Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman by Tessa Arlen

From GoodReads

Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman is another ARC review. This is a historical mystery with a lot of Downton Abbey vibes. I love that this book was told from multiple perspectives in both narration and class. Clementine Montfort, the lady, and Edith Jackson, the head housekeeper, have such distinct voices it was easy to bounce between them. Arlen's style of writing was dense but not overly flowery. The tone that she set really helped solidify the setting and her massive vocabulary was refreshing. She used the word vixen to talk about an actual fox, it was marvelous.

The mystery here settles around Lady Montfort's murdered nephew, Teddy Mallory. By all accounts, Teddy was a scoundrel so naturally there are plenty of suspects. Thankfully, the author included two other mysteries to go along with the main plot-a maid and a young lady, apparently unconnected went missing. With the cunning of Mrs. Jackson, and the determination of Lady Montfort, the mystery plays out in a very entertaining way. I did enjoy the resolution of this mystery much more than the mystery I finished yesterday. It was satisfying.

The historical timeline entwined with this book was very informative and relative to the plot. I enjoyed the history lesson and the multiple opinions that were explored. I also loved the dedication of the character to morality and manners. There was just something very noble about characters that actually cared about honor, loyalty, and respect.

Lady Montfort was handled well. The slow unraveling of her character's developed help hold interest when the narrative became too dense. I enjoyed her wit, not over whelming but present, and her tenacious demeanor. The way she interacted with her husband and son really highlighted her intelligence. Her confrontations with Mr. Barclay and Gertrude were fantastic.

My favorite character was Mrs. Jackson. She was proper and intelligent. She did the legwork of this investigation which turned up many interesting tid bits. I can just picture her put in some sort of put in some sort of life or death circumstances and still managing to keep her principles while making it out in one piece. One of my favorite pieces of her depth was her fascination with the talented gardener she kept at a distance and lack of mention to Mr. Jackson. This mystery about her really balanced out her sometimes severe personality.

Arlen was able to add depth to the story with the other character's backstories, though not all were developed and I admit to having a small problem keeping all the young bachelors straight at times. While some supporting character's were developed well like Gertrude, others were not. Lord Haversham, while explored moderately, was not nearly as developed as I hoped.

There were some issues I want to address. The narrative was too rich for my tastes, it made the plot drag a bit even if it was skillfully done. The author showed wonderful bouts of dialogue that were beautiful and pieced together well but that did not permeate the entire book. The side story with Barclay and Mallory was not quite believable, nor did it seem to serve a purpose to the story other than making it politically correct. The chapters told from Lord Montfort's perspective lacked the distinct voice that the chapters from Lady Montfort's perspective and Mrs. Jackson's perspective had.

Overall this was a good read and I would recommend it for fans of Downton Abbey, there were many similarities to this book and that show. A very strong four out of five footmen.

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Longbourn by Jo Baker

From Goodreads

Baker has given me a roller coaster ride. At first I wasn't too interested but then suddenly-invested! I was invested for awhile and then that lulled too. I started to get bored right at what was suppose to be a climax--not a good sign. But then she started this backstory/flashback sequence which interested me again. By the end I was tapping my foot waiting for it to be over.

Baker does a lot of great things. She captures the time period perfectly, she did her research. Historically the events notch in the story elegantly. She uses appropriate language and turn of phrase without weighing down the narrative.

Baker also spins her orginial characters beautifully. Each character is unique and free of stereotypes for the most part, this helps flesh them out into individuals instead of place holders. Sarah is the main character and I actually enjoy her thoroughly. The rest of the staff at Longbourn get fully developed and are interesting in their own ways. What I fault Baker is her understanding of the ladies from Pride and Prejudice.  Jane and Elizabeth seem wrapped. Mr. Wickham is particularly villainous and over the top. Elizabeth, after she is married, does a 180 in her personality. She goes from independent to pressured by society to look good at breakfast. Elizabeth even asks Darcy to fight her battle which is NOT like her at all. Mr. Bennett was more of a central figure in this and he got an "interesting" back story but I did enjoy his character being further developed.

