Jenny Holiday

Roughly the 1st 80% of this book was best in class. Romance where love is built on growth and where people support one another and speak the hardest truths are the best. I loved Aurora and Mike, I loved their friends and families (other than Aurora's mother for whom I mostly just felt sad) and I loved their relationships. I think the book did a great job of moving characters though complex grief. I was also a fan of the way Mike acknowledged his privilege and learned to balance his good fortune with temperance. Added fun for me, I think they got Minnesota so right. I love reading books set in places I have lived. (I lived in Fargo about 2 miles from the MN border, and worked at a college on the MN side of the border so I count it.) I do read a lot set in Atlanta and New York, and when I can find it Michigan, Taipei, Shenzhen and DC (Philly never felt like home so I skip that one.) Generally, though Minnesota-set books don't do it for me. I find authors can be mean-spirited about the culture based largely on appearing pleasant. The last Tim O'Brien book is a perfect example of that. Others go the other way and buy into the illusion of "Minnesota nice" as being consistently genuine when it is equal parts niceness, repression, and masterclass level passive-aggression. The Lager Queen of Minnesota comes to mind for that issue. Here Holiday got it right, the good and the bad, and the tater tot hotdish. I think she got the Canada part right too, I grew up in Detroit so my social circle included a lot of people from southern Ontario (mostly Windsor and London) and it felt right to me, but I note as a disclaimer that my impressions are from 40 years ago so I might be off base. Correct or not I really enjoyed the sense of place for both locations.

All of that sounds great, and it was, but then the author created this tension at the end and did a ham-fisted job of it. There was a minor omission, a long ago event that one person did not share with the other person, that blows things up in the last 20% of the book. I knew it was coming because it was teased all along. The message is that this decision not to share an embarrassing and irrelevant (if formative) life event was some big lie, which it 100% was not. The non-teller is wracked with guilt. I hoped that foreshadowing notwithstanding the author would not go in that direction. My hopes were dashed. The story proceeded as teased, and when the secret was shared it was treated as a gigantic lie and it temporarily destroyed the relationship. The reactions to this "lie" by both parties were absurd, and completely not in keeping with the characters' admirable emotional maturity, great communication, mutual respect, and general assumption that people did things for good reasons. It really tainted the whole read and eroded some of my liking for both characters. I am going with a 4. I almost went with a 3 because this made me mad, but that seemed unfair when I truly adored most of this, thought it was well written, gently sexy and loving. I found calm and joy in this reading journey and that merits a 4.

One note - This book is not about ED's per se, but there is a depiction of disordered eating inculcated and encouraged by Aurora's mother and her dance teachers. Though a few of the moments were over the top, there were conversations between Aurora and her mother about eating that felt like the author had bugged my childhood home. I felt seen in a way I rarely do when eating disorders and the corrosive environment that often leads to them are depicted in fiction. Some people may want to avoid the book for this reason, but for me it was cathartic and empowering. Sometimes it feels like I am the only one whose mother told me every day how I fell short, how people, strangers and friends alike, might not tell me but in truth they found me repulsive (my mother said exactly that when I went from a size 6 to a size 8 in 10th grade.) As my mother did, the mother here said she did this to help, and like my mother it appears she believed it. Reading this part of the book broke my heart a bit but also comforted me as it is good to know I have company and good to see Aurora find her way and stand up against this messaging in a way that I, and most people, never could.… (más)

Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday

Archibald "Archie" Fielding-Burton, the Earl of Harcourt, is set to go on his annual trip with his best friends Effie and Simon. He recieves and urgent message to rescue childhood friend Olive Morgan, who runs off to elope with a less than favorable man.

Olive's Sister Celmentine (Clemmie) is on the same mission. The five end up spending a few weeks at a Country Castle. Friendships are renewed, bonds formed, and love is in the air. This turns out to be more than just a "boys" trip for these young men.

The story moves at a steady pace with well developed (interesting) characters and true to the times dialog. Set in 1821, Clem is a woman before her times with modern thinking and ideals. Olive is as as well. Archie, Simon and Effie have differing personalities, yet some common diffuclites in life bond the men in true freindship.

Overall I found Earls Trip enjoyable, with a bit of humor and feel good moods, it was the perfect read. I look forward to the next book in the series. I highly recommend to those who enjoy regency/historical romance.… (más)

Earls Trip by Jenny Holiday
Historical romance.
Three Earls take an annual two week vacation. Archie, Simon and Effie have been friends since childhood. As a way to deal with their stress and everyday burdens, they take turns choosing a vacation spot and escape. This year, a messenger intercepts them on the way out of town, asking for Archie to rescue Olive and Clementine Morgan from a ruinous scandal. He, of course, rescues them, but returning them home would take up most of the two week planned get-away. So instead, the five travel to the remote, crumbling, and borrowed castle on the edge of Scotland, to relax and rejuvenate with strict instructions that the women remain out of the way so as to not bother or ruin the men’s escape.
Needless to say, separate areas of the castle doesn’t end up working and they all find deeper friendships in the end.

Humorous, delightful and adorable. A slow burn blooming friendship, multiple times over between the group, with Archie and Clem turning into a deeper bond of romance. Vegetarian cooking and leaking roofs add depth and color. A story you will love. I hope this is the beginning of a series as I’d love to revisit with these friends.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley… (más)