My Fair Mermaid

 

My Grandma Paulsen loved the movie 'My Fair Lady', and shared that love with me. A singing Audrey Hepburn? What's not to like?! I also have a deep love for all things beach/mermaid/ocean related. So, when I found a book that was the plot line of 'My Fair Lady', but with mermaids, I jumped on that ship instantly. 'My Fair Mermaid', by Sarah Beran, is the story of a young orphaned mermaid named Maribel. After her parents died, Maribel was taken in by her uncle, who had five daughters of his own. Eager to please her cousins, Maribel will do anything that they ask, even if it may be dangerous or uncomfortable. However, Maribel finds herself in an overwhelming, and impossible, situation when her youngest cousin rescues, and then falls in love with, a human prince of the nearby kingdom. Her cousin manipulates her into becoming human alongside of her to win the prince's heart, even though the effects of becoming human are extremely painful. What's worse, is that there are dire consequences if her cousin fails to marry the prince within ten weeks when the seasons change. It's do or die for Maribel, and failing is not an option! This heartwarming story of sacrifice will take you on the journey of a little mermaid, who not only finds her voice, but her destiny as well. 

A Sweet Royal Romcom

 I love proper romance books, spicy romance ones are just not my jam. Most of the closed door romance novels I have read have been historical ones, taking place hundreds of years ago. Just recently however, I read my first modern day romcom book and I am here for it. It makes sense that I would love them, seeing as I love every Hallmark movie ever made. These books were exactly like those. You may know who ends up together in the end. parts of it may come off as a little cheesy, and sometimes the endings seem too good to be true, but man, don't you love the journey of watching two people fall in love? 

The series that I started with contains two books, though I hope more are on their way. They are called, 'Royally Rearranged' and 'Royal Gone Rogue', by Emma St. Clair. The theme of the books is different royals, trying to fall in love, in impossible situations. The characters are bursting to the brim with personality. The humor is laugh out loud kind of funny. The romance is sweet with a little spice thrown in, but definitely sticking with it's "closed door" mantra. And my goodness, they left me with wanting more. I have a feeling that this modern day romcom genre will become one of my new favorites. Instead of playing games on my phone before bed, I opened up my Kindle app and read these sweet stories. It was so convenient having them on my phone, my social media usage definitely took a hit, which is always a bonus. 

The Valet's Secret

Rebecca Parker is a lonely widow whose only child is already grown and on her own. After her husband died she was forced to move back in with her abusive artist father and help him with his work to provide for her and her daughter. Her father has been drinking more and more, which also means he is becoming even more mean to her. She feels the future is dreary until one day when a valet named Malcom Henry almost runs her over with his wild out of control horse. In the moments afterwards she finds herself kissing this complete stranger, which is very unlike her. Rebecca believes that the love at first sight, fairy tale ending isn't meant for her, but she can't keep herself from thinking about Malcolm and the feelings that he stirs in her. She begins to fantasize about life with him and away from her father. However, when she helps serve at a dinner party for a rich family, she discovers that Malcom is a guest, and definitely NOT a valet, but the heir to an earldom. Rebecca is humiliated and all her day dreams of a better life come crashing down around her. 

Josi Kilpack is a proper romance genius. Reading her books is like reading a Hallmark movie. You know that the two protagonist characters will end up together, but you can't help being intrigued by the plot and the events that get them there. This book is all about second chances at love, overcoming trials and obstacles, hope, and of course, romance. It is an intriguing story that keeps the pages turning until the sun comes up.  

The Lady of the Lakes

Walter Scott is a passionate writer who loves his homeland of Scotland almost as much as he loves literature. He is also madly in love with a girl by the name of Mina Stuart, whom he has written love letters to for quite some time. Mina loves literature as well but she is not fully convinced in her love for Walter. While his letters are flattering and exciting, she worries that he is a class below hers and wonders if she can live a life out of the lap of luxury. When the dashing William Forbes moves into town, Mina feels drawn to him but worries that she will make the wrong choice in who to choose.

Meanwhile, Charlotte Carpenter is trying to find joy in her solitary life. As a French Catholic living in London, suiters are hard to come by, especially because her family history is shaded by scandal. Charlotte secretly wishes someone could love her, but at age 26, it is highly unlikely of that ever happening.

Josi Kilpack delivers another riveting proper romance novel in 'The Lady of the Lakes'.  It is a love story with love triangles, scandal, passion, and misplaced hope. It also happens to be a true love story based off of Sir Walter Scott's humble beginnings and his thorny pathway to finding his one true love, other then writing and Scotland that is. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and it will definitely be a story that I can read again and again and never grow tired of it. 

Daisies and Devotion

In the second novel of the Mayfield Family series by Josi Killpack, titled 'Daisies and Devotion', Timothy Mayfield is ready to find a wife. He wishes to marry for love, but his finances are low and he knows that he must marry for wealth as well. When he suddenly comes into a fortune, his dreams of marrying his "perfect women" are now within his grasp. He has a very long list of what his future wife must look like, and how she must act.

Timothy's dear friend, Maryann Morrington, is a very wealthy women, who is tired of men chasing after her for her fortune. At age 22 she can't really afford to be picky, but finding her match seems impossible. Timothy and Maryann decide to team up to find each other's life long companions. Maryann tries convincing Timothy that his ideal women is a fantasy, but then a certain Miss Shaw, comes to London, and all of a sudden Timothy's dream becomes reality. Maryann tries to be happy for her friend, but she is battling intense emotions of her own, and is worried that she will never marry but become a spinster.

