Skip to main content

After a Fashion

After a Fashion is a historical fiction novel by Jen Turano.

Though her dreams are to someday open a dress shop where she can refurbish gowns for working women like herself, Harriet Peabody currently spends her days in a hat shop in New York City 1882.

Beggars can’t be choosers, though – because once a millinery errand to a high-strung customer goes terribly wrong she finds herself without even that position.

Mr. Oliver Addleshaw witnesses the event in question – in fact, he has a role. The aforementioned high-strung lady was under the belief that they were soon to be wed, when in fact all he had been hoping for was a feminine companion on one of his biggest business deals yet.

Seeing Miss Peabody’s precarious situation, he decides to offer her that position – especially as he quickly realizes her personality is far different than most simpering, wedding-obsessed ladies he’s dealt with prior.

Unable to turn down such a lucrative offer, despite its oddness, Harriet decides to go through with it, if only because the funds could potentially help her dream come to pass. Yet she realizes soon enough that having an eye for fashion does not make her fashionable amidst this set – and just when she starts to think she should give up trying to act like something she’s not at sophisticated balls and extravagant feasts, a threat from her past shows up to damage everything…

Jen Turano is swiftly becoming another one of my preferred Christian historical fiction writers!

After a Fashion is amusing, clever and fun to read. Avoiding the romantic clichés that I can’t stand – such as numerous descriptions of the other party’s attractiveness – we get a refreshingly entertaining historical story.

Neither of our main characters are overly sentimental, emotional or romantically inclined. They just, quite simply, work! Their personalities bring out the best in each other and I enjoyed the generally straight forward plot that veered away from the overdramatic.

Keep in mind that I do feel that Harriet’s character was given some great backstory with a rather sad upbringing, yet it didn’t pull down the book or immerse her in self-pity at all. She’s a strong, faith-filled character that has principles. Yay!

With humor, romance and a little dose of drama and surprise, After a Fashion was a fast paced, truly pleasant diversion. I will definitely want to read the next book in this interweaved trio!

*I received a copy of After a Fashion from the Bethany House Book Reviewers program. Their generosity in no way influenced, nor sought to influence, my opinion of the novel.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Author Q & A - Jan Eldredge Stops By!

Next Wednesday y'all will be getting my oh-so-humble opinion of Evangeline of the Bayou , the Summer 2018 Kids' Indie Next List selection! (That means it was picked via booksellers at independent bookstores countrywide.) Until then, I have a Q&A with the Louisiana born and raised author herself: Jan Eldredge! (Don't forget to come back next week for my review!!) A Conversation with JAN ELDRIDGE Author of Evangeline of the Bayou 1) The glossary in the back of the book is so helpful! Where did you learn about all these creatures? Which creature from the book is your favorite? I have a small, but growing, collection of books about mythical creatures around the world. If I couldn’t find what I was looking for there, I researched library books, online websites, and the occasional documentary. Something that really surprised me as I started learning more about mythical monsters was the number of different cultures that share very similar

First Step: Admit You Have a Problem

Hi fellow Bibliophiles! I have been rather neglectful to this blog... instead continuing to stay buried in a book as I have during the holidays. I'm hopeful that most of you have been doing this too and can easily accept my apology. Have I been reading? Um, yeah! (Translation: duh.) Just haven't been able to pull myself away long enough to actually WRITE about what I'm reading. Lol. But that's me, a bibliophile, an addict, an addict who's fallen off the wagon and fully embraced her love of reading - especially with all this free time to do so!!! I've also been watching awesome holiday movies, eating yummy, but bad-for-me, food and hanging out with the people I love best! You too? I hope! ;) Anyway, I will return with a new book review next week, most likely on Monday or Tuesday. Thanks for your patience and keep reading!!!

Promotion Celebration for Maximum Ride!!!

Do you love the series Maximum Ride ? How about James Patterson? Are you a huge fan of action-packed books? Well, I’m thrilled to bring to you an opportunity to stock up on some awesome reading!!! ENTER TO WIN A SET OF JAMES PATTERSON PAGETURNERS! MAXIMUM RIDE – IF SHE LIVES, THE WORLD LIVES, IT’S THAT SIMPLE. Read “MAX” - the newest book in the bestselling Maximum Ride series. On sale in paperback 09/01/09! Still reeling from their most recent adventure, Maximum Ride and the rest of the flock must head out to sea to uncover the secret behind a brand new series of disasters—fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii, hundreds of ships are being destroyed. As if that weren’t enough, they’re also being tracked by a criminal mastermind with, oh yeah, an army of mercenaries. Can the flock save themselves and the ocean, and the world, from utter destruction? Now for the rules : The Maximum Ride: Max Promotion is open to legal US residents who are at least 13 years of age as of August 24, 200