"Ruffled Feathers" by Roseanna M. White

About this book:

  “When a champion peregrine falcon is brought into Dr. Harriet Bailey-Knight's clinic for a common issue, Harriet gets to brush up on her avian care skills. She also finagles an invitation to a falconry demonstration that Gryphon and his owner, Georgina, are staging the following day, at which some wealthy observers will be present. Georgina's fledgling aviary is in need of a few new patrons after a business partnership gone sour, so she has high hopes for the day.
    However, during the show, Gryphon refuses to return when Georgina calls. His damaged transponder is found a mile away, and they all fear the worst. Has the prize-winning peregrine been stolen for his value on the black market? Harriet dives into the mystery, but it will take all her skills to bring Gryphon home before it's too late.”


Series: Book #20 in the “Mysteries of Cobble Hill Farm” series. Click on the numbers to be taken to the prior books’ reviews: Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, Book #10, Book #11, Book #12, Book #13, Book #14, Book #15, Book #16, Book #17, Book #18, and Book #19!


Spiritual Content- Isaiah 40:31 at the beginning; A Scripture is mention & thought over; Prayers & thanking and praising God; Church going; A few talks about God; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God, His creation, & Heaven; Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of churches, church going, a pastor, sermons, & services; A few mentions of sins; A couple mentions of Christians; A couple mentions of being blessed; A mention of a cross in a church;
             *Note: Harriet teasingly calls a dessert an “ambrosia” (food of the gods); A mention of luck; A mention of fairies.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: an ‘idiot’, two ‘blimey’s, and four ‘stupid’; Some eye rolling; All about & many mentions of a missing or stolen bird, poachers, black markets, thieves, & stealing; Mentions of break-ins, burglaries/robberies, a woman being badly attacked during one, trauma from it, vandalism, & stolen items; Mentions of a mother emotionally manipulating her adult son; Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of deaths of animals (birds), injured or sick animals, & Harriet’s veterinary clinic treatments (including bird flu, lead poisoning, animals in pain, collecting blood, vaccinations, and euthanasia being mentioned; barely-above-not-detailed to semi-detailed); Mentions of hunting (by birds of prey towards other birds); Mentions of poop/guano; A few mentions of deaths & cancer; A few mentions of students cheating in school & being expelled; A few mentions of insurance fraud; A couple mentions of gossip; A mention of crooked cops; A mention of embezzlement; 
             *Note: Mentions of a car brand; A few mentions of someone seeing a psychologist or therapist after a trauma & being prescribed something to help; A couple mentions of a book and movie (‘The Maltese Falcon’ by Dashiell Hammett and the film of it starring Humphrey Bogart); 
 
 
Sexual Content- a forehead kiss, a not-detailed kiss, and a barely-above-not-detailed kiss (all by a married couple); Some touches, snuggling (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dating, broken hearts, & exes; A couple mentions of hand holding; A mention of kisses & kissing; A mention of flirting; Very light love, being in love, & the emotions (by a married woman for her husband); 

             *Note: Many mentions of birds mating, breeding, forcing matches, artificial methods, studs, & their hormones; A mention of a woman watching her figure (by watching what she eats).
 
-Harriet Bailey-Knight
                                P.O.V. of Harriet 
                                                        236 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I’ve become a bit of a bird watcher in recent months—down to having two bird feeders with a charcuterie board-like setup of seed options—so I found the parts about falcons and other birds of prey interesting. I still definitely like my cute Northern Cardinals and Tufted Titmouses more, but it was an interesting mystery that had me hoping for the best for the missing falcon. It was particularly nice that the full focus on this book was on the mystery of the animal featured, not two different mysteries or problems that Harriet has to figure out (with only one of them being about an animal) like most of the books in this series. 

 

As someone who has read all the prior 19 books, I have to say: I was concerned when I saw that there would be two new authors being added in to a nearly complete series. Mainly because I was a bit worried that Harriet and other characters wouldn’t feel the same as the majority of the prior books. However, the author did well in this book with the characters and giving information without info-dumping about falcons, so it was an interesting mystery.

