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jen286's review against another edition
4.0
This review was originally posted to Jen in Bookland
I love Courtney Milan. Her books are always so much fun! Oh I loved Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure! I hope I am half as awesome as Mrs. Martin when I am her age. It would be so much fun!
Miss Violetta Beauchamps is in a bit of a bind. She has never married and has worked hard her whole life thinking that she will be able to survive in her old age, only something happens to shake up her plans. So makes a new one even if she is not happy about having to lie to Mrs. Martin to make it work. Only her plan doesn't work out the way she had anticipated and oh she was in for an adventure.
Mrs. Martin is so much fun. She sees Violetta in the way no one thus far has. She doesn't want to get close to her and risk losing someone else, but how can she not. When Violetta comes to her about her Mrs. Martin's Terrible Nephew she jumps into action enlisting Violetta's help in taking him down. Her nephew really is terrible and I loved how these two ladies dealt with the situation. How Mrs. Martin does what she wants because she has the money to do so, but also the money to help those in need. She speaks her mind and comes up with the craziest of plans and it was awesome. How she makes people bend to her will because she can. She has the power that she didn't feel like she had for so long. I hope I am just like her - even if she was afraid she didn't want to be so she didn't let that stop her.
These two were super sweet together. I love that they both brought out the best in each other and helped each other grow stronger even if they didn't realize it. Violetta is used to being silent and screaming on the inside, but Bertrice helps her figure out how to let it out and do something about it. She is that cranky old lady who speaks her mind, which usually made me laugh because she was hilarious. The things they got up to, the ways they tried to make the Terrible Nephew's life terrible were great. And I loved how everything worked out in the end. Such a fun read!
*Note: I received a free copy of this book for voluntary review consideration
I love Courtney Milan. Her books are always so much fun! Oh I loved Mrs. Martin's Incomparable Adventure! I hope I am half as awesome as Mrs. Martin when I am her age. It would be so much fun!
Miss Violetta Beauchamps is in a bit of a bind. She has never married and has worked hard her whole life thinking that she will be able to survive in her old age, only something happens to shake up her plans. So makes a new one even if she is not happy about having to lie to Mrs. Martin to make it work. Only her plan doesn't work out the way she had anticipated and oh she was in for an adventure.
Mrs. Martin is so much fun. She sees Violetta in the way no one thus far has. She doesn't want to get close to her and risk losing someone else, but how can she not. When Violetta comes to her about her Mrs. Martin's Terrible Nephew she jumps into action enlisting Violetta's help in taking him down. Her nephew really is terrible and I loved how these two ladies dealt with the situation. How Mrs. Martin does what she wants because she has the money to do so, but also the money to help those in need. She speaks her mind and comes up with the craziest of plans and it was awesome. How she makes people bend to her will because she can. She has the power that she didn't feel like she had for so long. I hope I am just like her - even if she was afraid she didn't want to be so she didn't let that stop her.
These two were super sweet together. I love that they both brought out the best in each other and helped each other grow stronger even if they didn't realize it. Violetta is used to being silent and screaming on the inside, but Bertrice helps her figure out how to let it out and do something about it. She is that cranky old lady who speaks her mind, which usually made me laugh because she was hilarious. The things they got up to, the ways they tried to make the Terrible Nephew's life terrible were great. And I loved how everything worked out in the end. Such a fun read!
*Note: I received a free copy of this book for voluntary review consideration
nevclue's review against another edition
4.0
Fun, anger-filled novella. The Terrible Nephew is terrible. The ladies are delightful.
amsaduke's review against another edition
5.0
"He suggested taking the waters at Bath, but yelling at terrible men is far more restorative, don't you think?"
"Ive screamed on the inside, too. I've screamed on the outside. I've screamed until I thought there was nothing left of me but my voice, and then I lost my voice. And I still kept screaming."...
"I never screamed aloud, and yet lost my voice from disuse."
"I don't stop existing because I can no longer have children."
"You really shouldn't blame men for everything."
"No, just the ninety-eight percent of society's ills they're responsible for."
"She could feel the strength in the other woman, the muscle and sinew that had survived all these decades. Years of experience and hardship sang to her. Here, in Beatrice's flesh, she could hear all the things that they as women could not bear to say to each other, but must carry with them anyway- all the wounds that had healed into hard scars, carried by the sex so often referred to as soft."
