Wednesday, November 30, 2016

"Edenbrooke" by Julianne Donaldson



About this book:

  “Marianne Daventry will do anything to escape the boredom of Bath and the amorous attentions of an unwanted suitor. So when an invitation arrives from her twin sister, Cecily, to join her at a sprawling country estate, she jumps at the chance. Thinking she'll be able to relax and enjoy her beloved English countryside while her sister snags the handsome heir of Edenbrooke, Marianne finds that even the best laid plans can go awry. From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.”


Series: Book #1 in the “Edenbrooke” series. (But I believe there’s only a #.5 for the rest of the series.) 


Spiritual Content- A mention of religious books; A couple mentions of places in the Bible; A couple mentions of being blessed; Mentions of a rector;
*Note: A mention of an unholy interest in an activity; A mention of something damning; A mention of a devil-may-care attitude; A couple mentions of the devil himself chasing someone; A couple mentions of Marianne feeling like she’s in heaven because she’s in love; Mentions of the heavens (“Good Heavens”, “Heaven forbid”, etc.).


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘drat’ and a ‘stupid’; Eye rolling & Sarcasm; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Marianne & her sister don’t have the best relationship; A robbery, pain, blood, passing out & an abduction (up to semi-detailed); Fighting, kicking, a gun us aimed & shot (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of an accident & death (barley-above-not-detailed); Mentions of pain, shooting, someone being shot, blood, injuries/wounds (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of knives, blood & threatening to slit throats; Mentions of threats; Mentions of a duel; Mentions of gambling, betting & horse races; Mentions of wine, brandy, drinking & a drunk; Mentions of (“gross”) saliva & wounds (barely-above-not-detailed to semi-detailed); Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of liars, lying, & lies; Mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of hunting; A couple mentions of a favorite dog that died (no details); A mention of a dog getting shot in an accident (it’s not said what happened afterwards).


Sexual Content- two hand kisses, an almost kiss, two not-detailed kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed (forced) kisses; three semi-detailed kisses, and a detailed kiss; An urge to kiss a man, wanting to kiss and touch & mentions of it (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Heat/Warmth, Embraces, Hand holding & Shivers (up to semi-detailed); Noticing, Nearness & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Love letters; A man threats to touch Marianne and she won’t let him & mentions of it later (nothing happens, barely-above-not-detailed); Many blushes, flirting & a flirt; Many mentions of a flirt, flirting, blushes & noticing; Mentions of immorality, thinking men are off carousing and seeking pleasure through conquests (thinking sexually, but they aren’t; no details); Mentions of kisses, kissing, & kissing “rakes”; Mentions of longing & desires; Mentions of ruin reputations, improper acts and scandals, & chaperones; Mentions of romance & lessons in romance; Mentions of broken hearts; Mentions of girls gaining attention from boys & men; Mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of hand kisses; A mention of a man sweeping over a woman’s figure; Love, falling in love & the emotions;
            *Note: A few mentions of animals mating.

-Marianne Daventry, age 17
                                     1st person P.O.V. of Marianne
                                            Set in 1816
                                                 264 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
I do have to admit that I’m disappointed that there isn’t more faith content…that would have been much better! The author thanks God in the acknowledgements, but there’s no prayers or mentions of going to church—which was such a social event back then, so that effects the rating on this book. Some parts didn’t seem historically accurate, but there were quite a few humorous parts. Plot wise, I found the first half to be the best & personally really liked Marianne and her personality. I can’t recall if I’ve read a Regency in first person point of view before, but this one was very witty and sarcastic, which was different. It did get kissy near the end, which I didn’t think was needed, but I over all liked this book. I plan to look in to what else the author has written. (Also, very pretty cover!)


See y’all on Friday with a new review!


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.

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