christianreader | My February reads

Hester Browne – The runaway princess 4,5/5
Amy Wilde, a simple Yorkshire girl, is trying to fit in in the London high life. When she meets Leo, she can't believe her luck. A man who understands her and likes her for who she is! But soon the discovery that he is actually a prince turns her life upside down. Suddenly she has to deal with glittering galas, her supermodel mother-in-law and the press interest in her life and family.

Such a charming and lovely story! And what a recognizable character Amy is with her enjoyment of simple pleasures and her love for her parents. I loved the relationship between Leo and her, all the sweet things he did to win Amy over. He really is a dreamboat of a guy! Despite the typical rom-com storyline (girl meets secret prince), this novel felt actually mostly realistic, probably because it stayed so close to Amy and how she felt and underwent everything. A definite recommendation for anyone wanting to read a sweet, warm and funny romance.

Julia Barrett – The third sister 3,5/5
I wrote a review of this sequel to Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, focusing on Margaret Dashwood here.
In short, I enjoyed reading it and liked the writing style, but didn't like the story too much. It wasn't very original and tried to put too much in a too short novel.

Ginny L. Yttrup – Invisible 4,5/5
In a small coastal town in California, three women struggle with themselves. Twila is trying to recover from an eating disorder, but the reappaerance of her father triggers her problems. Chef Ellyn hates how she looks and cannot believe the town doctor is actually interested in her as a woman. And Sabina has left her husband and psychology practice to heal from depression, but isn't she hiding more than healing?

This was a very good book! I think most people will be able to identify with at least one of these women, struggles with our self-image is something we all know, I believe. The characters were all very real and human (warts-and-all) and the story very hopeful, but not unrealistically happy. I liked how a character was included (Twila) who was in the process of healing. So often novels start with a person at a low place and sees them solving their problems. But in real life, problems often take a long time to work through and setbacks happen and I liked how this novel realized and showed this.

Julie Klassen – The painter’s daughter 4/5
Sophia Dupont, daughter of a Devonshire painter, is in trouble. One of her father´s painting students, Wesley Overtree, has left her pregnant and has dissapeared to Italy himself. Wesley´s brother, the stern Captain Stephen Overtree, comes to Devonshire to look for his brother and instead finds Sophia. When he realizes her trouble, Stephen offers to marry her, even if in name only. Sophia agrees, but will she regret this when Wesley enters her life again?

I've read almost all of Julie Klassen's Regency novels, but the last few I did not like too much. I really enjoyed The painter's daughter however. Both Sophia and Stephen were well-crafted characters and easy to identify with. I liked them getting to know and understand each other better and though the romance was a little heavy in the physical department, I did get swept up in their relationship. The portrayal of Wesley I didn't like as much: was he meant to be a villain only or was he redeemable? The novel didn't make this very clear. I liked the fact that in this book there was less mystery then some of Klassen's previous novels, I'm not a big fan of mystery in historical romance. The little mystery that there was could have been left out in my opinion, it really didn't add to the story.

Books read in February: 4
Books read in 2017: 7