Friday, September 27, 2019

"A Rumored Fortune" by Joanna Davidson Politano


About this book:

  “Welcome to Trevelyan Castle, home of the poorest heiress in Victorian England.
 
Tressa Harlowe's father kept his vast fortune hidden somewhere on his estate in the south of England and died suddenly, without telling anyone where he had concealed it. Now Tressa and her ailing mother are left with a mansion and an immense vineyard and no money to run it.
  It doesn't take long for a bevy of opportunists to flock to the estate under the guise of offering condolences. Tressa knows what they're really up to. She'll have to work with the rough and rusticated vineyard manager to keep the laborers content without pay and discover the key to finding her father's fortune--before someone else finds it first.”


Series: As of now, no.


Spiritual Content- John 15:5 at the end; Scriptures are quoted, mentioned, & remembered; Prayers; Going to church; Talks about God; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Tressa wonders why God is allowing bad things to happen & gets mad at Him for a time; Mentions of God & talking about God; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of church, church going, & a vicar; Mentions of blessings; A few mentions of Bibles; A couple mentions of Heaven;
             *Note: Mentions of a superstition; A couple mentions of ghosts.


Negative Content- Nearly drowning & Pain (semi-detailed); Seeing someone (possibly) drown (it isn’t said if he did or not; up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a drowning & murder/murderer; Mentions of hurting someone (hinted to have possibly killed them, *Spoiler* but neither happened *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of stealing, stolen items, & thieves/con-men; Mentions of poachers; Mentions of a fire & arson; Mentions of alcohol & drinking; Mentions of eavesdropping, gossip, & rumors; Mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of hangings & crimes; A couple mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of throwing up; A mention of a dead body.


Sexual Content- a palm kiss, a nose kiss, a cheek kiss, an ear kiss, a head kiss, a semi-detailed kiss, and two border-line semi-detailed // detailed kisses (hair is ruffled in those kisses); Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness, & Shivers (to up semi-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing; A mention of an illegitimate son; A mention of a greeting kiss; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.

-Tressa Harlowe, age 22
-Donegan Vance
                                Switches between 1st person P.O.V. of Tressa & 3rd of Donegan
                                          Set in 1866
                                                  390 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Well, that was a fascinating read.
Historical mysteries are a gem that I adore finding, and when I enjoy reading it, it’s even better.
Thirty-one pages in, I became a true fan of Tressa when she thinks:
“I knew in that moment that I believed in love at first sight. But only because I’d experienced a twinge of the opposite just then.”
This quote quite endeared her to me. She was absolutely great in every way. Her wit and her passion for others was lovely and I truly loved how often there was Spiritual Content in the plot. This was such a refreshing read in many ways.
“Perhaps it’s a risk, but I’m willing to take it. You see, I’ve just asked God for help in providing for my family, and I’m not about to go wasting [H]is solution.”
Compared to the author’s debut book, it definitely has a similar feel, but I believe that this one was stronger, and I personally enjoyed this one more. I could definitely read “A Rumored Fortune” again and that’s a high complement from someone who doesn’t typically like to re-read.
Donegan was a unique character that honestly felt like a perfect fit for Tressa. I do believe that there was a tiny bit of instant attraction between the two, but I’ll chalk it up to because they are good for each other. :)
I do wish the ending would have continued a bit longer to see a few more parts play out. I’m a bit disappointed that there wasn’t just a bit more, but I’m mainly satisfied and looking forward to reading the author’s next book very soon. Overall, a very well done read (even if those two kisses were a bit much for my taste). 😉


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.

Friday, September 20, 2019

"Blind Date" by Melody Carlson


About this book:

  “When it comes to being set up on a blind date, true friends can be trusted . . .
Or can they?
  Devon, Emma, Cassidy, Bryn, and Abby are ready for their next Dating Games challenge: setting each other up on blind dates for the upcoming masquerade ball.
  But trouble is brewing. Some of the girls are questioning whether their friends can be trusted to deliver on their promises. In fact, there's a very real danger that this dating treat could turn into a nasty trick.
  Will their club--and their friendships--survive?”


Series: Book #2 in “The Dating Games” series. Review of Book #1 Here!


Spiritual Content- Set at a Christian high school; A few Scriptures are mentioned; Talks about God, sermons, & witnessing; ‘H’s are not capitalized when referring to God; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of faiths; Mentions of witnessing; Mentions of churches, church going, church leaders, & sermons; A few mentions of the Bible; A mention of a miracle;
             *Note: Mentions of Halloween & a school not allowing ghoulish or evil sorts of costumes; A few mentions of the devil; A few mentions of an atheist; A mention of a devilish sparkle in someone’s eye; A mention of karma.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘crud’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘sucks’, a ‘what the—‘, two ‘idiot’s, three ‘duh’s, and eleven ‘stupid’s; A mention of a curse (said, not written); Lots of eye rolling; Devon sneaks, drinks her mom’s alcohol, & gets drunk; Mentions of alcohol, drinking, underage drinking, & getting drunk; Mentions of threats; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of gossip & rumors; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of divorces & fathers leaving their families; Mentions of throwing up; Mentions of hunting; A mention of drugs;
             *Note: Mentions of books, movies, & fictional characters (including The Hunger Games); Mentions of brand names (including Apple products); A few mentions of vampires, werewolves, & witches; A couple mentions of social media; A couple mentions of car brands; A mention of Barbie.


Sexual Content- a ‘baby’, a ‘hussy’, and nine forms of ‘hot’; All about many mentions of boys, boyfriends/girlfriends, & dating; Many mentions of dances & dates; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of flirting; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of an affair, cheating, & a mistress; A few mentions of wondering if a girl was raped (did not happen); A couple mentions of abstaining from sex on a date; A couple mentions of a boy crazy girl; A mention of a girl wanting to jump on a guy;
             *Note: A few mentions of teen boys being hormonal & only thinking about one thing; A couple mentions of a girl wearing a tight and low-cut shirt; A couple mentions of a dress showing a girl’s curves & her pulling the low-cut to show off her endowments; A mention of a girl foisting her ample cleavage in a guy’s face; A mention of a guy gaping at a girl’s cleavage; A mention of a dress’s low-cut neckline; A mention of PMS-ing; A mention of girls acting overly hormonal.

-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
                                                        203 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

While cleaner than the first book in quite a few ways, there still is the teen drama and dating angst that’s common in a Melody Carlson YA book. Devon is reminding me a lot of Taylor from the ‘Carter House Girls’ series, hopefully we’ll see a redemption again soon.


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.