Review: A Lady of Secret Devotion by Tracie Peterson

Book Cover and Synopsis:

Eager to ease the financial burdens of her family, Cassandra Stover is thrilled when she is hired to be a companion to Mrs. Jameston, a wealthy society woman. Cassie finds herself living a life she'd never imagined-and growing close to the elderly woman who treats her like a daughter.

Her new position is tarnished only by Mrs. Jameston's son. As Sebastian's resentment and cruelty toward his mother mount, Cassie begins to harbor concerns for her employer's safety--and ultimately her own. When Sebastian is suspected of fraud, insurance investigator Mark Langford solicits Cassie's help to uncover the truth. But what begins as a game of pretense is quickly complicated by matters of the heart.

My Thoughts:
Novels that have the hero and heroine "dating" under false pretenses are fairly common, but this one stands out from the crowd for two reasons: It takes place in the 19th century (whereas most often times this plot plays out in modern novels), and the relationship pretense is actually part of an elaborate scheme to take down a criminal.

I quite enjoyed Cassie's character; her responses to the circumstances around her are genuine and realistic. It's interesting to see her reactions to suddenly being treated as a lady of means after gaining employment as the companion to a wealthy widow, having spent most of her life as the daughter of a laundress. Cassie feels that her new job is a blessing she never could have dreamed of, but she doesn't realize that her new position will entangle her in her employer's family drama in unimaginable ways.

Mark is also a very likeable character. As an insurance investigator his goal is to acquire information about his suspects, one of whom is the son of Cassie's employer. A chance meeting brings Mark and Cassie together, and Mark seizes the opportunity to gather information, enlisting Cassie's help in the matter. But as things progress, Mark starts to struggle with balancing his affection for Cassie, and the danger that his need for information puts her in. Likewise, Cassie struggles with her feelings for Mark, unsure if she should even admit to having feelings after having originally agreed to the "fake" courtship.

Just imagining being in Cassie's shoes, living under the same roof with such an evil-natured man (her employer's son) and being unable to talk of it with anyone except for a single outside contact...I simply don't think I could do it! But I'm certainly glad that Cassie was written as a strong enough character to be able to handle the situation, because I really enjoyed reading about it. This is one I can highly recommend!

My Rating: 5 stars

Review: A Lady of Hidden Intent by Tracie Peterson

Book Cover and Synopsis:

A life of privilege becomes only a distant memory when Catherine Newbury's father is falsely imprisoned and she is whisked away from her home in England to America. Forced to disguise her past and create a completely new life, Catherine takes on a servant's last name and carves out a tenuous future for herself as a seamstress. Soon her dress designs are sought throughout Philadelphia.

When the dashing Carter Danby accompanies his mother and sister for a design consultation, Catherine suddenly encounters her past face-to-face. Is Carter's avid interest in her genuine...or does he, as she suspects, recognize her as the young lady he met while touring England? She cannot deny the attraction, but admitting her true identity may jeopardize her father's only hope for freedom. Will Catherine be forced to sacrifice her dreams of love?

My Thoughts:
I didn't really know what to expect from this book, not having read the synopsis beforehand. I simply jumped in and started reading because it was second in the series... but I was pleasantly surprised to find myself immediately sucked into the events of the story!

Catherine's story is one of riches to rags; her whole world is changed when her wealthy father is falsely accused of criminal activity, leaving her no choice but to flee the country and change her name for fear of being discovered, innocent though she is. This type of scenario generally dictates the heroine will end up working as a servant or housemaid, so I found it refreshing that Catherine ended up as a seamstress instead. And not just any seamstress, but an accomplished one, so much so that she actually gained notoriety and fame under her assumed name. She is a likable character, and though her world has been forever changed and she is often over-worked, she manages to keep a mostly hopeful outlook on life as she dreams of the day when her father's name might be cleared and she can be reunited with him.

