Book Review: An Elegant Facade

Today’s review is on An Elegant Facade by Kristi Ann Hunter

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this from Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley.

I really wanted to love this book, especially since it is set during the Regency era, which is on eof my favorite time periods to read about. However, I was kind of left disappointed and confused at some points during the novel. Before I get into all the details, here is a synopsis of the book.

Lady Georgina is out for her first season and she hoping to catch the eye of a wealthy, well-titled man, not just anyone will do for her plan. She also doesn’t want anyone to get in her way and is willing to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. She then meets Colin McCrae, a friend of her brothers, and instantly views him as a nuisance. He is also irritated with her because he has an instantaneous attraction to her that he tries desperately to fight. Colin then finds out a secret about Georgina, which if it got out it could ruin her marriage prospects, but he is also afraid of her marrying someone just for wealth.

I liked this book, however there were several scenes in the first part that confused me so much because they were events that occurred in the first book A Noble Masquerade which I have yet to read. Even though the author does give a warning that this will happen, I feel like there should have been a warning that readers must read the first book before reading this one in order to understand what is going on.

The plot also seemed choppy in several places, to the point that I had to keep going back several pages in order to find out if I had missed something, even after the scenes that also take place in the first book. I also found that the ending was a bit rushed, but I feel like that is the case with most books.

I really liked Colin McCrae because he seemed to Georgina for who she really was and didn’t look down on her when he learned the truth about her. Georgina was an interesting character because she wasn’t really likable and she only really grew in the last 50+ pages of the book, however it was still interesting to see why she did the things she did, and what she did.

Harriette was an awesome sidekick and I loved how she put up with Georgina’s antics, even though she was often in the wrong. It was also interesting to see just how much she did for Georgina and how she didn’t resent her for it.

One other thing that I will say about this book, even though it is kind of a spoiler, I loved how the romance developed between the two characters and it wasn’t really insta-love because I hate insta-love tropes.

I am giving this book 3.5/5 Stars because even though I liked some aspects of it, I was confused for most of it.

Thanks again to NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Happy Reading,
Janelle L. C.

P.S. If you have any book recommendations let me know and I will check them out. 🙂

Book Review: Glass Sword (Red Queen #2)

Today’s review is on Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard (Note: If you haven’t read Red Queen yet there are a few spoilers in this review)

I really loved Red Queen, even though it didn’t get the greatest reviews on GoodReads, and I was really excited to read this second installment in what seemed like a great series.However, I was really disappointed by the first half of this book and I almost did not finish it because I was disappointed. 

Firstly, it started off really slow, and then nothing really happens for almost 200 pages! I ended up taking a break from reading this for about a week because I started going into a reading slump and I really wanted to read something else. However, when I started reading it again, the plot started to pick up at the 200 page mark and I got really into it. Therefore, try to hold out until about halfway because that is when all action starts to happen. 

Glass Sword picks up several hours after the ending of Red Queen. Mare and Cal have joined up with the Scarlet Guard and are on the run from King Maven and his mother. However, Mare still can’t get over the fact that Maven tricked her in the previous book. She also goes looking for others that are like her, Reds who have the powers of a Silver, “newbloods.” 

I liked meeting all the new characters and seeing how some of them were developing over the course of the novel. Mare also kind of grows, except she is still obsessed about who she thought Maven really was, compared to the tyrant he turned out to be. I don’t know if Victoria Aveyard meant to do this, but near the end of the book I started to really not like Mare, maybe it was just me, or maybe it is setting the reader up for what happens in the next book. 

There is not really any romance, all though there kind of is a love triangle/quadrangle…it is kind of annoying, but it kind of makes sense at the same time. I guess I will have to wait until the third book to come out next year to find out what happens. 

I also enjoyed the world-building in this installment because it takes place in so many different places that had not been explored in the previous book. However, there were times it was kind of an overload of information because there are so many places visited in this book. 

I do want to continue with this series, even though this book was kind of a disappointment, but after the cliffhanger at the end, I have to find out what happens next. 

I am giving this book 3.25/5 Stars because even though I enjoyed the last half of this book, I was disappointed by the slowness of the beginning. The second half is really the redeeming point of this novel. 

Happy Reading, 

Janelle L. C. 

P.S. If you have any book recommendations, let me know and I will check them out! 🙂