Hi friends,
Just a super short note today to say "hi." My Uncle Dave sent me this super short video and I like it so much I've watched it several times. (My Momma says it is one of the cutest dachshund videos ever.) The little doxie does such a good job of sharing a balloon surprise. Of course, I had to share with you!
I hope you are doing well, enjoying some fall weather (none of that here in the south, yet!). Have a great weekend!
Love,
Abby xoxoxo
Book Synopsis
To save her family from financial ruin, Miss Poppy Garrison accepts
an unusual proposition to participate in the New York social season in
exchange for her grandmother settling a family loan that has
unexpectedly come due. Ill-equipped to handle the intricacies of
mingling within the New York Four Hundred, Poppy becomes embroiled in
one hilarious fiasco after another, doomed to suffer a grand societal
failure instead of being deemed the diamond of the first water her
grandmother longs for her to become.
Reginald Blackburn, second son of a duke, has been forced to travel
to America to help his cousin, Charles Wynn, Earl of Lonsdale, find an
American heiress to wed in order to shore up his family estate that is
in desperate need of funds. Reginald himself has no interest in finding
an heiress to marry, but when Poppy’s grandmother asks him to give
etiquette lessons to Poppy, he swiftly discovers he may be in for much
more than he bargained for.
Purchase Links
My Review
Diamond in the Rough is a historical novel set in 1885, the Gilded Age. Poppy Garrison was raised on a horse farm in Pennsylvania. At her family's request, she agrees to spend time in New York with her grandmother, experiencing a social season. Because Poppy is not ready for society life, her grandmother talks a brooding Englishman, Reginald Blackburn, into teaching her etiquette and helping her come out in society. Poppy and Reginald are complete opposites - but somehow they find a tenuous connection.
I was interested in reading Diamond in the Rough because I knew I would enjoy the Gilded Age setting. I also had not read any novels by Jen Turano, but have heard how much fun her books are.
This novel was a delight from the very start. It is what I would call rollicking fun. Poppy is such a character! She is forthright and impulsive and used to life where she can be active and do as she pleases. New York society does not come naturally to her. She finds herself in one predicament after another. In the first, she finds her tiara caught on a gentleman's sleeve while doing a Quadrille at a ball. Later, she goes for a carriage ride in Central Park; the horse takes off at a gallop and Poppy ends up in the lake.
Reginald is very proper and British and he realizes he has his work cut out for him helping Poppy learn etiquette. As they work together, they both learn from each other, and of course there are romantic sparks. However, Reginald has introduced himself as Mr. Blackburn, and has not revealed that he is the son of a Duke, so he has to contend with that as well.
The Gilded Age details are fascinating. I loved reading about Poppy's daily life, with dances, calling hours, carriage rides, and tea rooms. I felt bad for her, though, with some of the difficult social conventions, like uncomfortable, binding corsets that she was not used to.
I found Diamond in the Rough an enjoyable and thoroughly unique book. It has lovely period details, but reads like a historical romantic comedy. It was a refreshing read, and one that I think other readers will enjoy as well.
Author Bio
Jen Turano is a USA Today bestselling author and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Visit her website at www.jenturano.com.
Connect with Jen
Giveaway
One lucky reader will receive a copy of Diamond in the Rough. Enter with the Rafflecopter form below. Giveaway is open to the U.S. only, and closes Thursday, 10/03/19 at midnight. Winner will be notified by mail and needs to respond within 48 hours, or a new name will be drawn. Good luck!
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