 

 

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.

"The Final Cut" by Roseanna White

About this book:

  “The spotlight is on Blackberry Valley when the popular TV show Destination Discovery comes to town. The host and crew are some of Hannah Prentiss’s friends from when she lived in Los Angeles, and they’re hot on the trail of a treasure supposedly hidden somewhere nearby. When the team hires Hannah to provide food and play local guide, she’s in a prime position to help them solve the century-old mystery of an outlaw who stole one of the largest gems ever discovered in the diamond mines of Arkansas and escaped with it to the wilds around Hannah’s beloved hometown.
    But as mishaps plague the investigators, both in the historic house they’re using as a base of operations and in the cave where the outlaw allegedly hid out, Hannah begins to suspect that someone in the present means to keep them from finding the answers of the past. Is it all just a publicity stunt—or is the legendary diamond real?”


Series: Book #11 in the “Mysteries of Blackberry Valley” series. Reviews of Book #1, Book #2, Book #3, Book #4, Book #5, Book #6, Book #7, Book #8, Book #9, and Book #10!


Spiritual Content- A few Scriptures are mentioned & remembered; Prayers, Thanking God, & Praising God; 'H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mention of Bibles, Bible reading, & a Bible study; Mentions of churches, church going, & a preacher; A couple mentions of Easter Sunday & hymns; A mention of a mission trip; A mention of being blessed; 
             *Note: The TV show crew used to have a show about cryptids and ghosts, but Hannah tells someone that the TV show host would always approach it “very logically” and told her that “God is full of mysteries and who’s to say what wonders He made that we haven’t yet discovered or don’t understand?” (Hannah doesn’t think that something like the chupacabra is really out there, but shrugs and says she won’t “put God in a box”); One of the TV crew members thinks there is a ghost moving their stuff (due to a prior experience with a “spirit” knocking him over, but the others in the crew do not believe it’s a ghost at their lodgings or previously; However, one member says at the end that maybe the man did experience “something truly bizarre” previously); On the topic of ghosts, Hannah believes “God was certainly capable of the miraculous, but most things had reasonable explanations” and does not believe a ghost is haunting the place, but a human is messing with the crew’s items (the man calls them “those still moving among us” and mentions ghosts quite a few times; *Spoilers* It is revealed to be actual, alive humans messing with their items by the end *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of ghosts & haunted places; Mention of luck & being lucky; A few mentions of trilobites & prehistoric animals.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a form of ‘screw up’ and four ‘stupid’s; Some eye rolling; Hearing gunshots & a child scream (the child is physically unharmed, barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of a stolen diamond and other items, thieves, criminals, a mafia group, anarchists, & deaths/murders (*Spoilers* It’s believed that a criminal was shot and killed by US Marshalls, but he was actually an undercover US Marshall who was shot and killed by a criminal while protecting his nephew (which the nephew witnessed his uncle’s death), barely-above-not-detailed *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of someone being shot and killed; Mentions of deaths & grief (Hannah for her mother & Elinor for her husband); Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of hunting; A few mentions of potential death or drowning when filming a TV show; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of newspaper stories about people being robbed or murdered by family members; A couple mentions of a missing person (Book #5); A couple mentions of car accidents; A couple mentions of threats; A couple mentions of a microphone being called a “dead cat”; A mention of the Nazis; A mention of almost being mugged; A mention of nightmares over witnessing a death; A mention of the Spanish Flu pandemic; A mention of a bully; 
             *Note: Mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of butting in/out of a conversation; A couple mentions of brand names (Perk coffee & Rolodex); A mention of a movie (Raiders of the Lost Ark).
 
