Hello, my lovelies! How's everyone's May going? Crazy as it seems, this month is almost over and I have hardly any new posts to show for it! However, that doesn't mean I haven't been reading or doing fun things I'd love to share with y'all. In fact, I've done quite a bit of reading, at least for me! :) So let's get to the fun stuff, shall we?
Each book in this series is just full of adorableness, yet with the slightest touch of tension so as to keep you turning pages. And this one is no exception to that! :) I instantly fell for Sir Bennet in book one, so had been looking forward to seeing what lady would catch his eye. Lady Sabine is perfect for him! I wanted so badly to make everything easier for her, poor lady has in no way had an easy life. Her "blemish" that makes her so insecure actually makes no difference to those who truly love her. Especially her grandmother, who is absolutely the best! Their relationship was definitely a favorite. And, of course, I loved each of Bennet and Sabine's conversations. They are clearly equals when it comes to intellect, and their shared love of art and history, not to mention their mutual attraction, made for lots of banter, sarcasm, and wit being thrown around. :)
As in the previous books, Ms. Hedlund fills her story with sweet romance and a swashbuckling good time. This might even be my favorite of the three books? I'm not certain, but I will definitely say that Lady Sabine is my favorite character!
So much swoony happiness in these stories! I loved all three and if I had to pick a favorite, I'm not sure I could do it. Ms. Raney's meet cute between Lily and Gage was super cute! And the way Lily kept ordering stuff one day at a time just so the cute guy could keep coming back to her house? Too funny! Yet the chemistry between Ms Tagg's Megan and Eric? Wow! There was no denying it, no matter how much they both tried. The same goes for Ms. Walsh's Eleanor and Jason! They had good chemistry and best of all, history behind it. I loved watching the two of them swoon over each other. :)
So! Long story short? These three stories are absolutely adorable fun and I sorely wish they were full length novels because I could've used a few hundred pages more with each of these characters!
SUPER adorable and MUCH too short! I absolutely loved this little novella and so, so wish it were a complete novel. There is ever so much more that could've been expounded on! But I'll take what I can get and what I got was cute and funny. Ms. Rowell certainly has a way with words and I loved every minute, from Elena's arrival at the line until they all walk out of their first viewing of the movie a few days later. I know a bit about Star Wars, but still haven't watched all the movies yet, so I was glad that I didn't get lost in some of the references. Also I cannot imagine actually camping out for days and days like people have done in real life! But I suppose if I was guaranteed a cute boy to hang out with, maybe that might sweeten the idea? ;) Probably not. Still, Elena was willing to do it and her adventures in line go quite a bit differently than she expected. Some not so fun (I mean, the whole bathroom situation? Yuck.) and some rather sweet and then we get to that ending! So much laughter and cute to be found in this story, I highly recommend it.
I've read a few reviews which mention comparisons to You've Got Mail, and I can agree with that. But the online chats really got pushed into the background so the story could focus on the "real life" portions more. Which was a good choice because the real life interactions between Bailey and "Alex"? So much fun! I rather enjoyed their antagonistic attraction, which leads to many a good sarcastic and banter-filled convo between them. I also really enjoyed watching Bailey's relationship with her dad grow over the course of the story. Definitely a highlight of the book!
Yet for all the cute that I liked, there were a few things that bugged me. I wasn't all that impressed with the amount of coarse language used, for one. A little bit I can usually overlook, but this felt slightly excessive and unnecessary. Also, the violence portrayed was a little much for my comfort. It's not overly explicit, but just the way the characters respond to it bothered me. Especially Bailey herself. So while it was, overall, a very enjoyable read for me, my feelings are too mixed for me to recommend it wholeheartedly.
I am definitely a fan of Ms. Kearsley's without any doubt now! Her ability to string together words and phrases and create these atmospheric tales of interesting characters and places is incredible. So far (of the entire 2 1/2 books of hers that I've read), I love how the details of the geography and the architecture of the areas she describes feel so real to me. It's almost like they become characters themselves. The ruins around Chinon certainly felt like that in this book. Enough to make me wish I could go visit! :)
Emily, herself, is a character I easily connected to and I thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this "forced" holiday with her. All the vast and interesting people she meets and the certain someone who continually remains on her radar, especially when she'd rather not be quite so aware of him. The romance bits are limited, but do they ever pack a punch! Ms. Kearsley excels at using few words, yet depths of emotion are felt. While I wouldn't say I loved this story with no reservations, I can absolutely say I am planning to read more of her books in the very near future!
