Review: Behind the Scenes by Jen Turano

A New Series from Jen Turano

Jen Turano is one of my favourite Christian historical romance authors. I love her characters, her witty dialogue, and the underlying truth (Truth) in her novels. And Behind the Scenes is no exception.

The main character is the unfortunately named Miss Permilia Griswold, member of New York’s elite, and well-known (or perhaps unknown) wallflower. The story starts at the famous 1883 costume ball given by Mr and Mrs William Vanderbilt II, an event which let the media into New York society for the first time, for better or worse. The descriptions of the ball are excellent, and my initial suspicions that the descriptions might have been a little over-the-top were allayed when I did a little research. If anything, Behind the Scenes is understated.


The story has touches of Cinderella, with Permilia as the motherless girl, a self-centred stepmother and an even more self-centred step-sister, an absent but loving father, and Mr Asher Rutherford, the owner of one of New York’s biggest department stores, as Prince Charming.

But there is also a suspense element, after Permilia overhears a death threat against Mr Rutherford … and he doesn’t believe her. This leads a quirky troupe of characters on what is best described as a merry chase as Permilia and Asher spend more and more time together as they attempt to find the source of the threat.

My one issue was that there were parts of the story I didn't quite understand, almost as if I'd missed something ... I had. I'd missed At Your Request, the free novella introducing this new series (partly because the novella didn't release until January 2017 and I couldn't resist reading this as soon as the review copy was available. In December 2016). Anyway, I suggest you don't make the same mistake.


Recommended for fans of witty historical romance.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Finding Margo by Jen Turano

Shows Promise but Needs Polishing.

I’m a big fan of Jen Turano’s Christian historical romance novels published by Bethany House Publishers. I’m also a huge fan of contemporary Christian romance. So when I saw Jen Turano had published a contemporary Christian romance novel, I was keen to read it, and thrilled when Gilead Publishing offered me the chance of a free copy to review.

I was soon to be disappointed.

On the writing side, while Finding Margo has a solid plot, it doesn’t have enough romance to make it a great romance, and it doesn’t have enough suspense to make it a great romantic suspense (I’m not even sure if it was trying for suspense—if it was, the first paragraph killed what suspense there might have been). Finding Margo lacked the wit I’ve enjoyed in so many of Jen Turano’s other novels.

But it wasn’t just the lack of wit which disappointed me. It was the overall lack of polish in the writing—which I now suspect had a lot to do with the skill of Turano’s previous editors. It was also the mistakes, like calling one character the patriarch of his family twice in three pages (as though I’d forgotten), or implying there are 356 days in the year. Sure, that one is an obvious typo, but it’s the kind of typo I expect to see in books from some vanity press notorious for their lack of editing, or the first book from some small press with no background in fiction. It's also a typo based on something which it appears isn't true: the number of times the phrase 'fear not' (or similar) appears in the Bible.

And there were other writing issues I won’t bore you with. Suffice to say I checked Amazon’s Look Inside, and I’m afraid the underpolished version I read appears to be the final published version. This isn’t always the case with NetGalley books, although most publishers take pains to point out it’s the unproofed version and may still contain mistakes—although few do. Once I realised the writing/editing wasn't up to par, I decided I should ignore the obvious issues and focus on the characters and the story.

First, Margo. 

I didn’t like her at first, because she seemed as shallow as her pop star life. I warmed to her more and more in Ohio, especially once she ended up in hospital and I could contrast her with her overbearing mother. Caroline is, to put it politely, a piece of work who brings new meaning to the term ‘shallow’. Margo said she was a Christian although she hinted at having fallen away … something which was never properly explored.

Brock was a strong hero, although perhaps a little too good to be true. But I didn’t feel I got to know him, or where he stood on faith, and I did feel his character could have been developed beyond being the too-perfect foil for Margo. Nor did I ever really feel his attraction for Margo … or any second-guessing of that attraction (which would have seemed natural, given their different backgrounds).

And that leads me to the suspense plot, because this is apparently a suspense novel (at least, according to the Amazon categories).

Well, there was no suspense.

Except, perhaps, who was after Margo and why (and I don’t even know if I’m convinced by that, because it seemed a little chicken-and-egg).