 
Sexual Content- A hand kiss, two head kisses, three not-detailed kisses, and two barely-above-not-detailed kisses; Some touches, embraces, hand holding, warmth, & smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; When a friend tells Hannah that she is waiting on having “sparks” with the right guy, Hannah tells her not to settle for less but also that it sometimes takes “more than one dinner for those sparks to ignite”; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dating, & dates; A few mentions of women throwing themselves at a TV show host & flirting with him; A few mentions of jealousy; A couple mentions of kisses & kissing; Some love, being in love, & the emotions (with hints to another potential romance in the historical time-period starting).
 
-Hannah Prentiss, age 36
               P.O.V. switches between Hannah & Elinor (in the historical period)
                                        Six scenes set in 1910
                                                        244 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

I wasn’t sure if this one would catch my attention, but because of accidentally reading the next book’s blurb, I knew I had to read it! I definitely enjoyed that ending and the behind the scenes of the TV show, but also was interested in the historical setting and the friend group in the contemporary main time-line too. The mystery was interesting albeit a bit rushed with a solution quickly shared at the conclusion. Like in the prior book, I did have to raise my eyebrows at Lacy once again doing some activities that seemed a bit questionable for her condition. I look forward to continuing the series soon to see what happens with Hannah next. :)

 

 

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.

"A Likely Story" by Roseanna M. White

About this book:

  “All of Blackberry Valley is buzzing when a novel hits the shelves featuring their very own town! Hannah Prentiss isn’t the only one who quickly snatches up a copy and sits down to read…nor is she the only one who is shocked to realize that this novel isn’t mere fiction. It uses the real names of real families from the area—and apparently digs up the real dirt of those families from years gone by.
    When the end of the book mentions a treasure buried somewhere in town, everyone is determined to find the author and demand answers. As Hannah and her friends piece together the mystery of long-forgotten town secrets, she’ll learn more about the ancestor she is named after, her great-grandmother Hannah Jane.
    Could learning about her family’s past be the key to unlocking the truth behind the author’s identity and the so-called treasure?”


Series: Book #4 in the “Mysteries of Blackberry Valley” series. Reviews of Book #1, Book #2, and Book #3!


Spiritual Content- Romans 12:14-16 at the beginning; A few Scriptures are referenced & remembered; A couple Prayers; A couple talks about God; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of churches, church going, church groups, services, sermons, & pastors/reverends; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; A few mentions of those & events in the Bible; A mention of hymns; 
             *Note: Religious phrases such as ‘heaven knew’ is said twice; A mention of Santa.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: A ‘dumb’, two ‘stupid’s, and two ‘idiot’s; Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Mentions of a murder in a story, the body being found, & the murderer (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of deaths & grief (including for parents); Mentions of crimes, criminals, thieves, stealing, & stolen items; Mentions of fires & a couple barely making it out alive; Mentions of gambling & a woman who has a gambling addiction (*Spoilers* She receives help from a pastor who struggled with the same thing and he helped her learn new ways to fight the compulsions to gamble *End of Spoilers*); Mentions of lies, lying, liars, & deception; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of mental asylums & their often horrible conditions; A couple mentions of deaths from a car crash; A couple mentions of World War II; A couple mentions of the Great Depression; A couple mentions of being threatened; A couple mentions of smoking; A mention of a near miscarriage; A mention of a woman being abandoned as a child and raised in a home for orphans; A mention of embezzlers; A mention of shop-lifting; 
             *Note: In the historical time period, Annabeth feels like others are belittling her, but tries to correct herself that it’s her own insecurities bothering her; Mentions of people with deformities being ostracized & some believing Annabeth’s shouldn’t have been allowed to have children (because of their “issues”; Her father had a large birthmark on his face and her mother was deaf; She refers to herself as being the daughter of the town’s pariahs and recalls her father being accused of being a thief); Mentions of sanitoriums, signs of OCD like chapped hands from overwashing and picking at one’s hands, & OCD sometimes having “the potential to carry a genetic component”; Mentions of medication and therapy that helped others with OCD and ADHD; Mentions of Norman Rockwell illustrations; A few mentions of prejudice & the possibility of parents being against their son’s girlfriend due to her social standing; A mention of a car brand.
 
