Change of Fortune, A - eBook
4.2
5
36
36
â¢ðoâ¢:*:â¢.Funny, Exciting, Romantic.â¢:*:⢠oðâ¢
Author, Jen Turano knocked it out of the park with this one! I was laughing out loud all the way through it, and could not put it down!
This is Book #1 in The Ladies of Distinction Series. It has everything without being to over the top.
Eliza Sumner is on an adventure to reclaim her fortune. She does not see it as an adventure, but a necessity. She has devised a scheme to travel from 1880s London and exist undetected in New York in order to track down the man who has be smeared her good name and destroyed her life. However, things quickly go awry when she is called upon to attend a formal dinner gathering she was not prepared for. She meets the Beckett brothers who have agendas of their own and havoc soon follows. Their lives become intertwined in mystery and intrigue along with another young lady who joins their unlikely group. The delightful upcoming journalist, Agatha is insistent upon thrusting herself into ElizaâÂÂs troubles and is a force to be reckoned with, and charming in her own rite.
The book takes place during the womenâÂÂs suffrage movement. So women of the day are becoming more assertive. While some accept this, others like detective Theodore Wilder, are not so inclined and he foolishly voices his narrow minded view regularly. The reactions are comical for this beautiful Adonis of a man, who is well aware of his own appearance and affect on the opposite sex. He is a lesser character in the book, but very useful in adding depth to the story and showing views of the time.
Without telling you who they are, I will say, Piper and Ben added so much to the story, and their antics and precociousness are delightful and witty. The author really has a talent for comedy, which I greatly appreciated.
Yes, there is romance as well, and it develops at a nice enough pace, even though some pesky, interfering, but well-intentioned mothers are trying to force it along.
God is present in a real way as some characters struggle with their trust issues, and others just naturally pray and seek God as a regular way of life. That was very believable and in tune with real life, I thought.
I was left wondering about Grayson, and the details of his background story. I wonâÂÂt give anything away about him, but hopefully we will see more in a follow-up book.
I would highly recommend Jen TuranoâÂÂs debut novel, and look forward to her next one: A Most Peculiar Circumstance, in which Private investigator extraordinaire Mr. Theodore Wilder returns to us. Scheduled for release in June 2013 according to her website: JenTurano.com. Book #3 will be A Talent for Trouble as seen on her FB page.
5 out of 5 stars
Things that are included: *10 Discussion Questions at the end.
I received this copy free from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
313 Pages
April 14, 2013
April 14, 2013
A lighthearted, funny read
This is a lighthearted, funny novel that I almost really liked. A lot of what happens is entirely not believable, and how the characters interact with one another, such as a nineteen year old with her parents, is much to contemporary. I nearly expected a cell phone to be whipped out of a pocket, or Facebook to be mentioned. The humour is it's saving grace.
That being said, it wasn't a bad way to spend an evening. I laughed out loud at the puce coloured dress bit and a few other places too. It could be called a 'rolicking adventure', but there again, although funny, the situations they find themselves in are sometimes beyond ridiculous. I think Jen Turano definitely has great potential as an author, and I am curious to see what she does next.
This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
April 6, 2013
Fantastic debut novel!
"A Change of Fortune" is Jen Turano's debut novel and I cannot wait to read many more by her! I started this book and had it finished within 24 hours, it was so good I did not want to stop reading! Lady Eliza is masquerading as a governess in New York City after traveling from London in search of a man and woman who have destroyed her father's reputation and stolen the family's money. However, Eliza has one mishap over another including ripping her dress at a dinner party, getting trailed by the older sister of her charges and landing them both into jail and then being dismissed from her job to being taken in by a man whom she is attracted to and shares a common enemy ywith. Eliza is not in search of a husband, but as she spends more time with Hamilton she cannot fight her feelings. However, as Hamilton gets to know Eliza better, he develops feelings for her, but also feels that he cannot compete with her former lifestyle. As Hamilton, Zayne, Agatha and Eliza all work together to seek justice and find answers, Hamilton's children are placed in danger and Eliza learns what really matters most.
I was immediately drawn into the story and into Eliza's life! I absolutely loved every word of this book! It had me laughing out loud as the various mishaps the characters had, and it had me wondering what would happen next during their many adventures. I loved the characters and the dialouge between the characters - that is probably what I loved most about this book! This is an incredible debut novel as it captivated me right from the start to the very end, the time period and the characters came alive and it was just so well-written and enjoyable to read! I am hoping her next book may be about the same characters as I would love to know what happens with Agatha and Zayne, Grayson's story and how Ming became his daughter, as well as spend more time with Gloria, Theodore, and the entire Watson family, and of course Hamilton, Eliza, Piper and Ben! I am highly recommending this book - you will not be disappointed!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a honest review.*
February 18, 2013
This novel is very eventful from beginning to end, and also funny. Life can be chaotic as with ElizaâÂÂs life, nonetheless GodâÂÂs plan will prevail. When we experience a stream of bad luck and seems as though nothing is going our way, rest and be assured God is working things out. GodâÂÂs blessings can even surpass our expectations. As we see in this novel God aligns people, events and situations so that his will can be done. This an amazing story of learning to trust God, even when we donâÂÂt know the outcome. Trust God to have our best interest at heart even when times are dismal. It is during those times that we distance ourselves and we are not in accordance with God as Eliza did at the beginning of the novel. In the end, she realized he was at work. I admire the courage of both Eliza and Agatha. Eliza determined to find those responsible for stealing her fortune and ruining her family name and Agatha for being a good friend and sticking with her, regardless of what they encountered, even landing themselves in jail. Lawrence, well, he was honest about his feeling about Eliza and got exactly what he deserved. I am happy Eliza found true love and a gentleman. Thank you Bethany House for allowing me to share my opinion. Also for giving me the opportunity to select a great book and providing copy free of charge.
February 4, 2013
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