(Blog Tour) Attempting Elizabeth, by Jessica Gray

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Kelsey Edmundson is a geek and proud of it. She makes no secret of her love for TV, movies, and--most especially--books. After a bad breakup, she retreats into her favorite novel, Pride and Prejudice, wishing she had some of the wit and spirit of Elizabeth Bennett.

One night at a party, Kelsey meets handsome Australian bartender Mark Barnes. From then on, she always seems to run into him when she least expects it. No matter how Kelsey tries, she always seems to say the wrong thing.

After a particularly gaffe-filled evening around Mark, Kelsey is in desperate need of inspiration from Jane Austen. She falls asleep reading Darcy’s letter to Lizzy and awakens to find herself in an unfamiliar place that looks and sounds suspiciously like her favorite book. Has she somehow been transported into Pride and Prejudice, or is it just a dream?

As Kelsey tries to discover what’s happening to her, she must also discover her own heart. Is Mark Barnes destined to be her Mr. Darcy? In the end, she must decide whether attempting to become Elizabeth is worth the risk or if being Kelsey Edmundson is enough.




Welcome to my stop on the Attempting Elizabeth blog tour!

Confession #1: I have never read Pride and Prejudice.  I've started it a half-dozen times, but I've never really understood the hype. 

Confession #2: I love--LOVE--Australian accents.

Confession #3: I'm a sucker for time travel/historical fiction romance.

Jessica Gray's Attempting Elizabeth is a quick, fun read that meets two of my guilty pleasures; I didn't care that it referenced a book that I hadn't read.

Kelsey is a girl after my own heart: she is a total nerd who prefers to stay home and read a good book than to hit the bars until all hours of the night.  She's endearingly awkward around Mark, and I couldn't get enough of their accidental run-ins; I would have loved to read more of these conversations.

I've often wondered what it would be like to enter the world of one my favorite books.  I would totally be friends with Eleanor & Park.  I know I'd end up a tribute in The Hunger Games.  And be placed in Hufflepuff at Hogwarts.  

So I loved reading about Kelsey's experience within Pride and Prejudice, her own favorite book.

How cool would it be to wake up with your favorite characters?  (So cool!)  How crazy would you think yourself?  (So crazy!)  Is it surprising that Kelsey thinks that she's gone insane? (So not surprising!)

The transitions between the real world and the book world were done well; even though the audience didn't have all of the information about how it was happening, it made sense within the story itself.

If you're looking to snuggle up with a book, give this one a shot.


About the Author

Jessica Grey is an author, fairytale believer, baseball lover, and recovering Star Wars fangirl. A life-long Californian, she now lives in Montana with her husband and two children, where she spends her time writing, perfecting the fine art of preschooler-wrangling, and drinking way too much caffeine.

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The Shadowy Horses, by Susanna Kearsley

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THE INVINCIBLE NINTH ROMAN LEGION MARCHES FROM YORK TO FIGHT THE NORTHERN TRIBES. AND THEN VANISHES FROM THE PAGES OF HISTORY.

Archaeologist Verity Grey has been drawn to the dark legends of the Scottish Borderlands in search of the truth buried in a rocky field by the sea.

Her eccentric boss has spent his whole life searching for the resting place of the lost Ninth Roman Legion and is convinced he's finally found it—not because of any scientific evidence, but because a local boy has "seen" a Roman soldier walking in the fields, a ghostly sentinel who guards the bodies of his long-dead comrades.

Here on the windswept shores, Verity may find the answer to one of the great unsolved mysteries of our time. Or she may uncover secrets someone buried for a reason.




I absolutely adore Susanna Kearsley!  She knows how to tell a story and make you fall in love with the characters.  I thought that the narrator did an amazing job distinguishing between the different players and I freely admit to swooning over her Scottish accent.

Speaking of swooning, I loved the relationship between Verity and David.  First colleagues, then friends, then:

DED.  Though I do wish she hadn't faded-to-black.  Give me smexy times!

Did I mention the kilts?

Yes, please!

