December 2017 – Page 7 – Jill's Book Blog

I’ve seen many people posting about blogmas, and I want to join in on the fun. I found an old post on Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom with a list of Blogmas posts that I’m going to use. The link is here https://familycorner.blogspot.ca/2014/11/blogmas-2014-25-days-of-christmas.html?m=1

Here is the list:

I’m so excited about Blogmas!

I will also be doing my own 12 Days of Christmas, where I will post a review for a Christmas themed book in the 12 days leading up to Dec. 25. This is a busy month for blogging!

So without further ado, here’s my post for day 1 of Blogmas!

When I was little, Christmas was my favourite day of the year because I got to see my entire family in one day. In the morning, we would visit my dad’s family at my Nana’s house. Then we would go home and open our own presents. And for dinner we would go to my mom’s parent’s house for dinner.

Unfortunately, now that I’ve grown up, many people have moved to different cities so it’s not possible to see everyone in one day anymore. But it was a nice tradition when I was a kid.

What is your favourite Christmas tradition?

Title: A Pearl for My Mistress
Author: Annabel Fielding
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: HQ Digital
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: August 9, 2017
Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A story of class, scandal and forbidden passions in the shadow of war. Perfect for fans of Iona Grey, Gill Paul and Downtown Abbey.

England, 1934. Hester Blake, an ambitious girl from an industrial Northern town, finds a job as a lady’s maid in a small aristocratic household.

Despite their impressive title and glorious past, the Fitzmartins are crumbling under the pressures of the new century. And in the cold isolation of these new surroundings, Hester ends up hopelessly besotted with her young mistress, Lady Lucy.

Accompanying Lucy on her London Season, Hester is plunged into a heady and decadent world. But hushed whispers of another war swirl beneath the capital… and soon, Hester finds herself the keeper of some of society’s most dangerous secrets…

Review:

I love books set in England. I was excited to read this new historical fiction novel.

Because it was set in the 1930s, it kept reminding me of Downton Abbey. I kept picturing Lucy and Hester’s relationship like Mary and Anna from Downton, at least from their early friendship.

There were a bunch of parts that had high tension, such as someone being chased through a dark alley. But they were often resolved in a calm way. These parts had the potential for a lot of drama if they ended with more exciting twists.

I found the romantic relationship between two main characters unbelievable (I don’t want to give details to give away spoilers). There didn’t seem to be a valid reason that they loved each other. They just suddenly said it so it had to be true. I didn’t see their relationship grow and develop, so I wasn’t rooting for them.

I also thought the beginning of the story wasn’t a good introduction. It talked about characters that disappeared for quite a while, so I was lost when Hester’s story began. If that prologue wasn’t there, it would have been a much stronger beginning.

I would have liked to see Lucy’s parents. Lucy talked about them but they never appeared in the story. I also wondered why Lucy was being given a lady’s maid. Typically, only married women had a lady’s maid. And if the family could only afford a housekeeper and one housemaid, how could they afford the extra expense of a maid for their daughter? These things didn’t make sense.

This story was a unique historical fiction, though questionable at times.