Books, Bunnies, and Bouquets

The Lost Letter: A Victorian Romance by Mimi Matthews

Published September 2017, Perfectly Proper Press, 204 pages

"A Proud Beauty - Society beauty Sylvia Stafford is far too pragmatic to pine. When the tragic death of her gamester father leaves her destitute and alone, she finds work as a governess in a merchant’s household in Cheapside. Isolated from the fashionable acquaintance of her youth, she resigns herself to lonely spinsterhood…until a mysterious visitor convinces her to temporarily return to her former life—and her former love.

A Scarred Beast - Colonel Sebastian Conrad is no longer the dashing cavalry officer Sylvia once fell in love with. Badly scarred during the Sepoy Rebellion, he has withdrawn to his estate in rural Hertfordshire where he lives in near complete seclusion. Brooding and tormented, he cares nothing for the earldom he has inherited—and even less for the faithless beauty who rejected him three years before.

A Second Chance - A week together in the remote Victorian countryside is the last thing either of them ever wanted. But when fate intervenes to reunite them, will a beastly earl and an impoverished beauty finally find their happily ever after? Or are some fairy-tale endings simply not meant to be?"

Because I am a sucker for historical fiction, romance, and the Victorian period, I read this book in one sitting, clutching my tea in one hand and my kindle in the other. The characters Sylvia, Sebastian, Julia, and Milson are complex, flawed, entertaining, yet wonderfully unpredictable.

The plot is a lovely mixture of what felt like to me Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice and just a tiny touch of Emma, but in the 1860's) and Beauty and the Beast. It was witty and emotional. While the novel as a whole was energetic and fast-paced, my one critique is the first chapter seemed a bit crammed. I would have loved for Mimi Matthews to have spent a few more pages slowing things down a bit because I could not get enough of her writing. There was such imagery and attention to detail, I instantly felt transported.

I definitely recommend this novel and I look forward to reading more from the author. (I read this ARC for free through NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback)

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, by Lora

fiction

Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson

Published May 2017, William Morrow/HarperCollins, 400 pages

"In the summer of 1940, ambitious young American journalist Ruby Sutton gets her big break: the chance to report on the European war as a staff writer for Picture Weekly newsmagazine in London. She jumps at the chance, for it’s an opportunity not only to prove herself, but also to start fresh in a city and country that know nothing of her humble origins. But life in besieged Britain tests Ruby in ways she never imagined.

Although most of Ruby’s new colleagues welcome her, a few resent her presence, not only as an American but also as a woman. She is just beginning to find her feet, to feel at home in a country that is so familiar yet so foreign, when the bombs begin to fall.

As the nightly horror of the Blitz stretches unbroken into weeks and months, Ruby must set aside her determination to remain an objective observer. When she loses everything but her life, and must depend upon the kindness of strangers, she learns for the first time the depth and measure of true friendship – and what it is to love a man who is burdened by secrets that aren’t his to share.

Goodnight from London, inspired in part by the wartime experiences of the author’s own grandmother, is a captivating, heartfelt, and historically immersive story that readers are sure to embrace."

So I'm going to be completely honest, I picked up this book at a Meijer at 2am when I went in to grab contact solution and had to walk by the book stands on the way to check-out. Needless to say, I finished it in a day!

The protagonist Ruby was so likeable and complex who continued to grow through our time with her. While reading Robson's novel I felt transported to the historic, cobbled streets of 1940's war-time London, where the diligent and hard-working Londoners persevere day in and day out. The richly researched details and events truly made me wish this novel never ended. But aside from Ruby, London, and the research, the rest of the experience also had merit. Specifically, I LOVED that the real crux of this novel was about Ruby finding a real "home" in London and about her passionate effort to truly be the best journalist SHE could be. Don't get me wrong, I love a good single-trajectory romance novel. But the relationship between Ruby and Bennett was like a lovely slow-growing ivy. It grew organically, in small snippets, yet it did not leave me feeling like the whole aspect shouldn't even be apart of the novel or that it was on the back-burner. I love the way Robson structured the whole novel, it felt so real and immersive.

There were a couple things that I thought detracted from the novel however. For one, the book jumps forward to a new date every chapter, often without any real indication at what Ruby was doing those x months. Additionally, I thought the pacing overall was great...until right towards the end. It started to feel rushed, as if the author really wanted to include a few more experiences or situations but was running out of pages or time. But besides that, there were a couple small, nit-picky plot holes that could have been expanded on or explained later.

Overall, I would completely recommend this novel. It left me craving another historical fiction with some romance set in London during WWII!

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, by Lora

fiction

Sleeping with Paris by Juliette Sobanet

Title: Sleeping with Paris
Author: Juliette Sobanet
Published by: Montlake Romance
Publication date: July 16 2013
Genres: Fiction, Romance

"Date like a man in the City of Light and Love…

Charlotte Summers is a sassy, young French teacher two days away from moving to Paris. Love of her life by her side, for those romantic kisses walking along the Seine? Check. Dream of studying at the prestigious Sorbonne University? Admission granted. But when she discovers her fiancé’s online dating profile and has a little chat with the busty red-head he’s been sleeping with on the side, she gives up on committed relationships and decides to navigate Paris on her own. Flings with no strings in the City of Light—mais oui!

Determined to stop other women from finding themselves in her shoes, Charlotte creates an anonymous blog on how to date like a man in the City of Love—that is, how to jump from bed to bed without ever falling in love. But, with a slew of Parisian men beating down her door, a hot new neighbor who feeds her chocolate in bed, and an appearance by her ex-fiancé, she isn’t so sure she can keep her promise to remain commitment-free. When Charlotte agrees to write an article for a popular women’s magazine about her Parisian dating adventures—or disasters, rather—will she risk losing the one man who’s swept her off her feet and her dream job in one fell swoop?"

As a preface, I have perpetually been in long term relationships and I have never been cheated on. At least knowingly. So I think that this story could particularly resonate with women who did go through that experience. The raw way Sobanet describes the heartache, grief, and loss was tangible. After experiencing this multiple times in the past (as well as knowing girlfriends with similar situations), Charlotte is emotional and heartbroken and this leads her to completely pivot. Thus, she leads herself to believe that all men are womanizing, cheating liars and deserve the same in return. Charlotte most definitely had a type and that type was jerks. So, when she followed through with abruptly moving to Paris, her only plan was becoming what she hated - date men with no strings attached, no emotions, using them. That was interesting to me and not in a good way. I thought Charlotte was great at first. But then she started acting like an oblivious teenager, leading to a predictable ending. Truthfully, I liked the writing and style the author used but the story wasn't well thought out, with an annoying main character.
Overall though, what I did keep coming back to was the author's descriptions of Paris and Lyon. I felt like I was sitting in the cafes and dancing in the clubs, drawing in the Parisian culture! I'd recommend this as a quick, entertaining read, especially because it is currently free on Amazon Kindle with Prime!

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, by Lora