sara and Harry seemed like real people that I would be friends with.  Sara especially was very relatable.  This was a great character driven novel.

·       I loved the humor in this book and laughed out loud many times.

One Last Word is a charming character driven romance set in the tech world.  I enjoyed it!

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!

She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica

 

What is a recent thriller that you have read and enjoyed?

Meghan Michaels is a divorced ICU nurse in Chicago.  She’s a single mom taking care of her teenaged daughter as a killer roams the streets murdering single women.  A new patient has arrived in the ICUE named Caitlen.  It’s thought that she tried to commit suicide, but a witness comes forward stating that they saw Caitlin fighting with someone right before her fall.  Could it have been a murder attempt?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       I have enjoyed Mary Kubica’s thrillers in the past and this did not disappoint.

·       I really enjoyed the twist at the end of the novel.  I don’t want to ruin the surprise, so I am not going to get into details.

·       The plot was very engaging, and I read this story quickly.  I was hooked from the very first page.

·       I especially enjoyed the atmosphere and tension in this book.  I felt scared for Meghan every time she walked home. 

·       The unreliable characters made it so that the reader was not sure who to believe.

·       The difficulty of the mother and teenage daughter relationship seemed very relatable.

·       It was interesting thinking about being a nurse and trying to maintain the balance of being a professional and not digging into patients’ private matters.

·       I read this book in April, but I’m still plucking away at getting some past reviews posted.

Overall, She’s Not Sorry by Mary Kubica was an engaging thriller that I could not put down.

Book Source:  Review copy from NetGalley. Thank-you!

Stranded with Mr. Darcy by Lin Mei Wei

 

Do you like castaway stories?  I always have with my favorite being the Swiss Family Robinson.

Mr. Darcy proposed to Elizabeth Bennet at Hunsford and was rejected.  He now finds himself in the awkward position of being with her as they journey with the new Mr. and Mrs. Bingley to Italy.  A storm takes their ship off course and Mr. Darcy and Lizzie find themselves stranded on a desert island.  Will they make it off the island?  What will society say about such a situation.

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Stranded with Mr. Darcy was the July pick for the JASNA Northwoods book club.  Those of us that read it enjoyed it but agreed that it could have been trimmed down.  The story seemed to drag at times.

·       I love castaway stories and Pride and Prejudice variations.  This was a fun combo of two genres that I enjoy.

·       I enjoyed that Darcy had a lot of survival skills.

·       Elizabeth and Darcy grew to know each other as they worked to survive.  They cuddled together in the night to share body heat, but surprisingly, nothing more than that occurred.

·       The story slowed down for me when they were rescued.  There is a storyline with a cousin that is Mr. Darcy’s heir that seemed strange.  The cousin did not want Mr. Darcy to marry as he would lose his inheritance.  I don’t know why he would assume that Mr. Darcy wouldn’t marry.

Overall, Stranded with Mr. Darcy was a fun Pride and Prejudice variation with a castaway twist.

Book Source: Kindle version purchased through Amazon.com.

Spare by Prince Harry

 

Title:  Spare

Author:  Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

Narrated by:  Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex

Publisher: Random House Audio

Length: Approximately 15 hours and 39 minutes

Source: Checked out with Libby through the Kewaunee Public Library.  Thank-you!

Are you a fan of the royal family?  Although I am American, I have always enjoyed reading about the royal family of the United Kingdom.  Spare is Prince Harry’s tell all memoir that was much publicized.  This was the August pick for the Page-turners Book Club at the Kewaunee Public Library.

My thoughts on this audiobook:

·       Prince Harry’s memoir started with his mother’s, Princess Diana’s, death.  This was a defining moment in his life and many of his actions through his life have all been based on this.

·       Harry’s relationship problems with William seem to be typical brother woes but made to be worse by the separateness of family members.  Treating two brothers so very differently is going to cause problems.  I was horrified by the details Harry included that were personal and would have been best discussed directly with family members rather than in a tell all memoir.

·       Prince Harry read the book himself, which I greatly enjoyed.  He has a nice voice.

·       The memoir seemed raw and honest; it was Harry’s truth as he sees it.

·       I am not sure I believe that Harry should have written about his family like this.

·       Harry really hates the paparazzi, and it seems to consume his life.

·       He has a real fear of not having himself and family protected, and I understand that.

·       You can feel his love for Meghan in this book.  You can also feel the love that his father has for him.  I’m sad that they are estranged.

·       Harry has had a lot to live with being in the public eye, his mother’s death, and PTSD from his military service.  I hope he can get the help he needs, and I hope he learns to keep some things private and to appreciate the family he has while he has them.

Overall, Spare was an interesting memoir, and I am glad I listened to the audiobook.  It did make me wonder about our insatiable curiosity about the royal family.  Living under the microscope can benefit family members like Harry who are looking for an income, but it really seems to strain family relationships.