 
Sexual Content- Some hand holding, butterflies, nearness, smelling, & noticing (all in the historical time period; barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Hannah says she has no time for a relationship; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, & dating/courting; Mentions of handsome and cute guys; Mentions of crushes & blushes; A mention of a woman being caught kissing a man who wasn’t her fiancé; Light love, falling in love, & the emotions (historical time period); 
             *Note: A couple mentions of butting into a conversation.
 
- Hannah Prentiss
                                P.O.V. mostly of Hannah
          Mostly contemporary, but also seven chapters from 1936
                                                        244 pages
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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

Both the third and fourth book in this series was different than the first two books of the series so far because of the almost dual-time period elements. I actually didn’t like the 1930s part at first because I couldn’t tell if this was suppose to be the actual history of the area or if it was from the fictional book that was just published that Hannah and others are reading in the current time. However, as the book continued (and we find out it’s the actual history, not the fictional story), I definitely got more interested in the historical time period--more than even the contemporary setting! 

 

I do want to note that all of the other Guidepost mysteries I’ve read (in this series and a handful of other series) usually do not have to do with murder—they are just good ol’ mysteries—but this one did have elements/mentions of a murder because of the book the woman in the 1930s (the dual-time period parts) is writing. So, if you are sensitive to that kind of content, you might pass on this book. I don’t think you would miss anything major from this book if you did skip it, there would probably just be a few references to events in future books, but nothing really major happens. The murder mentions are not detailed (we’re not even told how the woman was murdered), but there is a few mentions of someone finding the body in a ditch. 

 

As another note, there were some mentions and a few conversations about “mental illnesses” like OCD and being in a sanitorium along with also a few conversations about a woman’s gambling addiction. These parts brought down the light-hearted style that I often expect from these mysteries, but they weren’t super heavy which I was thankful for. 

 

There were a few parts that had repeated information close together or Hannah saying odd things (like “app” instead of “appetizer”), but it wasn’t too distracting. I enjoyed Hannah and Lacy’s best friend banter and their teasing, it made me laugh a few times and added to the story. This wasn’t my favorite of the series, but it was still a decent one.

 

 

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.

"A Song Unheard" by Roseanna M. White

About this book:

  “Willa Forsythe is both a violin prodigy and top-notch thief, which make her the perfect choice for a crucial task at the outset of World War I—to steal a cypher from a famous violinist currently in Wales.
  Lukas De Wilde has enjoyed the life of fame he's won—until now, when being recognized nearly gets him killed. Everyone wants the key to his father's work as a cryptologist. And Lukas fears that his mother and sister, who have vanished in the wake of the German invasion of Belgium, will pay the price. The only light he finds is in meeting the intriguing Willa Forsythe.
  But danger presses in from every side, and Willa knows what Lukas doesn't—that she must betray him and find that cypher, or her own family will pay the price as surely as his has.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Shadows Over England” series.


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are mentioned & remembered; Many Prayers; Church going & sermons; Lots of being witnessed to; Many Talks & Discussions about God; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Willa isn’t sure about God & His existence, she is very bitter towards the topics, *Spoiler* she prays for forgiveness close to the end *End of Spoiler*; Lukas says he doesn’t remember how to pray & that he never listened to God really, *Spoiler* but realizes his error a third in, and seeks out guidance *End of Spoiler*; Many mentions of God; Many mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of God-given gifts & callings; Mentions of churches, church going, Masses, sermons, & ministers/priests; Mentions of thanking & praising God; Mentions of blessings & being blessed; Mentions of Christian families, faiths, & religious people; A few mentions of a Bible; A few mentions of denominations; A few mentions of godly & ungodly people; A few mentions of something sounding miraculous; A couple mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of a miracle; A mention of a monk;