Ugh i loved this book so much. Strong women who don't give a damn are my favorite.
"Ive screamed on the inside, too. I've screamed on the outside. I've screamed until I thought there was nothing left of me but my voice, and then I lost my voice. And I still kept screaming."...
"I never screamed aloud, and yet lost my voice from disuse."
"I don't stop existing because I can no longer have children."
"You really shouldn't blame men for everything."
"No, just the ninety-eight percent of society's ills they're responsible for."
"She could feel the strength in the other woman, the muscle and sinew that had survived all these decades. Years of experience and hardship sang to her. Here, in Beatrice's flesh, she could hear all the things that they as women could not bear to say to each other, but must carry with them anyway- all the wounds that had healed into hard scars, carried by the sex so often referred to as soft."
Ugh i loved this book so much. Strong women who don't give a damn are my favorite.
qalminator's review against another edition
4.0
Very enjoyable, and I love seeing an older couple represented romantically. Probably the funniest thing I've read this year, too. Older women brought together because of Terrible Nephew, who really needs to be taught a lesson (or at least put where he can't do any more damage if he refuses to learn...)
gaderianne's review against another edition
5.0
Listen, I love historic romances, but I haven't ever read one like this. They all pretty much follow the same pattern and the same character archetypes, and I'm okay with that because I love light and fluffy reads that are just fun and that I can loose myself into the story without having to worry about if it will be a happy ending or make me sad.
This one is a novella that follows the same story arch, except there are two heroines, they fall in love, and they are in their 70s. And I loved so much both of these strong, older women who knew what they wanted in a regency world operated by men. But what I loved even more...well actually hated even more...was the pure rage of injustice that just came from these women about their situation, that translated into the rage of injustice I often feel today.
This book managed to be lighthearted and fun, while also timely and relevant at the same time. Loved!
This one is a novella that follows the same story arch, except there are two heroines, they fall in love, and they are in their 70s. And I loved so much both of these strong, older women who knew what they wanted in a regency world operated by men. But what I loved even more...well actually hated even more...was the pure rage of injustice that just came from these women about their situation, that translated into the rage of injustice I often feel today.
This book managed to be lighthearted and fun, while also timely and relevant at the same time. Loved!
reader_of_books88's review
funny
hopeful
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
luanndie's review against another edition
5.0
“Happiness is not just an act of optimism - it is an act of defiance.”
Una historia que tiene el equilibrio perfecto entre la esperanza y la reivindicación. Bertrice y Violeta son dos mujeres que han sido ignoradas y maltratadas por la vida, cada una a su manera. Sin embargo, deciden coger las riendas de su vida y tomarse una dulce revancha que las llevará a descubrir el amor y como incluso con la sociedad en contra, siempre hay sitio para la felicidad. Una historia tierna, con buen ritmo y unos toques de humor que compensan las duras escenas de discriminación y sexismo, acompañadas por unos personajes que enamoran desde el minuto uno y una relación que se desarrolla con gran maestría para lo corta que es esta novela. Un placer, sin duda.
Una historia que tiene el equilibrio perfecto entre la esperanza y la reivindicación. Bertrice y Violeta son dos mujeres que han sido ignoradas y maltratadas por la vida, cada una a su manera. Sin embargo, deciden coger las riendas de su vida y tomarse una dulce revancha que las llevará a descubrir el amor y como incluso con la sociedad en contra, siempre hay sitio para la felicidad. Una historia tierna, con buen ritmo y unos toques de humor que compensan las duras escenas de discriminación y sexismo, acompañadas por unos personajes que enamoran desde el minuto uno y una relación que se desarrolla con gran maestría para lo corta que es esta novela. Un placer, sin duda.
helen's review
3.5
What worked for me:
- it's a romance between two women in their sixties and seventies, which I strongly support.
- sexy bread cutting for the touch starved
What didn't work for me:
- some of The Terrible Nephew's dialogue didn't ring true. In the author's note, Milan acknowledges that she's not going for nuance with his characterisation, but I thought his lack of believability took away from the jeopardy.
- I wasn't very gripped by the story and I didn't feel compelled to pick it up when I had a spare moment.