I am Finished!

Nine rolls.

Eight prompts filled.

Five books off my physical reading shelf read.

No ladders, yet also no snakes. 

Previous Rolls

1. Space 1: Author is a Woman

A Distant Melody (Wings of Glory #1) by Sarah Sundin, 355 pages (worth 2 rolls) - Finished 4/9/2020

2 You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-10 00:43:11 UTC

Space 11

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-10 00:44:57 UTC

Space 19: Set in UK

The Scandalous Suffragette by Eliza Redgold, 234 pages, set in London, Manchester, and the Kent countryside (worth 2 rolls). Read April 9th-14th. 

3. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-15 13:56:05 UTC

Space 24

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-15 13:57:14 UTC

Space 28: Written between 1900 and 1999

The Final Days: The Classic, Behind-the-Scenes Account of Richard Nixon's Dramatic Last Days in the White House by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, originally published in 1976 (456 pages without the index). Worth 2 rolls when completed. Read 4/16-4/22.

 4. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-23 00:31:33 UTC

Space 32

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-04-23 00:32:04 UTC

Space 41 - Characters involved in politics

Eisenhower 1956: The President's Year of Crisis - Suez and the Brink of War by David A. Nichols (286 pages without notes or index). Worth 2 rolls when completed. Read 4/17-May 11.

 5. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-12 21:04:28 UTC

Space 48

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-12 21:04:48 UTC

Space 59 - Book published more than 10 years ago

I am using a book that I read during the game. The American Plague: The Untold Story of Yellow Fever, the Epidemic that Shaped Our History by Molly Caldwell Crosby (285 pages without notes and index). Read 4/25-4/27. Worth two rolls.

6. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-15 01:35:41 UTC

Space 70

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-15 01:36:02 UTC

Space 73 - Categorized as YA

Another book I read during the game is Beauty Queens by Libby Bray (396 pages; I listened to the unabridged audiobook). Read 4/25-26th. Worth 2 rolls.

7. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-16 14:56:03 UTC

Space 78

You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-16 14:56:24 UTC

Space 82 - Urban Fantasy

The Dead & the Gone - 309 pages.  Read 5/15-16. Worth one roll.

8. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-19 00:27:52 UTC

Space 94 - Nonfiction

Heartland: A Memoir of Working Hard and Being Broke in the Richest Country on Earth by Sarah Smarsh. Read 5/13-14. Worth 2 Rolls.

9. You rolled 2 dice:

Timestamp: 2020-05-19 00:41:19 UTC

Space 100 - Right on the nose, how 'bout that?

1666: Plague, War, and Hellfire by Rebecca Rideal (234 pages of reading material).

Title: The Scandalous Suffragette

Author: Eliza Redgold

Publish Date: March 1, 2019

Publisher: Harlequin Historical

Format: Ebook

Page Count: 288 pages

Source: NOOK store

Date Read: April 9-14, 2020

Review

Look, this book was on my radar because it involved a suffragette. It's hard enough to find Harlequin Historical (HH) with an Edwardian-era story, but one involving a suffragette to boot? Yeah, it was on my NOOK the first time it went on sale. With that said, this was a standard HH that was elevated by great writing. The pulse beats that are so familiar with category romance readers are there, but there is a definite shift away from the male characters being alpha-holes and over the top "protective."

Violet Coombes, heiress to the Coombes chocolate fortune, is an isolated suffragette. She wants not only the right to vote, but she also has eyes on labor and living reforms. Yet, as a heiress to a VERY large fortune, she has to keep her suffragette activities on the down-low. As the story opens, Violet is trying to tie a "Votes for Women!" banner to the second floor balcony of what she thinks is the gentlemen's club. Turns out, it is the private home of one Adam Beaufort, who catches her in the act and then catches her when she slips and falls from the edge of the balcony. They meet again at a ball at his home, where they had a magical dance and then she escapes to tie another set of banners where everyone in high society can see when they leave the ball. This is the scandal in the book - "Votes for Women!" banners at a ball. Sure....I guess that is a scandal on a slow news day maybe.

