An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

Rating:

4 Stars

Themes:

Regency Romance, Historical Fiction, Romance, Forbidden Love

Thoughts:

A beautifully written forbidden style romance with a Cinderella style twist. An illegitimate daughter to a Duke is turned into no better than a maid but in one night of fashion, she falls for a Bridgerton boy, and after a very slow burn they finally get their happily ever after. Sophie herself is such a sweet and loveable individual who remains strong despite what she is put through. Bennedict, however, is a lot more problematic than I expected he would be. The night of the ball he is a loveable character and I loved the chemistry between him and his mystery woman (who we know is Sophie) and seeing him rescue her from assault years later reinforced this. But his later actions not so much, he is imposing to Sophie when they're both in My Cottage willingly blurring boundaries, he then continually propositions her to be his mistress after multiple refusals, threatens her to get her back to London and even continues to press and pursue her after she is employed by his mother knowing her job is at risk. They do make a lovely couple and looking at the epilogues I am glad they worked out but I don't like the way in which it came about and the message of acceptability this is sending, it definitely contradicts the book title calling him a Gentleman.

Favourite Quote:

"He wasn’t certain how this woman had come to mean so much to him. It seemed that one day she was a stranger, and the next she was as indispensable as air. And yet it hadn’t happened in a blinding flash. It had been a slow, sneaky process, quietly coloring his emotions until he realized that without her, his life lacked all meaning."

Comments

Mint and Murder by Carly Winter

Rating: Stars Themes: Short Story, Cosy Mystery Thoughts: Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I had to read this book, seeing it was available, after reading Pipers Piping and Puppies last year. I did read it as a standalone (it’s not the first time I’ve read a series out of order and likely won’t be the last) I managed to follow along fine although I’m sure I’d have understood the relationship dynamics better had I read it in the correct order. I found the story great and as for the mystery I was guessing myself right the way through until Sam figured it out. Sam is a strong female main character who feels worth investing in so I may have to go search some more of the Heywood Herbalist series out. I enjoyed seeing Sam interact with her friends as they had great chemistry and it felt real, and also really liked Sam’s interactions with Doug as it added another layer of humanity to her and reality to the town. I would love ...

Porn is Not Sex Ed! by Jessica Melendez

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Young Adult Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. In the age of lessening sex education this book could be a great tool to help bridge the gap. I appreciate the talk to an adult bits that can encourage children to start to have conversations that are important but they often think are cringy. The note to trusted adults bit at the end is great too and there’s quite a few useful activities to help the messages really sink in. Some of the points here such as fetishisation and body image are really important ones that I never learned that young (which could be the reason I had such poor body image as a teen) and for the most part the book talks to kids on their level although some areas may feel a little immaturely worded for older teens. With thanks to Hachette UK and Netgalley for my advanced digital copy of this book.

The War of Sober by Edward Rand

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, Self-Help, Addiction, Psychology Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is a great book not just for addicts trying to establish and maintain their sobriety but also psychologists, counsellors and the people working with them. It approaches the experience of addiction from the perspective of going to war and may help those who can’t get along with the 12 steps, contingency management or other forms of therapy traditionally used. It’s also helpful to have Edward detail his own experiences and approaches throughout so it feels less clinical and shows he does know what he’s talking about when he mentions the difficulties so it comes across less patronising than some self-help addiction books. Favourite Quote: "It doesn't matter what happened yesterday. Win or lose, if we are still alive, we must decide to be different today and then make the correct choices today, because friends, ...

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