The plot was fully developed but the pacing was too slow to keep my attention. I appreciate details but sometimes it just went overboard. Especially with Jame's back story which initially hooked me again but ended up too heavy. Then the large gaps where the characters went missing were suppose to build suspense (I guess?) but really weakened the plot as a whole because it was about as suspenseful as a gaping ragged whole where you can clearly see the bottom about two feet down. I also did not like how the ending was handled, it was just awkward in my opinion. The content was fine and it was just the kind of ending everyone wanted which I appreciated after reading some other works (not reviewed) this month.

The audience is probably what I call "older mom" age which fine but just not something I am use to. It was fairly clean cut and just a tad scandalous. Overall I give Longbourn 3 out of 5 bonnets.

From Sentimentalbaby on Etsy

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Rogues editted by George RR Martin

Here are my brief thoughts about the anthology "Rogues". I picked this collection up because of the authors that I knew-Martin, Flynn, Cornell, Abraham, but the best part about it was finding authors I am excited to get to know. 

 George R.R. Martin “Everybody Loves a Rogue” (Introduction)---It was good, but I skimmed it. 

Joe Abercrombie “Tough Times All Over”---DNF, I just couldn't get into it. It was messy. 

Gillian Flynn “What Do You Do?”--- Flynn does not disappoint. Read this one. The main character is well developed, the story has fantastic depth, and it's really twisted. 

Matthew Hughes “The Inn of the Seven Blessings”---I actually adored this tale of adventure. Mainly because everyone got exactly what they had coming to them. 

Joe R. Lansdale “Bent Twig”
Michael Swanwick “Tawny Petticoats”
David Ball “Provenance”

Carrie Vaughn “The Roaring Twenties”--- This was okay. The plot was a little thin but the characters were fun. I loved how the club was described and it just painted such a clear picture in my mind which helped immerse into the story when the plot failed to snag me.  

Scott Lynch “A Year and a Day in Old Theradane”---DNR
Bradley Denton “Bad Brass”---DNR
Cherie Priest “Heavy Metal”---DNR
Daniel Abraham “The Meaning of Love”---DNR

Paul Cornell “A Better Way to Die”---DNF, Library automatically returned my digital copy. From what I did get to read, I was really confused. 

Steven Saylor “Ill Seen in Tyre”---DNR
Garth Nix “A Cargo of Ivories”---DNR
Walter Jon Williams “Diamonds From Tequila”---DNR 
Phyllis Eisenstein “The Caravan to Nowhere”---DNR

Lisa Tuttle “The Curious Affair of the Dead Wives”--- This was Sherlock Holmes style tale but I found it lacking. The beginning had a lot of potential but the execution wasn't very good. The main character was so boring and predictable. The Sherlock Holmes of the tale had none of Sherlock Holmes' deductive skills. I don't recommend this one.

Neil Gaiman “How the Marquis Got His Coat Back” ---I was surprised by really liking this one. It was unique. The Marquis' brother was the only thing I didn't really get but I understand this universe is larger than this short story. I will be reading more from Neil Gaiman.

Connie Willis “Now Showing”--- Yes. This had some conspiracy, mystery, romance, and a wonderful rogue.  You should give this one a chance. I will be picking up more material from Willis. 

Patrick Rothfuss “The Lightning Tree” ---DNR (Ugh! I heard this one was the best)

George R.R. Martin "The Rogue Prince, or, A King's Brother"---This is a history piece for Song of Fire and Ice. Read it if you are familiar with Song of Fire and Ice. It could stand alone but you might not care as much about the universe. I didn't love it as much as I hoped I would. 

So I wasn't able to get through everything before I had to return it to the library. I might check it out again after I read a couple novels. 

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Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

Stole the picture from Goodreads

In the past I have really like Rainbow Rowell writing. Attachments, not so much. I understand this was Rowell's first novel and I think it shows. Everything feels super contrived. 

So, this novel is about Lincoln, basically 90's loser that is cute. Today he would probably fall into the hipster category. The original hipsters, the ones that didn't try. He is, what amounts to, an internet night watch man. He reads his co-workers emails in case they are breaking company policy. Meet Beth and Jennifer-they don't care about company policy. They rattle about personal problems all the time. This is where it starts to turn fake and plastic like, other than Lincoln being cliche. We, the readers, only get to read exchanges from Beth and Jennifer. Sure, we hear that others vaguely exist but we only get the exchanges from Beth and Jennifer. There were so many missed opportunities with this to built Lincoln and add interest.