While I liked Catherine, I have to admit that I *loved* Carter! He is just an absolute doll. I loved how even though Catherine acted standoff-ish towards him, he still continued to pursue her, even being quite persistent at times! He orchestrated clever ways to spend time with her, which was quite a feat considering they live in completely different social classes. When Catherine was vague in her conversation, Carter didn't let it deter him, often giving her a playful or flirtatious remark in response. This could make him sound like a cad, but that's far from the truth; he never acted inappropriately, he was just very honest about his intentions towards her. Sadly, Carter's family was a total mess, behaving in unlawful and immoral ways, but it was really cool to see how he strived to live a godly life even while still living under his parents' roof. He is just a gem of a character, and if I could rip him out of the pages into reality, I think I just might do so! 

If there's one thing I wasn't crazy about, I'd have to say it was the character of Lydia. I was annoyed by the fact that she couldn't be content with the good situation she had; she insisted on letting her jealousy of Catherine's talents get the better of her, causing trouble for everyone in the process. Of course all stories do need an antagonist to stir up conflict, and Lydia obviously fit the role well. All things considered, she was really no more than a minor annoyance, but I just thought I'd include her to round out my review, instead of it being a total gush-fest for the story. :)

This is the second book in the Ladies of Liberty series, but it could easily act as a standalone; there is nothing that ties this book to the previous one aside from a short appearance by a minor character from the first book. I highly highly recommend this novel, especially if you are a fan of historicals. It's quite enjoyable, and one of the best historicals I've read in quite a while.

My Rating: 5 stars

Review: A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson

Book Cover and Synopsis:

Born into affluence, Mia Stanley is a winsome socialite with a knack for matchmaking. She's also a writer for Godey's Lady's Book magazine, much to the disdain of her family--and their society friends. A proper young lady of her social standing isn't meant to labor in such a way, but Mia has always had a way with words...

When her writing draws her into the world of downtrodden seamen's wives on Philadelphia's docks, Mia uncovers a scheme that puts her in harm's way. But her heart ends up on the line as well.... Has her determination to always make a match driven away the one man whose esteem she covets?

My Thoughts:
This novel gives an interesting glimpse into the different opinions held by 19th century society for working women, at a time when most people weren't sure if they should applaud or shun the idea.

I do have to admit that it took a few chapters for me to get used to the style of dialogue that is used. I don't know if this is actually how people in the 19th century talked or not, but it's quite formal compared to what our modern conversations generally are. However, after a few chapters I found I had adjusted well enough to focus more on the story than on the somewhat stiff way people go about conversing.

Mia has a heart for the needy, and her position as a writer for a popular magazine gives her ample information and opportunity to help those who are less fortunate. Mia is bold and crafty in her efforts to help the poor, particularly the seaman's wives, who suffer many injustices while society turns a blind eye. Though her intents are noble, Mia's actions often end up putting her in harm's way, and I couldn't help but think she was rather foolhardy in her disregard for safety. The issue of the seaman's wives, though terribly sad, unfortunately did get a bit old for me after while. It seemed that the same things just kept getting rehashed, particularly whenever Mia would explain the situation to a new person.

Garrett and Mia have been life-long neighbors and best friends, but fairly early in the story they both start to notice a shift in their feelings towards the other. This was fun to watch, but I quickly wished they would just get on with it and admit their feelings for each other. Granted, it wasn't for lack of trying; whenever one or the other would start to approach the subject of their feelings, they would always get interrupted and be unable to continue. It would be okay if it was just once, maybe twice, but ultimately it ended up growing rather tiresome as it continued to happen time and time again.

Overall I would say this book is "okay"....while it did have some things that I liked, many of the major plot points just didn't interest me very much. I think if the story had been tightened up and shortened a bit, some of the redundancy could have been trimmed out and the story would be stronger as a whole. However, I did quite enjoy the other two books in the series, so ultimately I think this might just be one of those times when this particular book and I simply didn't click as well as I would've liked.

My Rating: 3 stars