Jen Turano: Caught by Surprise

By Kelly Bridgewater

Miss Temperance Flowerdew is on her way to work when a stranger suddenly grabs her off the street and sends her on a Chicago-bound train before she can figure out what happened.

When Mr. Gilbert Cavendish is called upon to rescue a missing woman, he follows the trail to Chicago only to discover that the woman is his good friend Temperance. Before they can discover who was behind the abduction, they're seen alone together by a New York society matron, putting their reputations at risk.

Gilbert is willing to propose marriage--except Temperance will have none of it. She's finally stepped out of the shadow of her relations and won't give up her independence. But when it becomes clear the misunderstanding in Chicago has escalated into a threat on her life and followed her to New York, accepting Gilbert's help in solving the mystery may lead to more than she ever could have dreamed.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Jen Turano does a fabulous job at creating hilarious tales of woe during the Gilded Age. I have loved and looked forward to all her writings. Her latest creating, Caught by Surprise, is really no surprise. It is a fabulous conclusion to the series. I have enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what the next series includes.

Turano creates a cast of characters worthy of any sitcom. They are unique, boastful, and proud to right the wrong in their lives. While in most romances, it is the girl who falls in love first and then has to practically drag the man to fall in love with her, Turano flips the story on its head and allows the women to be the ones that can't imagine following in love with these men who are interested in them. A number of times, she had me laughing at why the women weren't impressed by the men who obviously did outlandish things to try to impress them. It was nice to see the previous two wallflowers, who tell their stories in Behind the Scenes and Out of the Ordinary come back to support Temperance in her story.

It was nice to finally get to know and understand Temperance, the last girl of the wallflowers. She blossomed on the page, even though she was determined not to fall in love with her childhood friend, Gilbert Cavendish. Opposite Temperance is Gilbert, the hero who could have someone wanting him dead too. He protected Temperance like a true hero does and keeps begging for her to marry him.

The plot is funny and moves at a rapid pace. I wish I could spend more time with Turano's characters. The novel is comforting and a great way to spend a couple of hours. I truly enjoyed this whole series. I think I might return and re-read them from the start again.

Overall, Jen Turano's Caught by Surprise is a fabulous, yet surprising story filled with guns, knife fights, paint, and romance all set during the Gilded Age. I couldn't read through the novel fast enough. I anxiously await her next series to see what new characters and what trouble Turano allows them to get into.

I received a complimentary copy of Caught by Surprise by Jen Turano from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

About the Author:

From Amazon

 Jen Turano is a USA Today Bestselling author, known for her quirky characters and amusing story lines. Her novel, After a Fashion, was a Reviewer's Choice finalist with RT, as well as being named a top ten romance of 2015 from Booklist. Her book, A Most Peculiar Circumstance, was chosen as a top ten romance by Booklist in 2013, and Booklist has called her "One of the funniest voices in the inspirational genre." When she’s not writing, Jen spends her time outside of Denver, CO. She can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/jenturanoauthor/ or visit her on the web at www.jenturano.com. She is represented by the Natasha Kern Literary Agency.

Jen Turano: Out of the Ordinary

By Kelly Bridgewater

Miss Gertrude Cadwalader hoped her position as the paid companion to Mrs. Davenport would be easy. But as she becomes acquainted with her employer, she realizes the wealthy Mrs. Davenport has a strange tendency to be a bit light-fingered with other people's trinkets. Gertrude is relieved when Mrs. Davenport decides to have a quiet summer away from the social scene--until the woman changes her mind in order to help a young socialite launch into society.

When Gertrude is caught in the act of trying to return one of the trinkets by Mrs. Sinclair, the mother of shipping magnate Harrison Sinclair, the woman jumps to an unfortunate conclusion. Harrison is determined to mend fences with Miss Cadwalader, but he's unprepared for the escapades a friendship with her will entail.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

I adore Jen Turano's writing. She creates such realistic historical characters that jump off the page. Her heroines are never the typical women of the time period. They enjoy acting out of the societal norms, which I love. Her writing is crisp and clean with abundant descriptions to keep me in the setting. There isn't too much or too less description. Just enough to keep my imagination flowing as the characters move around in the setting. I was really excited to read Out of the Ordinary, and Turano didn't disappoint.

In Out of the Ordinary, I really enjoyed getting to know Gertrude Cadwalader a  lot more. She is an unique individual with a personality to match. She is independent and isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in. The hero, Harrison Sinclair, is a color-blind man who wears horrible non-matching clothes, even by today's standards. But even through the outward appearance he portrays, Gertrude sees past all that and falls in love with the sweet and protective man underneath. Their romance has a friendship base and makes for a great love story.

