Book Review: The Vicar’s Daughter

Published on by Erica

The Vicar's DaughterThe Vicar’s Daughter by Josi S. Kilpack

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book both caught my interest, and had me wondering how could it possibly have a happy ending.  I like happy endings.

I didn’t start off loving it.  On the contrary, I had trouble liking Cassie. She had a decided selfish streak, even though she convinced herself she was pretending to be her sister, for her sister’s sake. Yet, but the end, I loved this book. I loved the change in Cassie, and her sister.  And I loved Evan, out of place Evan, honorable Evan.

I like many of the Proper Romance Regencies from Shadow Mountain. (Edenbrooke, anyone?)  Ms. Kilpack sometimes is a bit on the racier side with the steamy kisses (and this book has steam a plenty for our young lovers).  Characters go through tremendous growth. They are very real.

This is a beautiful story about God’s grace, family love, being sisters, and learning to accept your own flaws and limitations.

 

 

Review: Beyond the Lavender Fields

Published on by Erica

Synopsis:

1792, France

Rumors of revolution in Paris swirl in Marseille, a bustling port city in southern France. Gilles Étienne, a clerk at the local soap factory, thrives on the news. Committed to the cause of equality, liberty, and brotherhood, he and his friends plan to march to Paris to dethrone the monarchy. His plans are halted when he meets Marie-Caroline Daubin, the beautiful daughter of the owner of the factory.

A bourgeoise and a royalist, Marie-Caroline has been called home to Marseille to escape the unrest in Paris. She rebuffs Gilles’s efforts to charm her and boldly expresses her view that violently imposed freedom is not really freedom for  all.  As  Marie-Caroline  takes  risks  to follow her beliefs, Gilles catches her in  a  dangerous  secret  that  could  cost  her and her family their lives. As Gilles and  Marie-Caroline  spend  more  time  together, she questions her initial assumptions about Gilles and realizes that per-haps they have more in common than she thought.

As the spirit of revolution descends on Marseille, people are killed and buildings are ransacked and burned to the ground. Gilles must choose between supporting the political change he believes in and protecting those he loves. And Marie-Caroline must battle between standing up for what she feels is right and risking her family’s safety. With their lives and their nation in turmoil, both Gilles and Marie-Caroline wonder if a révolutionnaire and a royaliste can really be together in a world that forces people to choose sides.

My Review:

Having adored Georgana’s Secret by Arlem Hawks, I had to snatch the opportunity to read this book when offered to me. (Thank you for the ARC, Shadow Mountain!) This book did not disappoint. This book was a gem. It masterfully uses the enemies to lovers trope and it kept me turning pages. To risk a spoiler, in the opening Gilles is set up to attempt to kiss Marie-Caroline by her own brother. Their interactions after that were delightful, as they never go as Gilles hopes, nor do they go exactly how Marie-Caroline interprets it. It left me wanting to keep reading to see how their friendship developments. Beautifully done.

This book releases February 1, 2022.

Book Review: K-Love (A Korean Drama Series, Book 1)

Published on by Erica1 Comment

KloveChase has been set up. She finds herself on a blind date with a Korean hottie, and all because her mom obsessively loves Korean romance dramas. It turns out that Daniel Bak is actually really dreamy, but things take a turn for the worse when Chase happens upon stolen research on her university professor’s laptop. It throws her into the arms of wealthy corporate heir Hyun Tae, who also happens to be Daniel’s best friend.

Caught between both men, and hunted down by a vengeful CEO, Chase must rely on Hyun Tae’s protection. But when the drama settles, where will her heart land?

BUY

 

 

My Review:

I loved this book. I loved Chase’s mother, Chase, Hyun Tae,  Daniel, and Jooh Suh.  Each character fit in nicely.

There were a few things to note: the authors are human. There are a few errors (omissions and typos.)  I mention this only so that readers that have trouble turning off their internal proof-reading app, they are aware, so that hopefully the little hiccups won’t distract too much from an otherwise fun story.

The other issue would be there’s Korean phrases written out so readers could attempt to pronounce it, but no translation was given. This does not distract too much from the story though. (But moving forward I would hope a glossary is added.)

Overall, this was an excellent book. If you like Korean dramas, you’ll enjoy this. If you like adventure and romance together, you’ll like this. However unlikely a romance is between an American college student, and a Korean chaebol (rich heir to a big company), or celebrity is, this is still fun. After all, aren’t books supposed to give us a break from daily life and allow us to dream?

Chase’s mother asks Korean student, Kim Hyun Tae if he’d go on a blind date with her daugher, Chase. He says no, but his best friend Daniel says yes. And so begins the simple love triangle present in many Kdramas.

Chase meets Hyun Tae first, and this should have been a hint to me that he was the actual male lead. (I couldn’t decide at first if it was Hyun Tae or Daniel, because of which one accepted the blind date.) He’s polite, she’s a klutz.

Daniel asks her out on the blind date via a text, while she’s in heading to her first class–gym. There she meets Daniel. (Kdrama watchers, you can probably guess how that goes.) Daniel recognizes her, but doesn’t introduce himself yet. This boy has a secret to keep, and he plans to keep it.

Of course, love never runs smooth. We have spies, and a company take down in the works, all while Chase, Hyun Tae, and Daniel have to navigate love.

Grab your copy, and let me know what you think. 🙂

You can visit Devon Atwood and Alice Cornwall at their blog.