Over at my blog, Reveries, there’s a blog tour going on. You should check it out! But anyway, that’s why I didn’t post these last weeks. *blushes*
Title: After a Fashion
Author: Jen Turano
Series: A Class of Their Own, #1
Genre: Historical Romance/Romantic Comedy
Era: 1882
Setting: New York
Publisher: Bethany House Publisher
Source: from library
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars
After a Fashion by Jen Turano
Miss Harriet Peabody dreams of the day she can open up a shop selling refashioned gowns to independent working women like herself. Unfortunately, when an errand for her millinery shop job goes sadly awry due to a difficult customer, she finds herself without an income.
Mr. Oliver Addleshaw is on the verge of his biggest business deal yet when he learns his potential partner prefers to deal with men who are settled down and wed. When Oliver witnesses his ex not-quite-fiancée causing the hapless Harriet to lose her job, he tries to make it up to her by enlisting her help in making a good impression on his business partner.
Harriet quickly finds her love of fashion can’t make her fashionable. She’ll never truly fit into Oliver’s world, with its fancy dinners and elegant balls, but just as she’s ready to call off the fake relationship a threat from her past forces both Oliver and Harriet to discover that love can come in the most surprising packages.
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Well, that was amusing … but kind of silly. I honestly have pretty mixed feelings about this book.
On one hand, it had great characters, an interesting plot, and the writer’s style was humorous and fun. On the other, it was a bit ridiculous, and there were a couple coincidences that I find hard to believe.
PLOT: 4/5
Amusing and interesting, but there was quite a series of coincidences. There were also several situations that felt unrealistic, especially for the era – such as a full-grown woman diving under a table at a fancy restaurant to avoid someone. Or another woman (immature as she may be) walking around in her undergarments (or practically).
Still, it was an amusing and wild ride. The plot twist at the end made it that much better. I hadn’t expected anything remotely like that, so it was a pleasant surprise.
CHARACTERS: 4/5
Oliver is awesomely grumpy.
Harriet is a goof sometimes, but I still love her.
Harriet’s friends are really just too wild for the era, but still awesome.
And there were several other characters I loved, too. The characters were one of the best features of this book. They were all quite amusing!
SETTING: 2/5
This could have been done better. I feel like the ambiance of the era just wasn’t captured in this book … and some of the situations/characters were a little ahead of their time.
WRITING: 4/5
I honestly love Turano’s humorous writing style. It’s just the best!
CONTENT: 2/5
Language: n/a
Violence: I believe Harriet punches a couple people. But there’s not graphic violence.
Sexual: a lady walks around in nothing but her undergarments (practically). Harriet believes that she’s the illegitimate child of a man’s mistress for the longest time. Mentions of brothels, etc., and of two women who used to be prostitutes. Romancy stuff, no details.
Clean. Okay for teens 12+, without parental guidance.
OVERALL: 4/5
Amusing, but not amazing. Still, definitely worth the read for lovers of hilarious historical romances.
~Kellyn Roth~
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p.s.
Have you read this book? Or any books by Jen Turano? What do you think of wacky, out-of-this-world situations in books?