Jennifer and Eve were probably the best characters in the book. Lincoln didn't disappoint me, but he didn't wow me either. Beth was....okay. Chris wasn't believable, like at all. Lincoln's mom was a typical mom, nothing too exciting going on there. Doris was also a pleasant character but it felt so convenient for her to appear. Then there was the subplot and backstory Sam, believable but so flat and boring. She was "different" in a trendy sort of way and she was extremely predicable. These clauses are oxymoronic (I'm making that a word!) which sums up Sam. The Dungeons and Dragons gang was alright. I don't understand anything about that so I felt a touch lost. Then there is Justin, a walking cliche. SPOILER ALERT: I'm sure him and Dena will be divorced within a year. Justin is a total tool.  

All the cliche movie references were kind of annoying. I was surprised there wasn't more internet shorthand in the emails. The plot was pretty stale, especially for a publish date of 2011, even though it was a throwback. Maybe I just can't appreciate throwbacks? Not sure.The ending was very OOC. I had to back up a page because I thought I missed something. Anyone that's read it, please tel me if you agree.If you want something cutesy to read, go ahead, this isn't terrible but don't expect the fantastic work of Fangirl in Attachments. 

I give Attachments a 2.5 rainbows out of 5.

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The Secret Place by Tana French

Image stole from Google

Let me start by fan girling over here...and over there and every where. I love Tana French. I first picked up Into the Woods in high school and it intrigued me but I had no money to buy it. My dear sweet Rob G bought it for me and it was all over from there. Tana French gripped me and never let go. French was the first author that I was ever mad at but still in awe. All over her books have engrossed me and spit me out feeling feelings unknown to me in complicated way.

This book has a little bit of everything-murder, boarding school, best friends forever, ghosts, Frank Mackey, pop music, boy problems, secret places, and edgy motives for the characters. I liked it, a lot but it wasn't love.

The beginning of The Secret Place was very underwhelming. The characters are beautiful complex as normal but the plot is just a thin, ragged sheet holding the book together. However, I think it was that way by design. Moran has a lot of hope riding on a wisp of maybe evidence and it makes the audience in tune with him-like it could fall apart any second and we could be back to our old lives. My favorite thing in the beginning is when Detective Moran interviews these girls at a boarding school. He is so adept at reading them that it makes me wonder if he is too good.

After that scene with Moran and the girls the plot thickens and comes together. It becomes real and then suddenly I'm invested. This middle section has a lot of flashbacks and not a whole lot of detecting which is fun but I was hoping for more of a balance. The investigation is what is, for me, driving the plot. Conway and Moran are getting along too well but I don't expect that to continue.

The meat of the book contains fantastic character development and a slow unveiling of the events led up to the murder. I am not disappointed in the least with the quality of the mystery. I don't know who did it just because there are so many possibilities on how it could play out. In true French fashion, nothing is cut and dry.

When Frank Mackey arrives on the scene I am blown away. You get this feeling that everything in his career has led up to this moment, and while he might feel guilty for causing it, he is prepared to handle the situation. I seriously have a crush on this guy even though he's old and not real. Frank is a welcome explosion in this case. So much is tightly wound and he is blaring. The contrast really increases the divide between the girls and the adults. It becomes harder and harder to identify with these boarding school girls the more you learn about how twisted they are. Frank is this crashing force that pushes everything apart.

As the book concludes, the identity of the murder slaps me and I feel stupid. I don't like it, in a good way. I don't like how they use the ghost either, in a bad way, but everything is ending much cheerier than other French books. I am still left feeling overwhelmed about what happened despite the almost lovely ending. I have come to really appreciate the whole back story. It's delightful.

Audiobook: The girl narrator annoyed me and distracted me from the story in the beginning but I either got over it or the story got so good it didn't matter because 2/3 through I found myself not minding at all.. The guy narrator's voice of Julia was horrid. Redo?

Overall I give this book 4.5 hoes out of 5.

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