I have read many reviews where they mention that Turano is a hilarious writer. Usually, I don't find anything funny about her plots, but this time around, she really did make the plot funny. She put Gertrude in a number of different scenarios that made me shake my head and smile. I really enjoyed how toward the end Turano had Harrison take notes from romance novels on how to whoo Gertrude back and they all went horribly wrong. It was funny! I really enjoyed this novel and wanted to read it in a day, but life happened, and I did finish it in four days. I loved this story.

Overall, Out of the Ordinary by Jen Turano is anything but ordinary. There are moments of pure laughter with a delightful cast of characters that had me flipping through the pages to see what other situation they can find themselves in. I truly LOVED this story, and I can't wait for the next installment in this series from Turano. Fans of Lorna Seilstad and Cara Lynn James should pick these books up.

I received a complimentary copy of Out of the Ordinary by Jen Turano from Bethany House Publishers, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Jen Turano: Behind the Scenes

By Kelly Bridgewater

Miss Permilia Griswold may have been given the opportunity of a debut into New York high society, but no one warned her she wasn't guaranteed to "take." After spending the last six years banished to the wallflower section of the ballroom, she's finally putting her status on the fringes of society to good use by penning anonymous society gossip columns under the pseudonym "Miss Quill."

Mr. Asher Rutherford has managed to maintain his status as a reputable gentleman of society despite opening his own department store. While pretending it's simply a lark to fill his time, he has quite legitimate reasons for needing to make his store the most successful in the country.
When Permilia overhears a threat against the estimable Mr. Rutherford, she's determined to find and warn the man. Disgruntled at a first meeting that goes quite poorly and results in Asher not believing her, she decides to take matters into her own hands, never realizing she'll end up at risk as well.

As Asher and Permilia are forced to work together and spend time away from the spotlight of society, perhaps there's more going on behind the scenes than they ever could have anticipated. . . .

https://www.christianbook.com/behind-the-scenes-jen-turano/9780764217944/pd/217944?product_redirect=1&Ntt=217944&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP

My Review:

I'm a huge fan of Jen Turano's work. She brings the nineteenth century to life for my imagination. She creates rich characters who go against the norm and conventions for women. While I adore the cover for her newest release Behind the Scenes, I couldn't wait to dive in and read Permilia's story. With an introduction to the high society of New York City in 1883, I was drawn into the story right away.

The writing is clear and concise. I had no problem imaging the Vanderbilt's estate with all of high society dressed up in their costumes as they partied the night away. Turano does a great job at researching what these people wore. What is acceptable behavior, dances, and clothes. The story flowed well from her research, inviting me to wander along with Permilia and Asher.

The pace of the story took a while to capture my attention. The story starts out with Permilia headed to the Vanderbilt costume party with her step-sister and step-mother. For a long time, it was just the details of the party and the wall flowers, so I kept praying the entire novel was not this dull. I understand this laid the ground work for the story, but the party took up the first thirty percent of the novel. That is one long party. But after leaving the party, the rest of the novel picks up pace and ends in a unpredictable mystery that I didn't see coming. The mystery ending did write very well, and Turano did include moments where Asher and Permilia were shot at and running from the bad guys, so this was definitely written a lot better than most historical mysteries I have read.

The characters of Permilia and Asher were different because of their ability to stand on what they believed. Permilia is a Daddy's girl who worked with her father in the mines until her remarried to Ida, her step-mother, than her father wanted her to understand the rules of high society and join them. Permilia felt out of place. Something I can totally relate to. Since she is a member of the wallflowers and hides out the outskirts at these social engagements, she can observe and take notes for the world to read. I enjoy her strong behavior and knowing what she wants. Permilia doesn't let the opinions of others affect how she runs her life. As for Asher, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, but as I learned later on, his family lost their fortune, so Asher used his business sense to open a successful mercenary in town. The only one in town that employed woman. He saw woman as important to the success of the business world, not as a hindrance.

Romance between Asher and Permilia was not the main focus of the story but of course, it did develop through the story. I enjoyed how Turano didn't have all these unrealistic feelings internally struggling between Asher and Permilia. I'm glad she allowed their relationship to grow and blossom just like the characters did.

Behind the Scenes is an original story with richly developed characters who are trying to mingle along the wealthy and avoid death at the hands of some crazy people. Fans of Jen Turano's other two series should pick up this exciting introduction to her new series and be prepared for a well-written story worth savoring.

I received a complimentary copy of Jen Turano's Behind the Scenes from Bethany House Publishers and the opinions stated are all my own. 

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars