“One of the funniest voices in the inspirational genre.”–Booklist Lucetta Plum is an actress on the rise in New York City, but is forced to abandon her starring role when a fan’s interest turns threatening. Lucetta’s widowed friend, Abigail Hart, is delighted at the opportunity to meddle in Lucetta’s life and promptly whisks her away to her grandson’s estate to hide out. Bram Haverstein may … estate to hide out.
Bram Haverstein may appear to simply be a somewhat eccentric gentleman of means, but a mysterious career and a secret fascination with a certain actress mean there’s much more to him than society knows.
Lucetta, who has no interest in Abigail’s matchmaking machinations, has the best intentions of remaining cordial but coolly distant to Bram. But when she can’t ignore the strange and mysterious things going on in his house, it’ll take more than good intentions to keep her from trying to discover who Bram is behind the part he plays.
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SUPERB! Ms. Turano beautifully expresses the love of the Father through the relationship of Bram Haverstein and Lucetta Plum. Their journey clearly demonstrates that our steps are truly ordered of the Lord.
I have enjoyed visiting with these delightful characters. The shenanigans and dash of mystery kept me engaged in the story. The bond of sisterhood among, Harriet, Millie and Lucetta is heartwarming.
May we all discover the joy of playing the part we were all born to play-our true self.
Recommend to readers who enjoy historical fiction with quirky heroines.
I don’t remember if I won a copy or purchased one. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
This was marvelous, spectacular, or insert any positive adjective. It kind of reminded me slightly of a Beauty and the Beast retelling, but only slightly. I loved Bram and his band of misfit staff. They were a ton of fun. Plus Archibald was back so that was great. The storyline and mystery was fantastic and I obviously loved the characters!
I was surprised the first time I picked up a Jen Turano book. I’m not a huge fan of historical fiction, but I really LOVE her writing. Her characters are witty and do remarkable things. With her latest addition Playing the Part, Turano has kept the bar high in this thrilling novel.
I really enjoy how the story has a mystery to it. From the first page, Turano threw me off the deep end into the cold water with Lucetta Plum, who I saw in the previous two books in this series, as she wanted to run away from her stepfather and his friend, Silas Ruff, who wants to marry her. Lucetta and Abigail, her elder landlady, go away somewhere where they won’t be captured. What better way to highlight the mystery in the novel then to have Lucetta and Abigail travel to a remote castle. Why is there a castle? What secrets does Abigail’s grandson Bram have? One little minor detail, I really wish there was more time spent with the threat of Lucetta’s stepfather and Mr. Ruff. They weren’t as important as the first chapter allowed me to believe.
I love the castle as a setting. It fit the mystery motif, inviting me along for a great tale. Turano does a good job at playing at the idea of a genuine castle in the middle of nowhere. I like the moat , which leads to Bram and Lucetta’s icy first encounter. The castle evens has a dungeon. How great is that? I felt like I was roaming the castle alongside Lucetta as she tried to figure out her surroundings and her growing feelings for Bram.
Speaking of growing feelings, Lucetta does not want to marry Bram. She has repeatedly told him that over and over. Of course, this is a romance book, so the ending is completely predictable, but I still loved watching Bram make a fool out of himself while trying to keep his secrets hidden. I enjoyed watching their comedic romance blossomed.
If you haven’t tried Jen Turano, why not? I really enjoy her novels and can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.
A gothic comedic romance is the highlight of Jen Turano’s newest book Playing the Part. The characters and the setting are charming and kept me racing through the book not wanting to put it down. I really enjoyed Playing the Part and can’t wait for more books from Jen Turano.
I received a complimentary copy of Playing the Part from Bethany House Publishers and the opinions stated are all my own.
I received this book free from the author for an honest review. I have read the other 2 novels in this series and found them wonderful stories. With this one being about 3 young women in NYC before the turn of the century trying to find their way coming from very different backgrounds. Lucetta is the last of the young women who is not married and still working in her career choice as a Actress who doesn’t want to do the married thing yet but her benefactor is matchmaker in her own right without actually letting people know. A bad man who has caused problems before and is obsessed with her is causing problems for her at the the theatre and is using her step-dad against her. Mrs. Hart helps by wishing her out of the city up to her grandsons castle because she wants to get them together. With a lot of twist and turns and a lot of intrique you do not want to put this book down. I loved this novel very much.
I know I am in for a treat every time I pick up a story by this author. This one delivered just what I’ve come to expect. It had me laughing out loud with the funny circumstances that the characters find themselves in. It had me sighing in delight over the romance. It had me cheering for the hero to win his lady’s hand. Plus there was a reunion of characters to end this series. Full review is at my website.
I received this book in a giveaway. I was not required to give a positive review. All of the opinions I have expressed are my own.
Would have been better if the man was more manly and the woman more feminine and less overbearing. The women in her book step too much on the men. It’s like the author doesn’t like men.