Book Blast & Giveaway: Decorum by Kaaren Christopherson

02_Decorum Decorum: A Novel by Kaaren Christopherson

Publication Date: March 31, 2015
Kensington Publishing Corp.
Foramts: eBook, Paperback, Audio
Pages: 425
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance
Add to GR Button

Kaaren Christopherson’s brilliantly observed novel captures the glamour and grit of one of the world’s most dazzling cities during one of its most tumultuous eras–as seen through the eyes of a singularly captivating heroine…

In 1890s New York, beautiful, wealthy Francesca Lund is an intriguing prospect for worthy suitors and fortune hunters alike. Recently orphaned, she copes by working with the poor in the city’s settlement movement. But a young woman of means can’t shun society for long, and Francesca’s long-standing acquaintance with dashing Edmund Tracey eventually leads to engagement. Yet her sheltered upbringing doesn’t blind her to the indiscretions of the well-to-do…

Among the fashionable circle that gathers around her there are mistresses, scandals, and gentlemen of ruthless ambition. And there is Connor O’Casey–an entirely new kind of New Yorker. A self-made millionaire of Irish stock, Connor wants more than riches. He wants to create a legacy in the form of a luxury Madison Avenue hotel–and he wants Francesca by his side as he does it. In a quest that will take her from impeccable Manhattan salons to the wild Canadian Rockies, Francesca must choose not only between two vastly different men, but between convention and her own emerging self-reliance.

Rules Of Decorum

A gentleman should not be presented to a lady without her permission being previously asked and granted. This formality is not necessary between men alone; but, still, you should not present any one, even at his own request, to another, unless you are quite well assured that the acquaintance will be agreeable to the latter.

If you wish to avoid the company of any one that has been properly introduced, satisfy your own mind that your reasons are correct; and then let no inducement cause you to shrink from treating him with respect, at the same time shunning his company. No gentleman will thus be able either to blame or mistake you.

The mode in which the avowal of love should be made, must of course, depend upon circumstances. It would be impossible to indicate the style in which the matter should be told… Let it, however, be taken as a rule that an interview is best; but let it be remembered that all rules have exceptions…

Continue reading “Book Blast & Giveaway: Decorum by Kaaren Christopherson”

Review: The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh

Sixteen year old Shahrzad volunteers to marry a monster but she does some with one purpose in mind…..to kill the monster.

Khalid, Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride every night and in the morning promptly murders them.

One of the latest victims of the Caliph is Shahrzad’s best friend….and that is the reason she volunteers to marry him next…..she plans on getting vengeance on the boy king who murders innocent young women.

None of the brides has survived to see more than a single sunset, but Shahrzad had a plan…..and that plan involves telling the king stories each night in and waiting for the perfect opportunity to learn his weaknesses which she will ultimately use to destroy him.

Well what started out as a good idea soon begins to backfire as Shahrzad starts to develop unwelcome feelings of desire for the young king.

Torn between avenging her best friend and falling in love with a man who is the very air she breaths has its costs. Khalid and Shahrzad risk everything for love but that choice could ruin not just the two lovers but the entire kingdom as well.

Continue reading “Review: The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn #1) by Renee Ahdieh”

Review: Christmas at the Vicarage by Rebecca Boxall

With the holiday season in full swing I was looking for a book that would help me get into the Christmas ‘spirit’ this year. I’ve been kind of hit and miss with my holiday reading over the years but each year I try to find a holiday book that gets me in the Christmas mood.

This year I saw this book all over Goodreads so I was eager to pick it up. I don’t read a ton of modern romances, let alone modern holiday romances so I was anxious to try something new.

Rosamunde hasn’t been to Potter’s Cove or seen her family in fifteen years. After a heart break in the late 20’s, she spent her time abroad traveling the world and having ‘adventures’. But something about the small town of Potter’s Cove started calling her back.

Continue reading “Review: Christmas at the Vicarage by Rebecca Boxall”

Special Feature: WHAT SHE KNEW by Gilly Macmillan

On DECEMBER 1ST Gilly Macmillan releases her thrilling novel in paperback!

WHAT SHE KNEW by Gilly Macmillan is an addictive domestic thriller that William Morrow will publish as a paperback original on December 1st.

The novel, which Liane Moriarty calls “an amazing, gripping, beautifully written debut,” was published in the UK earlier this year to incredible praise (see below), and has drawn comparisons to hugely popular thrillers like Before I Go To Sleep and Gone Girl. This novel shows how one seemingly ordinary decision can change your life forever.

Quick Take: On an ordinary day, Rachel Jenner is out for a walk in the woods with her eight-year-old son Ben. The woods lead to a local park that they’ve been to many times before, so when Ben ask to run ahead, it seems like a normal request. Then Ben disappears.

Police are called, search parties go out, and Rachel begs for the public to help bring her son back. Rachel is caught between her personal pain and a public jumping to condemn her for her mistakes. As the public’s attitude shifts from sympathy to suspicion, Rachel begins to lose trust in everyone. She soon realizes that the greatest dangers lie not only in strangers, but in the faces of those most familiar to her.

Told from the alternating points of view of Rachel and the lead detective on the case, this story is full of unreliable narrators, questions about the media’s role in the disappearance, and the spectacle of true crime. WHAT SHE KNEW will keep you guessing until the very end.

Pick up your copy here! 

About the author

Gilly Macmillan grew up in Swindon, Wiltshire and also lived in Northern California in her late teens. She studied History of Art at Bristol University and then at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. She worked at The Burlington Magazine and the Hayward Gallery before starting a family. Since then she’s worked as a part-time lecturer in A Level Photography and a full-time mum.

Gilly lives in Bristol with her husband and three children. WHAT SHE KNEW is her first novel.

Review: Up To This Pointe by Jennifer Longo

Antarctica, ballet, and science….all together in one story. What in the world?

That’s exactly what was going through my mind when this book came across my nightstand for review.

I almost passed on it because it just sounded so weird, but it’s because of the weirdness that I decided to review it.

I knew one of two things was going to happen…..either it would totally work or it totally wouldn’t and I would know immediately which it was! I was impressed by how quickly this story sucked me in.

Harper has been a dancer her entire life. It’s all she’s ever wanted to be. It’s her only dream….she’s put YEARS of her life into becoming a professional ballerina and the possibility of being anything else is out of the question. Well what Harper thinks she should be in life and what the actual likelihood of that happening are completely different.

Continue reading “Review: Up To This Pointe by Jennifer Longo”