Another Book Review!

I always say it's not what you know, it's who you know.
And I have the privilege of knowing Jackie, who knows Ashley, who's a publicist at Shadow Mountain Publishing.
I wish I could say this blog post was about my own manuscripts finally achieving publication, but it's not.

It's about a book I was lucky enough to review!

Jackie first told me about this book because it's written in the Regency time period-- the same dearest, loveliest time period as Jane Austen and her books. Jackie knew I was a fan of the genre. So she put in a good word with Ashley, who contacted me asking if I'd like a copy to review.

I jumped on the chance. Yay!!

So here's what I thought after I inhaled this book:

Well written. I thought the main character Marianne was cute and very relatable. She's not your average Regency heroine even though she tries to be an "elegant lady." I think she's a cross between Elizabeth Bennett and Eleanor Dashwood. A spunky character who would put the happiness of her sister before her own.
Lots of tasty (and not-so-tasty) gentlemen, a few ladies who are actually kind and obliging for once, and a haughty but lovable grandmother (think Dowager Lady Grantham from Downton Abbey). And let's not forget the rather nasty, ambitious pieces of work that make their appearance, as they should in every good Regency romance.
And naturally, in addition to our token nice guys/bad guys/hot guys/mean girls, you HAVE to have the good old Regency standby: an entire book of people who are crazy about each other and refuse to admit it because of some aggravating sense of propriety.

Well, at any rate, it kept me turning the pages.

If you're a fan of Jane Austen and/or clean romance, this is definitely the book for you. A great way to introduce the Regency period to a younger reader (I'm thinking ages 12 and up) as it's a much easier read than the works of Austen herself.

I did find a few (seriously, a very few) historical inaccuracies as far as the English customs go for this time period, but they are so minor that it didn't detract from the story. The rest of the manners, dress, and speech seemed well researched and otherwise accurate.
And the word "flirt" was used a lot. Too much. Flirt, flirt, flirting, flirtatious. Also, lots of peeking from beneath one's eyelashes and a few cases of smoldering.

But overall, I really, really liked the story. It's definitely one I'm happy to have on my shelf, happy to one day let my future daughters read, and happy to re-read myself. Charming, light, and it will make you sigh. A lot. Sir Philip.... wow. 


Thanks Jackie, for the connection and thanks Ashley, for the opportunity!

And please, please do yourselves a favor and visit Julianne Donaldson's website: http://juliannedonaldson.blogspot.com/
This woman had to have been my friend in the pre-existence or something. She's like Ames squared. In a good way.