If You Could Be Mine, by Sarah Farizan

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In this stunning debut, a young Iranian American writer pulls back the curtain on one of the most hidden corners of a much-talked-about culture.

Seventeen-year-old Sahar has been in love with her best friend, Nasrin, since they were six. They’ve shared stolen kisses and romantic promises. But Iran is a dangerous place for two girls in love—Sahar and Nasrin could be beaten, imprisoned, even executed if their relationship came to light.

So they carry on in secret—until Nasrin’s parents announce that they’ve arranged for her marriage. Nasrin tries to persuade Sahar that they can go on as they have been, only now with new comforts provided by the decent, well-to-do doctor Nasrin will marry. But Sahar dreams of loving Nasrin exclusively—and openly.

Then Sahar discovers what seems like the perfect solution. In Iran, homosexuality may be a crime, but to be a man trapped in a woman’s body is seen as nature’s mistake, and sex reassignment is legal and accessible. As a man, Sahar could be the one to marry Nasrin. Sahar will never be able to love the one she wants, in the body she wants to be loved in, without risking her life. Is saving her love worth sacrificing her true self?




I really, really, really wanted to love this book: how do two homosexual women in Iran fight to be together?  What a fantastic premise!

But I hated the characters.  Sahar is a total biznatch to Nasrin the majority of the time and I have no idea why they're together.  Sahar makes this monumental decision for their relationship WITHOUT CONSULTING HER GIRLFRIEND.  That really pissed me off.  I also don't understand why she didn't think about any other alternatives.  Why did she turn immediately to a sex change operation?

I dislike when books tell you what's happening instead of showing you: it bogs the story down and leaves me unsatisfied.

Were this novel put in the hands of the right editor, it would be a fantastic story.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The Girl You Left Behind, by Jojo Moyes

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What happened to the girl you left behind?

In 1916 French artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his wife Sophie to fight at the Front. When her town falls into German hands, his portrait of Sophie stirs the heart of the local Kommandant and causes her to risk everything - her family, reputation and life - in the hope of seeing her true love one last time.

Nearly a century later and Sophie's portrait is given to Liv by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. Its beauty speaks of their short life together, but when the painting's dark and passion-torn history is revealed, Liv discovers that the first spark of love she has felt since she lost him is threatened...

In The Girl You Left Behind two young women, separated by a century, are united in their determination to fight for the thing they love most - whatever the cost.





I love Jojo Moyes.  She makes her characters so real and imperfect and TRUE.  I love how she intertwined the lives of Sophie and Liv through the painting and went back and forth between their stories.

Like Me Before You and Honeymoon in Paris, The Girl You Left Behind is a heartbreakingly beautiful novel.   I cried several times, especially near the end.  Thankfully, I wasn't as emotionally overcome as when I read Me Before You; there is more of a sense of relief and hope in this story than in her previous work.

There is one continuity problem between The Girl You Left Behind and Honeymoon in Paris regarding how Liv's husband purchases the painting, but it doesn't affect the story.

I will definitely purchase this book for my personal collection.

I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

The Husband's Secret, by Liane Moriarty

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Release date: July 30, 2013

At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read

My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died...

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive...

Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.




I was first drawn to this book by its cover: it's a physical incarnation of what happens when you discover something that changes your life and your world falls apart.  The image itself is beautifully poetic.

I'm not usually a fan of women's fiction—and I don't particularly like Emily Giffin, so her quote wasn't really a ringing endorsement—but I'm really glad that I took a chance and read this novel.  Liane Moriarty is a brilliant writer and I'm kicking myself for not having read her works before.  I even won a copy of The Hypnotist's Love Story a couple of years ago; it's still sitting on my bookshelf, unread.

The Husband's Secret is more than just chick-lit.  It's full of drama and intrigue and I didn't want to put it down!  Moriarty merges the stories of the three individual primary characters into a whole; it's a fascinating journey from start to finish.  What is the truth?  As we find out, it's not necessarily an easy answer.  On the way, lives are shaken up, boundaries are tested, and firmly-held beliefs are forced aside.

Highly recommended!

I received a copy of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.