"After a Fashion" by Jen Turano

After a Fashion (Mar. 3, 2015) by Jen Turano.*

In an era (it’s NYC in 1882) when it’s difficult to be an independent woman of self-supporting means, Miss Harriet Peabody works hard. Having no father and a deceased mother, a year has passed since she left the clutches of her confidence-scheming aunt (she’s a con artist) and secured employment from a local milliner. It’s a respectable job, and she adores the fashion industry, plus she’s adept at sewing garments and hats. She’s innovative as well, trying to perfect a collapsible bustle, and kind-hearted, wanting to someday open a shop selling refashioned gowns to other working women like herself who can’t afford gowns from the likes of Arnold Constable & Co. in the elite Ladies’ Mile district.

            Harriet’s employment comes to an abrupt halt when she has the great misfortune of delivering hats to Mr. Oliver Addleshaw’s not-fiancée. Knowing that she is now unemployed and assuming (wrongly) that she’s desperate for any new employment, Oliver eventually enlists her help by presenting her as his fiancée for appearance’s sake when meeting with a business partner, the Duke of Westmoore. It is a business partnership only. Which is fine by Harriet, as she’ll never really fit into Oliver’s world of wealth, prestige, fancy dinners and elegant balls. She’s a fraud wearing expensive garments, but that’s a trifle compared to the fake relationship the two are in. After all, the relationship is just for business purposes, right?

            As a reader who’s enjoyed all four books in Turano’s ‘Ladies of Distinction’ series, and a fan of the author’s because of them, I looked tremendously toward this new novel. I was not disappointed. I liked the “business partnership” that Turano incorporated into the story to keep Harriet and Oliver involved in each other’s lives. I always love that her female characters aren’t damsels-in-distress, but ladies who seem to value independence and independent thinking. Of course, we expect a romance to develop, but this story isn’t just about two people falling in love. It’s also a tale wrapped in business, mayhem, charm, wit’s end and trickery. It’s posh lifestyle versus life just scraping by. It’s trusting in God and finding that trust again. And at the center of it all are two imperfect people from two very different walks of life and a strong cast of supporting characters, also diverse in their current predicaments and upbringings. Highly recommend!

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Unblogged: A Letter

Dear Rutabaga Readers,

For those of you who are regulars to my blog, you’ll notice that I don’t post very often. This is going to change, and I will be posting even less often than I already do. I have some projects that need to take priority, and since there never seems to be enough time in a day, a week or a year, my reviews are going on the backburner. That isn’t to say that I will stop completely. I won’t. I’ll still try to post once or twice a month, but I can’t promise that it’ll be a regular thing.

            So for those of you who have checked into my blog on a regular basis, THANK YOU so much. And thank you to everyone who’s paused at my site and taken the time to read just one post. And/or post a comment or two.

            In closing, I want to list some books which I have read over the course of these past months, but which I never got write-ups completed for (and won’t rule out going back to them). They are all books which I enjoyed immensely, and most from authors whom I’m already a fan of, so you can find posts related to them elsewhere in this blog. (I’ll denote authors whose works I’ve never reviewed on my blog to this date with an asterisk: *.)

Blue Lily, Lily Blue (Oct. 21, 2014) by Maggie Stiefvater.

Ever After High: The Storybook of Legends (Oct. 8, 2013) by Shannon Hale.¹

Ever After High: The Unfairest of Them All (Mar. 25, 2014) by Shannon Hale.

Ever After High: A Wonderlandiful World (Aug. 26, 2014) by Shannon Hale.

Illusions of Fate (Sept. 9, 2014) by Kiersten White.

Mortal Gods (Oct. 14, 2014) by Kendare Blake.

The 5^th Wave (May 7, 2013) by Rick Yancey.*

The Bone Season (Aug. 20, 2013) by Samantha Shannon.*

The Screaming Staircase (Sept. 17, 2013) by Jonathan Stroud.*

The Young Elites (Oct. 7, 2014) by Marie Lu.

Happy reading, you wonderful people!

--Lisa Rutabaga

¹ I did get my write-up complete for this one, but I still have hopes of doing that three-book post someday. If that “someday” doesn’t happen, then you may see the lone-book post on a further, future someday date.

"Never Have I Ever: My Life (So Far) Without a Date" by Katie Heaney

I was going to lump this title in the “hodgepodge” compilation post I’ve been piecing together for months. But I took it out once I began reading it because it is JUST THAT FUNNY. To me, anyway, because so many pieces of her story resonated with me. In fact, the similarities are alarming, because it seems that we’re fairly close in age.

            And surely not because of the whole not-[long-term-]dating thing. But anyway …

Never Have I Ever (Jan. 14, 2014) by Katie Heaney.

Single for a quarter-of-a-century. That is the way of Katie Heaney’s [non-] love life for her first 25 years on this planet. She has had numerous crushes and infatuations on local guys (and celebrities – who hasn’t?). Her memoir – a word which may seem at odds with her age – is sectioned into four distinct parts, complete with an introduction and an epilogue. It is very organized, and from reading her book, she strikes me as an organized person. The witty author writes using humor, but also contemplates throughout the book. Her reflections remind me of how we might say something aloud to work out our thoughts on something. So there is confusion and self-doubt and reassurance (the latter from members of her “cabinet”). Katie is equipped with a graduate degree, best friends and a good family, but there is that matter of the elusive actual-boyfriend. Why the absence of a love life? Maybe it’s related to her idea of herself as the “Bermuda Triangle” and her best friend – who tends to have no problem attaining a relationship status – as a “lighthouse.”

            I am not a lighthouse. Katie said that. But it pertains to me, too. So it’s almost like it’s my line. Except it’s hers. But I could’ve said it even though  I didn’t because I didn’t think of it in the first place … Yep. Exactly.

            I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good laugh. To be fair, it is perhaps not as amusing to those who are married or in a serious relationship or actively dating on a regular basis. The humor may also be less understood in those not familiar with such things as Home Improvement’s middle-child or Dream Phone. But I think a lot of us – especially women – can relate to her frustrations over childhood crushes and teenaged ones. We can relate to the over-analysis of anything from cute guys to the perfect outfit to [insert something here that’s personal to you]. You’ll feel like you’re hanging out with Katie.

            So, I REALLY enjoyed this book. Not, perhaps, for the obvious reason based on the title. Though there is that. But for all the parts in the book that could’ve been me. Crushing on JTT. Being a goody-two-shoes in school. General sarcastic attitude. Harry Potter. The Sims (The Sims 2, in my case). And, fine, the lack of long-term dating. Of course, there are some major differences. I am petite, and she is apparently not. I have never been drunk, and I have never smoked a cigarette. I quite enjoy the game “Apples to Apples.” And, still to this day, I have NOT attempted online dating.

            Nor have I ever made matching, themed T-shirts. But for Bermuda Triangles, I totally would!