I really enjoyed this book. I didn't think it was as good as the first one, but it was another proper romance novel that I liked reading. I especially loved the "realness" of  Maryann and Timothy. Their flaws and little quirks really made me fall in love with the characters. Josi Kilpack has definitely become one of my favorite authors and I can not wait for the next book in the Mayfield Family series.

Promises and Primroses

'Promises and Primroses' by Josi Kilpack is the stories within the Mayfield family and the scandals that seem to follow them around. In an attempt to keep the next generation from making the same mistakes as their parents, Lord Elliott Mayfield comes up with an idea that he calls "The Marriage Campaign", where he states that only his nieces and nephews who make worthy matches will inherit his fortune. His oldest nephew, Peter, things the idea is somewhat ridiculous and has no inclination to find another wife after becoming a widower and being left with two daughters to raise on his own. He does however, decide to hire a governess for his daughters, but worries that his choice in Julia Hollingsworth just may be a mistake, as she is very young and much to his dismay, very beautiful. Peter is not the only one who worries about attaining feelings for Julia however. Julia's mother, Amelia, has very different reasons for wanting to keep her daughter away from the Mayfields - something that ties herself to Elliott from long ago.

The last few years I have become a huge fan of both proper romance, and Josi Kilpack. Although this hasn't replaced my top favorite one of her novels, I think this could definitely be placed high up on that list. Yes, it is somewhat predictable, but then most proper romance novels are, something which I surprisingly don't mind because the events leading up to the two characters falling in love is the very best part.

The Vicar's Daughter

Cassie is the youngest of six sisters. She is bubbly, social, and can't wait to enter society to find her match. The only problem is that Cassie's father won't let her enter society until her older sister, Lenora, marries. He believes that only one of his daughters should be a debutant at a time. The problem is, is that Lenora is timid, with crippling shyness. As she enters her third season Cassie begins to lose hope of ever having her own chance at happiness. Lenora's anxiety attacks and insecurity are standing between Cassie's happily ever after. Then one night, Lenora comes home from a social event with a positive encounter with a gentleman named Evan. That's when Cassie hatches a plan to start writing Evan in place of her sister. Cassie could have never predicted that she, herself, would start to fall in love with Evan through her letters to him as she pretends to be her sister. When Evan and Lenora finally start courting, Cassie tries to conceal her broken heart, and be happy for her sister. After all, it's her fault she's in this mess in the first place.

I love books that keep you guessing until the very end. How can Evan, Lenora, and Cassie all come out of their situations with happy endings? It seems impossible that this tangled trio can all come out unscarred. While this is not my favorite book from Josi Kilpack, it's high on the list. If you love proper romance novels then you will love this book.

The Rose of Winslow Street

I love when I pull up to a garage sale and see a mountain of books. My heart starts hammering as I search for a twenty-five cent treasure. I choose to be picky, for the most part. I like books that are in decent condition with an interesting plot line. Well, last week I found one such treasure. It is called 'The Rose of Winslow Street' by Elizabeth Camden. I have recently been on another  Harry Potter respite, they occur about once a year, so it has been a while since I have really read anything new. I saw this book just sitting among the stack of its forgotten fellows, looking almost brand new, mind you, and practically begging to be noticed. Ever since I read 'A Heart Revealed' I have been craving a proper romance type book, and this looked like it fit the bill. I began reading and all of a sudden I was hooked.

'The Rose of Winslow Street' is about a maiden, some might call her a spinster, who was still living with her father at the ripe age of 28. The story takes place around the late 1800's I believe, there was never a specific date mentioned, as far as I remember. It took place after the Civil War in a small town in Massachusettes. Libby and her father return from a summer vacation to find that their home had been taken over by Romanian refugees who claim that their uncle left them the home in his will. A legal battle is about to pursue and enemy lines are drawn. The town people of course side with the Sawyers, who have lived in the house for more than 20 years and have spent countless time and energy renovating it, after it was never claimed from the previous owner's death.  Libby is torn between being loyal to her aging father, and this strange family who has now moved into her childhood home. For Libby loves children and hates the thought of these two young boys kicked out on the street in a foreign land where they barely speak the language, and the people are nothing but hostile towards them. There is plenty of mystery surrounding these new strangers and everyone is wondering if they truly are who they say they are, or just a gang of gypsies.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Sure, it is not the greatest of literature, but it is endearing, captivating, and heartwarming, just like any proper romance novel should be.

A Heart Revealed

'A Heart Revealed" By Josi S. Kilpack was another book chosen by my book club. This is the story of Amber Marie Sterlington, who is  snooty, uppity, and vain. She is the rage of the season in London and can have any man she chooses, and of course she is going to marry for money, love has nothing to do with it in this game. But when her social standing is threatened, her life is drastically changed, forcing her to reevaluate what she really wants out of life, and a partner.

I personally loved this book. It reminded me of Pride and Prejudice. I was pleasantly surprised with how drawn into the story I became, and there is one particular scene towards the end of the book, that I had to reread because the cheesy romantic in me was melting ooey-gooey goodness (I may have even sighed out loud). This is a wonderful book for people who love the Regency era, a good clean romance, and a good life lesson thrown into the mix.

It did leave me with a few unanswered questions however (not vital to the story but I am just curious about) and if I ever do have the chance to meet Kilpack in real life I am definitely asking her haha.