Showing posts with label Series: Hawthorne House. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Series: Hawthorne House. Show all posts

Monday, August 1, 2016

"An Elegant Façade" by Kristi Ann Hunter



About this book:

  “Lady Georgina Hawthorne has worked tirelessly to seal her place as the Incomparable for her debut season. At her first London ball, she hopes to snag the attention of an earl.
  With money and business connections, but without impeccable bloodlines, Colin McCrae is invited everywhere but accepted nowhere. When he first encounters the fashionable Lady Georgina, he's irritated by his attraction to a woman who concerns herself only with status and appearance.
  What Colin doesn't know is that Georgina's desperate social aspirations are driven by the shameful secret she harbors. Association with Colin McCrae is not part of Georgina's plan, but as their paths continue to cross, they both must decide if the realization of their dreams is worth the sacrifices they must make.”



Series: Book #2 in the “Hawthorne House” series. Reviews of the #.5 novella Here! and Book #1 review Here!


Spiritual Content- James 1:17 referenced at the beginning; Prayers; Quite a bit of Bible reading; Many Scriptures are mentioned, read, discussed & thought over; Some witnessing to Georgina; Many talks about God & the Bible; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God (not in Scriptures or when it talks about God himself though); Georgina knows God is real, but believes that He cursed and doesn’t care about her (*Spoiler* Near the end, she realizes that’s not true. *End of Spoiler*); Colin has a faith & looks forward to passing it on to another generation; Many mention of God; Many mentions of Bibles, Bible reading & books of the Bible; Many mentions of prayers & praising God; Mentions of others’ faiths; A few mentions of miracles; A few mentions of angels; A couple mentions of those in the Bible; A couple mentions of sins;
*Note: A mention of a devil of a headache. 


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘what in blazes’, three forms of ‘idiot’, six ‘stupid’s; Eye rolling; Many mentions of gossip & jealousy; Many mentions of gambling, betting, debts & card games; Mentions of taverns, drinking, & drinks (whiskey & wine); Mentions of slaves; A few mentions of criminals; A few mentions of hunting.


Sexual Content- a semi-detailed kiss and a detailed kiss; Wondering about kissing & touching (up to semi-detailed); Touches & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Noticing (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a man’s plan to ruin a girl & cause a scandal (no true details, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of touches, kisses & kissing (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of reputations & purity; Mentions of flirting & jealousy; Love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Georgina Hawthorne, age 18
-Colin McCrae, age 26
                                        P.O.V. switches between them
                                            Set in 1813 {Prologue set in 1800; Epilogue set in 1815}
                                                     355 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
For the first 150 pages, I wasn’t sure what to think. The beginning felt slow since I had already read it from that couple’s P.O.V.s in “A Noble Masquerade” and I hadn’t yet become attached to Colin or Georgina fully. I really liked Colin, but Georgina wasn’t the best main girl I’ve ever read. She comes across as spoiled & shallow which made me have a hard time connecting to her. About halfway, I found that it picked up a bit and I started enjoying it a little bit more, but the ending—the last 75 pages—was the best part in my eyes. Lots of Spiritual Content that finished this novel out with a bang. (Some might call it “too preachy”, but I like “preachy”. ;) )
Colin was also great, but I still had some trouble liking Georgina. All that said, I liked “An Elegant Façade” a little better than “A Noble Masquerade” due to less kissy/touchy parts and much more Spiritual Content. The banter & wit between the main characters was lots of fun and Colin really made this book better in my opinion.


See y’all on Wednesday 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 Publisher (Bethany House) for this honest review.

Monday, October 12, 2015

"A Noble Masquerade" by Kristi Ann Hunter



About this book:

  “Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside she longs to be bold and carefree. Entering her fourth Season and approaching spinsterhood in the eyes of society, she pours her innermost feelings out not in a diary but in letters to her brother's old school friend, a duke--with no intention of ever sending these private thoughts to a man she's heard stories about but never met. Meanwhile, she also finds herself intrigued by Marcus, her brother's new valet, and although she may wish to break free of the strictures that bind her, falling in love with a servant is more of a rebellion than she planned.
  When Marcus accidentally discovers and mails one of the letters to her unwitting confidant, Miranda is beyond mortified. And even more shocked when the duke returns her note with one of his own that initiates a courtship-by-mail. Insecurity about her lack of suitors shifts into confusion at her growing feelings for two men--one she's never met but whose words deeply resonate with her heart, and one she has come to depend on but whose behavior is more and more suspicious. When it becomes apparent state secrets are at risk and Marcus is right in the thick of the conflict, one thing is certain: Miranda's heart is far from all that's at risk for the Hawthornes and those they love.”



Series: Book #1 in the “Hawthorne House” series. (Review of #0.5, a novella, Here!)


Spiritual Content- Genesis 1:27 is referenced at the dedication; Prayers; Bible reading; Scriptures are read & mentioned; Talks about God & lessons; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Many mentions of Prayers; Mentions of Church & sermons; A mention of Noah.
*Note: A woman hopes a man is in hell.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’ and a ‘stupid’; A bit of sarcasm; Blood, pain, & hitting (semi-detailed); Guns & Fighting (semi-detailed); A mention of hunting; A mention of how someone lost a finger (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of drinking, drunks, & Gentleman Jack.


Sexual Content- a hand kiss, four (barely-above-not-detailed), two semi-detailed kisses, two very-detailed kisses; Remembering a kiss (semi-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing; A married kiss with hints of going to a bedroom; Noticing & Smelling; Touches & Warmth (semi-detailed to detailed); Dancing (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to touch (semi-detailed); Mentions of ankles & touching them (semi-detailed); Mentions of flirting & jealousy; Mentions of reputations; Mentions of unmarried men & women alone together; A couple mention of a fake marriage, but they didn’t consummate the (fake) marriage; A mention of a man’s “lady friends”; Love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Miranda Hawthorne, age 20
-Ryland Montgomery, age 27
                                P.O.V. switches between them.
                                              Set in 1812 (Prologue set in 1800)
                                                        361 pages

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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
I really wanted to like this book—and I did for the most part anyway. The non-kissy, non-touchy, non-feely parts. Had those two very-detailed kisses not been in this book, it would have gotten a bit of a higher rating. Before reading, I saw a lot of reviewers commenting on how this author was comparable to Jen Turano, and while I laughed quite a bit during “A Noble Masquerade”, I didn’t laugh as much as I did when I read “A Change of Fortune” by Jen Turano. All that said, I most likely will continue the series as they come out, depending the topics within each of them. :)


See y’all on Wednesday 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 Publisher (Bethany House Publishers) for this review.