             *Note: A couple mentions of imaging Hell; A mention of the most evolved men.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘sure as blazes’, a ‘what the devil’, two ‘shut up’s, two ‘what/why in blazes’s, three forms ‘drat’s, three forms of ‘dumb’s, twenty forms of ‘idiot’, thirty-five forms of ‘blast’, and thirty-six forms of ‘stupid’; Mentions of curses, almost curses, & choice words (said, not written); Sarcasm & lots of Eye rolling; Being hit, Being shot, Pain, Blood/Bleeding, & Injuries/Wounds (mostly semi-detailed); Having a gun aimed at you (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing someone shot & killed (barely-above-not-detailed); Willa is a thief & steals/robs people on the street; All about many mentions of a war, fighting, fires, gunfire/shots, destroyed places, & missing people (up to semi-detailed); All about many mentions of spies, being a thief, thieves, picking pockets, stealing, & stolen items; Many mentions of being shot, pain, injuries/wounds, bullets, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of people taken away by the German army & never heard from again; Mentions of shooting & killing; Mentions of threats, blackmail, being held at gunpoint, & violence; Mentions of arrests & jails/prisons; Mentions of wine/spirits & drinking; Mentions of pubs & taverns; Mentions of smoking, cigars, & cigarettes; Mentions of Willa’s father walking out her mother after he got her pregnant; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of gossip & rumors; A few mentions of dead bodies; A few mentions of thugs; A few mentions of traitors; A few mentions of nightmares; A couple mentions of drunks.

Sexual Content- four hand/knuckle kisses, a cheek kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, four semi-detailed kisses (one was from Willa being accosted, but has no ‘feeling’), and a border-line detailed // very detailed kiss; Remembering kisses (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to kiss (semi-detailed); Touches & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Blushes & Flirting; Noticing & Smelling (barely-above-not-detailed); Noticing muscles (barely-above-not-detailed); Lukas is known as a ladies’ man/playboy; Many mentions of flirting, flirts, & a ladies’ man/playboy; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of touches & wanting to touch; Mentions of scandalous reputations; Mentions of blushes; Mentions of dates; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of young women slipping their room keys into Lukas’ hands (it’s not said what happened, but it’s implied); A few mentions of a man having a few children with different young women & leaving all of them; A few mentions of finding the opposite gender in a bedroom & waiting on the bed (implied in a sexual sense prior, but nothing happens); A few mentions of a man who would charm a girl into a compromising position; A couple mentions of compromising one’s self; A couple mentions of proposing something indecent; A couple mentions of a rake & being less of a gentleman; A couple mentions of chaperones; A mention of going to the opposite gender’s room for “predictable reasons”; A mention of not taking off gloves in a sensual way; A mention of thinking a child is illegitimate; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;

             *Note: Mentions of a rape of a country & that women aren’t safe without being attacked there; A few mentions of infants dying young & stillborns; A few mentions of hitting a knee to a man’s groin; A mention of a sexual transmitted disease; A mention of a woman’s lack of curves.

-Willa Forsythe, age 23

-Lukas De Wilde, age 28
                                P.O.V. switches between them & Margot

                                            Set in 1914
                                                405 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

After reading quite a few books by this author and being disappointed with the content, I thought that picking up yet another one would mean that I’m a glutton for punishment [of putting myself through giving another low rating].

While still not as clean as I personally would have preferred, I honestly do feel like someone could knock me over with a feather over my shock of the lack of questionable content. There were things I didn’t like however. The implications of Lukas being a playboy in the true sexual sense being one. I quite disliked that. A flirt I can deal with, but I wasn’t a fan of the hints of more. Being set during a war and being affected by the actions of that could be triggering for some. It also could be quite romance-y in the main two’s thoughts and kisses.

For the things I liked about this novel, there were a few. Willa and her makeshift family are thieves, the family aspects were very sweet. I also really liked Margot and found myself laughing at her reactions to people and things. There was quite a bit of Spiritual Content, so even though our main two don’t claim to be “religious” at the beginning or most of the book, there’s a lot of witnessing to them by other characters. The flirting/banter between the both of them also had humorous parts. The music/violin plot was also interesting.

