"This Weeks Reading"

In Nell Lillington's small Midwestern town of the 1870s, marriage is the obvious fate of a young woman of some social standing. Yet Nell is determined to elude the duties and restrictions of matrimony. So when she finds herself pregnant at the age of 17, she refuses to divulge the name of the father and even her childhood friend Martin is kept in the dark.

Nell's stepfather Hiram sends Nell to live at the Poor Farm of which he is a governor, to await the day when her baby can be discreetly adopted. Nell is ready to go along with Hiram's plans until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out.

Nell is the only resident of the Poor Farm who is convinced that the unwed mother and her baby were murdered, and the incident prompts her to rethink her decision to abandon her own child to her fate. But the revelations to which her questions lead make her realize that even if she manages to escape the Poor Farm with her baby, she may have no safe place to run to. (Goodreads)

My Thoughts...

I enjoy reading Historical Fiction, I rather enjoyed this story set in the 1870s. It was interesting to see how times have changed since then. It was a bit of mystery through out the story which kept me turning pages to see who was guilty. It was also part cozy mystery as well. This is the first time I've read a book by this author, Jane Steen, but I'm sure I'll be reading more by her in the future...Oh dear, my TBR pile keeps getting higher and higher....I own this book it is part of my personal library.

A charming retelling of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey--a tale of gothic misunderstandings through Henry Tilney's eyes... At the age of four and twenty, Henry is content with his life as a clergyman, leaving his older brother Frederick to inherit Northanger Abbey. But General Tilney is determined to increase the family's means by having all three of his children marry wealthy partners.

During a trip to Bath, Henry meets the delightful Miss Catherine Morland and believes he may have found the woman he's been looking for, although she has no great fortune. When the General takes an unusual liking to Catherine and invites her to visit the Abbey, Henry is thrilled. But just as in the Gothic novels Henry loves, not everything is as it seems..(Goodreads)

My Thoughts...

I love anything Jane Austen. Therefore, any books based on her novels I'm drawn to. I got to meet the characters from a different viewpoint, but staying very true to Ms. Austen's storyline. I loved reading Henry's diary and reading his thoughts about the comings and goings of the other characters. One evening I decided to watch a version of  a "Northanger Abbey"  movie again. Quite enjoyable while I was reading the book. What can I say except...I loved this book. I found this book at one of my favorite bookstores "Book Warehouse". It is now a part of my personal library.

A rugged and ruined naval officer comes to claim his bride in an unforgettable tale of love, revenge and redemption from the national bestselling author of Marry in Scandal. Anne Gracie...

Lady Rose Rutherford—rebel, heiress, and exasperated target of the town's hungry bachelors—has a plan to gain the freedom she so desperately desires: she will enter into a marriage of convenience with the biggest prize on the London marriage mart.

There's just one problem: the fierce-looking man who crashes her wedding to the Duke of Everingham — Thomas Beresford, the young naval officer she fell in love with and secretly married when she was still a schoolgirl. Thought to have died four years ago he's returned, a cold, hard stranger with one driving purpose—revenge.
 
Embittered by betrayal and hungry for vengeance, Thomas will stop at nothing to reclaim his rightful place, even if that means using Rose—and her fortune—to do it. But Rose never did follow the rules, and as she takes matters into her own unpredictable hands, Thomas finds himself in an unexpected and infuriating predicament: he's falling in love with his wife....(Goodreads)

My Thoughts...

I found this author, Anne Gracie, a month or two ago, this is the 3rd book I've read of hers, and I'm kind of on the fence if I will ever buy another one of her books. I like the storylines, however, I don't like some of the bedroom antics, I've read worse but can do without all the details. I am learning to skip over those parts in books and it saves a lot of unnecessary reading. I've been married 61 years, so I think I know what goes on it the bedroom by now...

Why do authors think they have to describe every detail going on in the bedroom. It's enough just knowing they are married and enjoying married love. I guess with me it is an age issue. Or maybe it sells more books, I really don't know. But for me, when I read an author who likes to write about bedroom antics, I just never buy their books or recommend them to anyone else. If they are to graphic I throw them in the trash. Well, that's just another one of my idiosyncrasies...