Summary: Turn of the century novelist Lilly Westbrook learns that being faithful to her calling means more than just putting pen to paper. It’s the summer of 1899 in Newport, Rhode Island, and Lilly Westbrook is struggling to conceal her career from family and friends because of the stigma attached to dime novels. Lilly feels good about her secret—after all, she’s enlightening working class girls with her books and honoring God by using her talents to His glory. But her secret is threatened when Jackson Grail, a former suitor, becomes Lilly’s new publisher. He’s determined to revive his floundering publishing house by maximizing their most promising–and most secretive–author. His plan? Find...
Review: She Walks In Beauty
Summary: For a young society woman seeking a favorable marriage, so much depends on her social season debut. Clara Carter has been given one goal: secure the affections of the city’s most eligible bachelor. Debuting means plenty of work–there are corsets to be fitted, dances to master, manners to perfect. Her training soon pays off, however, as celebrity’s spotlight turns Clara into a society-page darling. Yet Clara soon wonders if this is the life she really wants. Especially when she learns her best friend has also set her sights on Franklin De Vries. When a man appears who seems to love her simply for who she is and gossip backlash...
What I’m Reading: The Life of Pi
My book club tackled “The Life of Pi” by Yann Martel for December, and it was quite the experience. We’ve read a novel where children were killed (“The Hunger Games”) and yet, “The Life of Pi” was disturbing in a whole new way. The brutality of the animal kingdom comes through these pages, as a 15-year-old boy is stranded on a large lifeboat with a 450-pound Bengal tiger. At first, there are a few other animals on the boat, which the tiger picks off one at a time. While the gory descriptions and detail didn’t bother me, it made me sad and my book club and I were surprised to...