Since I haven’t read the first book in this series, I did spend the first hundred or so pages not knowing how Willa and her family were connected. I did have to wonder at many parts where all the chaperones were when Willa would be alone with the opposite gender, but I guess that’s partially in part of the war, but also that going out of style with that of the 1920s coming to the scene.

Overall though? I’m still personally cautious on this author because of comments in past books. I might pick up the first book due to friends’ reviews, but I’ll have to see later about reading the third 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.

*I received this book for free from the Publisher (Bethany House) for this honest review.

"A Lady Unrivaled" by Roseanna M. White

About this book:

  “Lady Ella Myerston can always find a reason to smile--even if it's just in hope that tomorrow will be better than today. All her life everyone has tried to protect her from the realities of the world, but Ella knows very well the danger that has haunted her brother and their friend, and she won't wait for it to strike again. She intends to take action . . . and if that happens to involve an adventurous trip to the Cotswolds, then so much the better.
  Lord Cayton has already broken two hearts, including that of his first wife, who died before he could convince himself to love her. Now he's determined to live a better life. But that proves complicated when old friends arrive on the scene and try to threaten him into a life of crime. He does his best to remove the intriguing Lady Ella from danger, but the stubborn girl won't budge. How else can he redeem himself, though, but by saving her--and his daughter--from those dangerous people who seem ready to destroy them all?”


Series: Book #3 in the “Ladies of the Manor” series. (Review of #1 Here! Review of #2 Here!)

 
Spiritual Content- Romans 5:5 at the beginning; Many Prayers; Witnessing; Scriptures are read, mentioned, quoted & remembered; Talks about God, Jesus, believing, hope, forgiveness, trusting, prayers & what He wants us to be; Talks about religions, faiths, what more is out there, & being ruled; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God (‘himself’ is not); Kira grew up with a faith; Many mentions of God, His guidance, hope & forgiveness; Many mentions of prayers; Mentions of Bible reading, studying & books of the Bible; Mentions of churches, preachers & worshiping; Mentions of sharing about one’s faith with another; Mentions of Heaven & angels; Mentions of Easter & eternal life; A couple mentions of praises; A couple mentions of hymns; A couple mentions of being blessed; A couple mentions of crossing; A couple mentions of sins; A mention of being godly;

*Note: All about diamonds that are said to have a curse & the original idol they belong it; Mentions of religious artifacts & a tiger god statue/idol (and its story); Mentions of Hinduism, their gods/deities & curses; Mentions of spirits & putting bread on their graves on Easter to represent their souls flying to Heaven; Mentions of the Russian belief/legend that heaven is somewhere on earth; A few mentions of a man who was excommunicated from a church; A few mentions of a sermon about going to Hades because of sins; A mention of a godforsaken world.

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blamed’, a ‘dashed’, a ‘drat it all’, a ‘shut up’, a ‘what in blazes’, a ‘why in blazes’, three forms of ‘why/what in thunder’, eight ‘blasted’s, eight forms of ‘blast it’, eight ‘idiot’s, twelve ‘drat’s, twelve ‘stupid’s; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); A couple mentions of strong language; Sarcasm, Sass & Eye rolling; Kidnappings, gags and ropes & guns aimed; Shooting someone, blood & deaths (up to semi-detailed); Threats of killing & harming (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of murders, killings, deaths, bodies, illnesses & injuries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of those who almost died, got killed or got shot at (Book #1 & #2); Mentions of Book #1’s kidnapping; Mentions of murders, bodies, how it happened & not much being left over (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of guns aimed & bullets shot (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of a seizure, broken glass, being hit/shot, blood & wounds (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of killing & killing kin; Mentions of threats of killing; Mentions of infants dying & drugs; Mentions of pain; Mentions of a war & fighting; Mentions of abuse, clubbing someone & bruises; Mentions of boxing & hitting; Mentions of gambling, gaming hells, clubs, bets & debts; Mentions of thieves & criminals; Mentions of prison/jail; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of a sanitarium & a mad woman; Mentions of nightmares; Mentions of lying & lies; Mentions of gossip; A few mentions of blood & broken bones; A few mentions of hunting; A few mentions of thugs; A couple mentions of being slapped & slapping; A couple mentions of cigarettes; A mention of a pub; A mention of a hanging.

