Books for Christian Girls: "Lady Jayne Disappears" by Joanna Davidson Politano

About this book:

“When Aurelie Harcourt's father dies in debtor's prison, he leaves her just two things: his wealthy family, whom she has never met, and his famous pen name, Nathaniel Droll. Her new family greets her with apathy and even resentment. Only the quiet houseguest, Silas Rotherham, welcomes her company.
When Aurelie decides to complete her father's unfinished serial novel, writing the family into the story as unflattering characters, she must keep her identity as Nathaniel Droll hidden while searching for the truth about her mother's disappearance--and perhaps even her father's death.
Author Joanna Davidson Politano's stunning debut set in Victorian England will delight readers with its highly original plot, lush setting, vibrant characters, and reluctant romance.”

Series: As of now, no.

Spiritual Content- Psalm 23:6 at the end; Many Prayers, Thanking, & Talking to God; Many Scriptures are mentioned, quoted, & remembered; Going to a chapel; Talks about God; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking/talking to God; Mentions of a chapel, going to it, worship, & sermons; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of a house that oozes religion, but has precious little of God; A few mentions of Bibles & faiths; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of blessing & being blessed; A mention of hymnals; A mention of a miracle; A mention of an angel; A mention of sins; A mention of monks in a cathedral;

*Note: Mentions of auras, including a creepy one; Mentions of ghosts & them haunting a place; A couple mentions of devilish smiles; A mention of someone being devilishly rude.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘idiot’, a ‘where the devil’, two forms of ‘stupid’, and two ‘witch’s; A bit of sass & eye rolling; Pain & a concussion (up to semi-detailed); A bit of fighting & causing someone pain; Nightmares; Many, many mentions of prisons, deaths, crimes, debts, & debtors/inmates (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a disappearance & (possible) murder(s) and trying to find the killer(s); Mentions of murders, murderers, & hatred; Many mentions of life in a prison (diseases/illnesses, wounds, deaths, & rats, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of threats; Mentions of pain & a concussion; Mentions of slapping & wanting to slap someone; Mentions of gambling & gamblers; Mentions of alcohol, drunks, & saloons/pubs; Mentions of pipes & smoking; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of children drowning (not really though); A few mentions of stealing & being locked up for it; A few mentions of hunters & hunting; A couple mentions of asylums; A couple mentions of divorces; A mention of throwing up.

Sexual Content- A couple hand kisses, a fingers-to-lip touch, two head kisses, a cheek kiss, a almost semi-detailed kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; A bit of staring at someone’s lips, imagining, & wondering about a kiss (up to semi-detailed); A handful of desires to kiss someone (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Warmth, Embraces, Nearness, & Smelling (also some unwanted touches, both kinds are up to semi-detailed); Noticing (up to semi-detailed); *Large Spoiler* Aurelie’s mother was already married when she and Aurelie’s father met, they then had an affair later that resulted in Aurelie and Lady Jayne abandoning her after giving birth *End of Large Spoiler*; Mentions of out-of-wedlock pregnancies (one child is said to have been “accidental”) & a husband who had more child than his only wife; Mentions of scandals, reputations, & chaperones; Mentions of romantic trysts; Mentions of couples touching & kissing hand; Mentions of kissing & an almost kiss; Mentions of a girl running away to be with her beau; Mentions of flirting & flirts; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of blushes; A couple mentions of the possibilities of illegitimate children; A couple mentions of a man trying to ruin a young woman; A couple mentions of crushes; A couple mentions of dates; A mention of a drunken man planting a kiss on a woman; A mention of a man that hasn’t tasted the lips of a woman; A mention of a woman using the power of seduction; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

*Note: Mentions of underthings; Mentions of female figures; A few mentions of mothers who died in childbirth; A couple mentions of many infants that died; A mention of thinking that a woman died in childbirth; A mention of a woman’s abundant bosom.

-Aurelie Rosette Harcourt

-Silas Rotherham
1^st person P.O.V. of Aurelie, normal 3^rd of Silas

Set during 1861
416 pages

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My personal Rating-

What an interesting book.
I went into this one not knowing much; I honestly wasn’t ever sure that it was a historical. (It is.) I wanted to try it out, however, to see if I should be watching this author after reading her debut book.

And you know what? I think I will be.

The prologue threw me right into this story in a first-person point of view of Aurelie, then while we’re catching up by going back a few months prior, I was itching to get to the end just to see what would happen, to get to the present day of the story.

Aurelie completely won me over very quickly. She’s constantly trying to figure out everyone’s story. She is, as she puts it, “sensitive to story ideas.” I loved how she starts praying specifically for a new friend’s future husband before even thinking about herself. I loved all of Aurelie’s prayers and seeing her faith, but I do wish we could have seen a bit more of Silas’ faith and his family. {Side note: The pen-name is under Nathaniel Droll. 😉 }

This novel did have some instant attraction, which I’m never a fan of, so what romance was in this book was more than I would have liked at times.

There actually was some humor, which I wasn’t expecting. Sometimes this book had a Gothic feel to it, so it could be dramatic.

As the book went on I began to see a pattern: Aurelie would write a twist in the story, we (& she) get a twist in the plot. I won’t lie, though, I was a bit sadden by a big twist towards the end—and then there was another twist that I wasn’t overall thrilled with. I do approve of certain twists right at the end with a certain dimpled man and our writer, however.

Truthfully, I wanted a happier ending. Calm me a sap, but I like everything wrapped up with a giant bow in my fiction stories whenever there’s family troubles. It was all wrapped up, though, so I’ll give it that. For a debut novel, the plot (& all the twists) kept me on my toes and since I mostly enjoyed it, I’m curious to learn about the author’s next novel.

See y’all on Wednesday with a new review!