"Diamond in the Rough" by Jen Turano

About this book:

  “When Miss Poppy Garrison accepts her grandmother's offer of financial help for her family in exchange for Poppy joining the New York social Season, she quickly realizes she is far less equipped to mingle with the New York Four Hundred than even she knew. As she becomes embroiled in one hilarious fiasco after another, becoming the diamond of the first water her grandmother longs her to be looks more impossible by the day.
   Reginald Blackburn, second son of a duke, is in New York to help his cousin find an American heiress who can help save his family's estate. But when his very proper British manners lead Poppy's grandmother to request he teach etiquette to Poppy, he quickly finds himself in for much more than he bargained for.
   And while they couldn't be more opposite, Reginald and Poppy just might find they have more to teach each other than they ever could have expected.”


Series: Book #2 in the “American Heiress” series. Review of Book #1, Here!


Spiritual Content- Talks about God, forgiveness, & trials; Mentions of God; Mentions of churches, church going, services, sermons, hymnals, & reverends; A few mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God;

             *Note: A few mentions of a ghost and a ghoul.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: seven ‘idiot’s; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); Some eye rolling; Being kidnapped & a gun aimed at you (barely-above-not-detailed); Fights, Injuries, Pain, & Gunshots (barely-above-not-detailed); Throwing up; Mentions of a sudden death (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of fist fights/brawls, injuries, blood/bleeding, criminals/thieves, & stealing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of jail; Mentions of blackmail; Mentions of alcohol & social drinking; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of throwing up; A couple mentions of an accidents & deaths; A couple mentions of cigars.

Sexual Content- five hand kisses (greeting/parting), a not-detailed kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and two semi-detailed kisses; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of greeting/parting kisses; A few mentions of ruined reputations; A couple mentions of hints of men hiring women in a rough area of town; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: Mentions of unmentionables; A few mentions of Poppy’s curves (noticed by Reginald).

-Poppy Garrison, age 22

-Reginald Blackburn
                                P.O.V. switches between them

                                              Set in 1885 (Epilogue in 1886)
                                                        347 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

While this isn’t my favorite Jen Turano book, it was still quite a fun read. It took a bit for me to get into because it felt very much like her other books, by mid-way I became more invested and curious to see how different elements would turn out. Murray was a very pleasant surprise of a character and I truly enjoyed him the most. “Diamond in the Rough” was a good and clean read that I believe many will enjoy. :)

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.

*I received this book for free from the Author for this honest review.

"First Date" by Melody Carlson

About this book:

  “When it comes to catching the eye of that cute boy at school, sometimes you just need a little help from your friends.
  Devon, Emma, Cassidy, Bryn, and Abby have one thing in common as they start their sophomore year: none of them have ever been on a "real" date. With homecoming looming, the girls make a pact and start a secret club they call the DG (Dating Games) that has just one objective--dates for the dance.
  They're sworn to secrecy, but the club is their way to set each other up on their first dates so they can report back to the DG. They'll have to navigate expectations and rules from their parents, figure out how to act on a date, and endear themselves to the guys they like.
  What could possibly go wrong?”


Series: Book #1 in “The Dating Games” series.


Spiritual Content- A Scripture is remembered; Set at a private Christian high school; Prayers; Talks about God, peace, faiths, Heaven, outward appearance, & dating; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Cassidy, Emma, & Abby are Christians (Devon used to go to church and while she says it’s falseness/hypocritical now, she does believe in God; Bryn goes to church, but doesn’t get the big deal); Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of Heaven; Mentions of churches, church going, services, small groups, youth group, camps, & youth leaders; A few mentions of the Ten Commandments; A few mentions of witnessing to others; A couple mentions of being Christlike; A couple mentions of being blessed; A couple mentions of a Christian college; A couple mentions of VeggieTales; A mention of a Christian counselor;

             *Note: A mention of Devon’s anti-Christian soapbox; A mention of a devilish grin; A mention of an atheist.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘freaking’ and eight ‘stupid’s; Lots of Eye rolling; Mentions of Devon’s and Emma’s parents’ divorce after their fathers left their families; Mentions of drugs & addicts; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of lying & lies; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A couple mentions of the lottery; A mention of gangsters; A mention of a morgue;

             *Note: Mentions of celebrities & TV shows (including The Bachelor); Mentions of brand names (including Apple products, Victoria’s Secret, Banana Republic, Louboutins, Nikes); Mentions of social media (Facebook); A couple mentions of Girl Scouts; A couple mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of magazines; A mention of zombies.

Sexual Content- twenty forms of ‘hot’, and then ‘babe’s & ‘hunk’s many times (used as nicknames for two people often); Noticing, Staring, & Blushes (barely-above-not-detailed); All about many mentions of boys, boyfriends/girlfriends, dating, dates, stringing boys along (and enjoying it), & breakups; Mentions of thinking a girl was date raped (she was not, but the guy had kissing and more on his mind); Mentions of a boy who thinks of girls as nothing more than sex objects & that girls were put on the earth for his happiness (along with the mention of him thinking of one thing and not his brain doing the thinking); Mentions of purity pledges & pledges not to have sex before marriage; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of homecoming & dances; A few mentions of out-of-wedlock pregnancies; A few mentions of wondering if guys at the school aren’t into girls; A few mentions of kisses & kissing; A few mentions of hand-holding; A couple mentions of date rape & date rape drugs; A couple mentions of boy crazy girls; A mention of (not) having a guy’s babies; A mention of thinking a father left his family for a woman; A mention of a hot and heavy relationship;

             *Note: Mentions of boobs, bras, & bra shopping; Mentions of curves, lack of curves, & curvy figures catching boys’ eyes; A few mentions of hookers & strippers; A few mentions of hormone-driven teen boys; A couple mentions of strapless dresses; A mention of Bryn wearing an outfit that shows her “best boy-attracting assets”; A mention of tight clothing; A mention of long-legged blondes; A mention of hot-blooded teenage guys; A mention of kicking a guy where it hurts; A mention of senior citizens’ underwear.

-Devon Fremont, age 16

-Cassidy Banks, age 16

-Emma Parks, age 16

-Bryn Jacobs, age 16

-Abby Morrison, age 16
                                P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        212 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

This definitely isn’t my favorite Melody Carlson, but it’s a fun one. It does follow a similar pattern of her past YA series with one girl being a “Goody-Two-Shoes” and another being a boy-crazy, rebel girl with the rest of the group falling in between, however. Those who enjoy teen and dating drama would probably like this one the best, but do be aware of some content in this first book.

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.