Sexual Content- hand kisses, three cheek kisses, two forehead kisses, a not-detailed kiss, six barely-above-not-detailed kiss, a boarder-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss, and a detailed kiss; Kira is a mistress & her job is to make him happy (but she won’t be involved with a married man & so their “affair of the heart” is bound to end soon due to her decision, so he says; she says she’s one of his possessions); Touches, Heat/Warmth, Tingles/Shivers, Embraces, Dances & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Noticing, Smelling & Butterflies (up to semi-detailed); a ‘rake’, two ‘hoyden’s; Talks about kissing & kisses; Many mentions of kisses, kissing & lips touching; Many mentions of flirting, jesting, blushes, suitors & courting; Many mentions of midwives, labor, screams, a baby’s position in the womb, & sickness; Many mentions of wives who died in childbirth, and the blood & the bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of losing children (deaths); Mentions of a doctor taking a pregnant woman’s baby out early, the surgery & eclampsia; Mentions of a man who married a girl, got her pregnant & then left (most believe he ran away, she believes he’ll be back); Mentions of illegitimate children; Mentions of finding romance; Mentions of teasing friends about relationships; Mentions of chaperones, reputations & having to get married due to being alone; Mentions of slapping due to taken liberties; Mentions of touches & suggestive ones (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of forgetting someone & putting her of a man’s mind because he’s married to another; Mentions of flirting & getting a man’s attention; Mentions of jealousy & a man flaunting his mistress around; Mentions of mistresses, such arrangements & affairs; Mentions of an employer’s advances & betraying her lover; Mentions of a woman having to play her late husband’s debt to the men he owned (money, death or otherwise, it’s hinted); Mentions of Book#2 when a maid was attacked (also related: mentions of a maid ending up dead after a man she fancied dallied with her); Mentions of a man (called a monster) wanting to & being allowed to touch a woman (a couple mentions of suffering at his hands); A few mentions of fancying someone; A few mentions of a man’s harem, a woman who was too old for it & an illegitimate child; A couple mentions of swooning; A couple mentions of a wife who was a bit more than a convenience to her husband; A couple mentions of the occasional coarse comments a husband would say about his wife’s willingness to go into his arms; A couple mentions of miscarriages; A couple mentions of wet nurses; A mention of a stolen kiss & a slap; A mention of fumbling a stolen kiss; A mention of a woman being accosted; A mention of a rumor of a husband leaving for another woman; Love, attraction, falling in love & the emotions;

            *Note: A few mentions of a very provocative ballet (Kira would hate to see her father’s reaction to her being in it); A couple hints of ballerinas who embraced a certain life (becoming mistresses) and how Kira wanted to avoid it; A couple mentions of figures.

-(Lady) Ella Myerston

-(Lord) James Cayton
                                      P.O.V. switches between them & Kira (Sophie)

                                            Set in 1913
                                                 408 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

When I first entered this novel, I was slightly nervous. The previous book let me down highly, and I wasn’t sure how this final conclusion would do. The author is talented and does a lot of research, I will give her that, but there are parts I found that weren’t needed at all. She wove a very interesting mystery, but I was honestly disappointed—yet again—in the content.

I really liked Ella, she honestly reminded me of myself at many parts. Cayton was a sweet father and I liked the two of them together. Had it been more about them, I think it would have been better, but, again, there were so many parts that weren’t needed or could have been changed. Must there be a lusting jerk in every historical book?! Y’all, I’ve read more historical books with one than without, it’s beyond irritating.

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 Publisher (Bethany House) for this honest review.