Book Review - Mr. Cavendish, I Presume

Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn is the story of Thomas Cavendish, the Duke of Wyndham and Lady Amelia Willoughby. Thomas and Amelia have been engaged for nearly all of their lives. As children their eventual marriage was arranged by their parents and neither had a say in the matter.
Amelia is growing weary - and irritated, truth be told - with the Duke’s seeming refusal to set a date for their wedding. Sure, he knows exactly who she is and that they are to be wed but he treats Amelia as a duty and nothing more. He certainly doesn’t act as if he truly means to get to know her and this is quite unacceptable to Amelia. She decided that she is done responding with gentility to the pitifully small amount of attention he pays her - in the name of duty only, of course.
Thomas, although tired of his constant duty and lack of privacy as the Duke of Wyndham, is quite irritated when he is shunned at the local dance hall - by his fiancée, of all people. Intent on giving Lady Amelia a piece of his mind and a lesson on her duties as the future Duchess, he finally sees her for the woman she has become and his interest is captured.
Naturally, their courtship is far from smooth. Just as Thomas realizes he is quite attracted to his future wife, and as Amelia decides not to appear so docile; they learn that they may not be allowed to wed at all. It is brought to light that Thomas may not be the true heir of Wyndham. Now that Amelia and Thomas are discovering - and even accepting - their feelings for one another - will they hold firm in the face of scandal and perhaps a loss of every thing they had thought was rightfully theirs?

Mr. Cavendish, I Presume is Julia Quinn’s follow up novel to The Lost Duke of Wyndham. It is immediately apparent that Ms. Quinn is following the same time line in this story as she did the previous. While at first I thought I would like that - I didn’t. It grew a bit annoying reading scene after scene that I’d already read in the first book. And while Amelia and Thomas’ relationship does develop in this book - I felt Amelia deserved better. It seemed to me that Thomas only wanted once he thought he was ‘entitled’ to her. As much as I love and adore Julia Quinn’s writing (and am in fact about to read her latest novel) this was not one of my favorites.

Teaser Tuesday's - The Sherlockian by Graham Moore

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 

- Open to a random page 

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from page 10 of Graham Moore's The Sherlockian:

Arthur laid the facts of the crime before his readers clearly, calmly and efficiently.  No important detail was left out, and - yes, here was the mark of the true craftsman - not too many unimportant details were left in.

Musing Monday's - Dictionary

Musing Monday's is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks:

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop and look it up right away?

It honestly depends on how in to the book I am.  If it's a grippig book or section of the book - probably not.  If the word appears at a place in the book where I don't mind stopping then I'll look the word up.  Fortunately though, I can usually figure out the meaning of the word based on the context of the storyline at the given moment.

Wordless Wednesday - Beach Joy

Teaser Tuesday's - Perfectly Matched

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read

- Open to a random page

- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser.

My teaser this week is from Nook page 11 of Heather Webber's Perfectly Matched:

"For some reason, I was now very uncomfortable with Jeremy Cross - despite Orlinda's obvious affection for him - and was eager to get rid of him.  I'd make this meeting a quick one."

Musing Monday's - Getting Ready

Musing Monday's is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks:

What do you do with the book before you start reading it?

The first thing I do with any book before I read it is clean it.  Yes, I know that sounds funny but it's so true.  Whether the book is from the library or the book store, other people have been touching it and handling it - so I clean it first.  Then I read the back or the flaps again - even though I've already done so in making my decision to read the book.  Then I read the author biography.  I'm always interested in the author and what she or he has done.  I also like to see how long the book is - the number of pages.  Finally, I read the book.

Musing Monday's - Where to Stop

Musing Monday's is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks:

Do you tend to read to the end of a chapter or can you stop anywhere?

I don't need to stop at the end of a chapter but my stopping point does have to be logical for me.  Usually I stop reading at the end of a scene or a conversation if I'm not at the end of a chapter.  Just stopping at a random place is not something I do unless there's is something important that requires my immediate attention.

Teaser Tuesday's - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 
- Open to a random page 
- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from page 52 of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451:

"I've got to go see my psychiatrist now.  They make me go.  I make up things to say."

Musing Monday's - Book Writing

Musing Monday's is hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks:

If you were going to write a book, what would you write about? Would it be fiction, or nonfiction?

I am a writer and have indeed written more than one book.  I primarily write fiction.  That is to say, I have written a few small nonfiction pieces but my novels are always fiction and that is honest;y where my heart belongs.  The novel I've been shopping around for a period of time now has all of the elements I always tend to include within my fictional writing - family, a bit of humor, overcoming a difficulty and emerging stronger for said difficulty and always love in its many facets and faces.  I also tend to write characters who are strong but find out that they are even stronger than they imagined.  I imagine that this will continue to be the basis for my writing as I find it works quite well for me.

Wordless Wednesday - Pretty View

Teaser Tuesday's - The House of Velvet and Glass

Teaser Tuesday's is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To play along, just do the following:

- Grab your current read 
- Open to a random page 
- Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page 
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) 
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR list if they like your teaser. 

My teaser this week is from page 23 of Katherine Howe's The House of Velvet and Glass:

The supplicants gasped, each conjuring his own private horror of being submerged in icy water.  Slowly the hand folded itself into a pointing finger, which then rotated in space, aiming at each individual around the table in turn.