Anyway, everyone at the ball is scandalized by seeing the purple, white, and green banners and it causes bad feelings towards the Coombes, who are noveau rich (ugh, scandalous and aren't even from here (London) - they are from....Manchester! *Gasp* So Violet is like "guess my chances of marrying well is screwed for this season" emoji shrug, but her parents are very upset and that makes her feel guilty. Adam knew who put those banners up and decided to make Violet a marriage of convenience; he will provide her his good name and marriage to cover her, she will give him money enough to pay his deceased dad's debts and pay for upkeep and fixes for his family's manor house/lands in Kent. They have a long discussion and come to an agreement to marry. It was this conversation, more so than the physical attraction detailed in their meet cute, that made me really believe in their eventual HEA. They treated each other like adults, and ones that respected each other and the situations they found themselves in. It was the beginning of a real partnership, which is not found in these type of books.

Everything works in this story - the characters, the plot points (including a discussion of militant suffragette versus the more polite suffragist), and the HEA. I wanted a little more story fleshed out when Violet returns to Manchester, but then the story wouldn't be a category. I also wanted to see how a secondary character's change that became a plot device to bring Adam and Violet back together happened. I was very happy to see Violet continue her suffragette activity even when she had her HEA. 

Holiday weekend, but what does that mean anymore? The kids have Monday off from school due to a scheduled teacher in-service work day....so no Zoom meetings or assignments until Tuesday. We are expecting some light snow on Monday, so I am going to extend the weekend until Tuesday as well and just stay in my pjs, drink tea, and read. I've got the candy for an egg hunt and a few non-food treats for the kids for Sunday, plus we will dye eggs as is our usual tradition. 

On the reading front, I started The Scandalous Suffragette for Snakes and Ladders last night. So I will try to finish that one this weekend, along with another chapter in Pox. I hope by Monday I am done with Suffragette so I can devote the time to my IRL (but meeting virtually) book club pick Beauty Queens. 

Happy Reading!

Reviewed for Wit and Sin

Two scientists from very different worlds come together in the delightful Her Scandalous Pursuit. Candace Camp returns to her Mad Morelands series with a prequel featuring the eldest Moreland, Thisbe.

Thisbe is a scientist who has the support of her family and the freedom provided by her station to attend lectures and meetings, even if the men there don’t take her seriously. I enjoyed her fearless nature and the way she wouldn’t let sexism stop her from pursuing her studies. When she meets Desmond at a lecture, she’s delighted to find a man who is willing to talk with her as an equal. Desmond was a total sweetheart. He’s patient, kind, and protective, though that last quality tends to get in his way at times. Desmond is very conscious of his “low birth” – especially when he finds out Thisbe is a duke’s daughter – but he cannot deny the pull between them. Thisbe comes from a very unconventional family and is unconcerned with their difference in stations. While some suspension of disbelief is required for how casual the Morelands are and how much freedom Thisbe has to be alone with Desmond, I was happy to go along for the ride. Thisbe and Desmond fit extremely well and were so easy to root for, even when misunderstandings or misplaced honor get in their way.

The romance between Desmond and Thisbe might have been better suited to a novella if it weren’t for the subplot filling out a good portion of the book. Desmond is working for a disgraced scientist who is obsessed with finding Annie Blue’s Eye, an ancient artifact rumored to possess supernatural powers. At the same time Thisbe begins to have nightmares connected to the Eye’s creator. When Desmond learns Thisbe has a connection to the Eye, it sets off a chain of events that lead the two of them on a dangerous pursuit. I can’t say much about this plotline for fear of spoiling the story. For me, this storyline slowed down the book at times and wasn’t as interesting as the romance, but that could just be personal preference.

Her Scandalous Pursuit is a prequel to the Mad Morelands series and having not read the other six books I can safely say it stands alone. Fans of the series will undoubtedly be thrilled to see their favorite characters before their happily ever afters. And I enjoyed this welcoming, loving, intellectual family so much that I cannot wait to read the rest of the series (Thisbe’s youngest brothers, the Greats, were especially charming). All in all, Her Scandalous Pursuit is a thoroughly entertaining read.


FTC Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I enjoyed this historic romance. I won this from the Exclusive Jewels-Vol 3. A bit too much sexual content for the under 18 readers. I've given this a 4.5* rating. This was an interesting time period when Nepolean was on the march toward Paris. Although Paris is associated with art and romance, it was also a large city targeted in times of war, as at the time of this story and more commonly known at WWII when it was taken over by Germany. This story only touches on the tips of this first time period and some of the situations but enough to fill out this story and the serious situations many went through. A nice ending to this story.