The first paragraph made it pretty obvious who Margo “really” was, and the lines in the novel that hinted at the suspense would have been more powerful and suspenseful if I hadn’t already been handed the big secret. The big reveal of the evildoer was underwhelming—I thought it could have been revealed and written a lot more powerfully. Or perhaps I’d reached the point where I wasn’t paying enough attention.

Overall, Finding Margo is a story which shows promise but needs polishing.



Thanks to Gilead Publishing and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Jen Turano at her website, and read the introduction to Finding Margo below:

Review: Playing the Part by Jen Turano

Is historical chick-lit a thing?

If it's not, it should be. I love Jen Turano’s brand of humorous historical fiction—it’s a historical version of chick-lit, only without the bawdy bits. And she manages to touch on some of the less nice elements of history, like the lack of women’s rights, without ever becoming maudlin or preachy. I’ve read all her novels, and she hasn’t failed me yet.

Breaking Free is no exception. It’s the third book in the A Class of Their Own series, but can easily be read as a standalone (although fans of the series will be pleased to find the earlier couples all feature in supporting roles, as does Abigail, the busybody matchmaker).

When New York actress Lucetta Plum is threatened by an unwanted suitor, Mrs Abigail Hart, Lucetta’s self-appointed godmother and protector, decides a visit to her grandson is in order. Bram Haverstein is an eligible bachelor who’d rather be left alone. Well, as alone as he can be in an American castle full of misfit servants. But he’s prepared to make an exception for Lucetta Plum, the actress he admires above all others. Only problem is that she loathes any and all admirers . . .

Playing the Part is great fun, because as well as the stalker and romance plots, there is also the mystery about the castle: is it haunted? If not, why do strange things keep happening? (There’s the almost-predictable missing jewels and walking armour, but there’s the funnier question of how did the woman-hating goat get into Miss Plum’s tower room?).

All in all, great fun for those looking for a lighthearted read with a serious undertone.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Have you read any of Jen Turano's novels? What did you think?

2015 Reading Challenge: In Good Company by Jen Turano

Fun, fun, fun

Jen Turano is the author I save for those days when I want a lighthearted read, something that’s going to entertain and amuse me without getting too much into the harsher side of life. Some days I want serious fiction with a message. Some days I don’t. Those are Jen Turano days. She manages to write funny characters and situations without ever crossing the line into cringey, and that’s a huge achievement.

It’s Long Island, 1882, and Mr Everett Mulberry has recently become guardian to three children who run every nanny off in days. Miss Millie Longfellow is his only hope, which is unfortunate for him. Also unfortunate is Miss Caroline Dixon, his almost-fiancé, who doesn’t like the children and wants to send them to boarding school. Despite the problems he’s having, that’s not an option.

In Good Company is well set up: the nanny who can’t keep a job and the man who can’t keep a nanny. Add a little mutual attraction, a determined almost-fiancé, three unruly children, a gaggle of peacocks and sundry other four-legged creatures and the stage is set. There’s even some suspense around the death of the children’s parents—and I have to say the resolution of that subplot was quite unexpected.

The characters were excellent. Millie was similar to other characters I’ve seen, in that she comes across as scatterbrained to the uninitiated, but has a heart of gold and her seemingly unconventional methods of childcare not only tame the children but serve a larger purpose in the plot. Everett was the somewhat foppish male who wants to do the right thing but doesn’t know how. And the children. Well. A lot of authors get children wrong, with characters and personalities inconsistent with their ages, but Turano nails them, even though the children are every bit as idiosyncratic as the adults, especially Rosetta and her unusual pets.

But it’s not all fun. There are some serious messages hidden within In Good Company, particularly around how we are all valuable and how we need variety to teach us about life. As one character tells Everett:

“You’ve been surrounded solely by like-minded individuals—and that has not given you a proper perspective on life.”

It wasn’t talking about the Christian “bubble” many of us live in, but it certainly applies. We are not called to be of the world, but we are most definitely called to be in the world. And we need to be to gain that proper perspective.

Recommended for a lighthearted read with a message.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

This counts towards my 2015 Reading Challenge as a funny book.