Hi, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Lorna
Peel and her new book, “A Scarlet Woman”!
For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click
on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Lorna
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
A Scarlet Woman
by Lorna Peel
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GENRE: Historical Fiction/Historical Saga
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BLURB:
Can an idealistic young doctor and a fallen woman find love when
Victorian society believes they should not?
Dublin,
Ireland, 1880. Tired of treating rich hypochondriacs, Dr Will Fitzgerald left
his father's medical practice and his home on Merrion Square to live and
practice medicine in the Liberties. His parents were appalled and his fiancée
broke off their engagement. But when Will spends a night in a brothel on the
eve of his best friend's wedding, little does he know that the scarred and
disgraced young woman he meets there will alter the course of his life.
Isobel
Stevens was schooled to be a lady, but a seduction put an end to all her
father's hopes for her. Disowned, she left Co Galway for Dublin and fell into
prostitution. On the advice of a handsome young doctor, she leaves the brothel
and enters domestic service. But can Isobel escape her past and adapt to life
and the chance of love on Merrion Square? Or will she always be seen as a
scarlet woman?
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EXCERPT TWO:
After
the meal, Will walked to the practice house on Merrion Street Upper. He went
upstairs to his father’s surgery and asked his father to please listen first
and then question him if he so wished. His father complied then went to the
window and stared down at the street.
“Brown
Street has changed you,” he said simply.
“Yes,
Father, it has, but I almost married Cecilia while living there.”
“So
you are now setting your sights lower?”
Will
clenched his fists angrily. “No, I am not.”
His
father turned to look at him. “I had such high hopes for you, Will. Now you
live and work in a slum and wish to pursue a courtship with a fallen woman.
Your mother must be delighted.”
“Mother
does not approve, but she does want me to be happy all the same. If you wish, I
will conduct any possible courtship away from Merrion Square and cause Mother
and yourself the least possible embarrassment.”
“It
could be the end of you in Brown Street, you know?” his father told him. “You
don’t know how the people there will react.”
“I
have been there long enough to know that they will be sympathetic.”
“Come
back to work here, Will? We need another young man in the practice. Come back?”
Will
shook his head. “I’m sorry, Father, but no.”
His
father shrugged. “The girl is beautiful, I concede that. Oh, go after her if
you must. I don’t know what your brother will have to say on the matter.”
“I’m
not asking for Edward’s opinion. Thank you, Father.”
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MY BOOK REVIEW:
Although
this book came with a warning label, I had no idea it was going to be at this
level of material. I still felt
overwhelmed. I’m not sure you can
prepare yourself to be exposed to this kind of content. I was truly shocked and surprised to read such
disturbing passages and even had to skip over several lines as it was very uncomfortable
to read. I consider myself to be quite modern
and accepting of all equalities – but this is totally something else. My reviews don’t contain spoilers so I don’t
want to go into too much detail, but let’s just say even HBO would have
blushed.
I
liked that this book took place in beautiful, picturesque Dublin, Ireland in
1880 during the Victorian Era. The
author does a beautiful job describing the area and time. I truly felt transported and immersed in the
culture.
I
love the in-depth amount of research the author did while constructing this book. It was clear she was very familiar and
well-versed on the culture, customs, and traditions of Ireland in the 19th
Century. The author provided so much
detail and such vivid descriptions it made the scenes easy to picture.
For
the most part I liked the characters, I just didn’t find them believable or realistic. There also wasn’t much depth or character development to them. They had a story/past,
but it just felt flat and their involvement together seemed unlikely. I would read the passage and be like yeah that
would never happen – it’s unnatural.
I liked the idea of the character arc for Isobel. I liked her wanting a better life and Will wanting to help her achieve that. I liked the fight Isobel had battle to keep striving to reach that better life. We see over the course of the book just how damaged Isobel is and it gives even stronger meaning to her recovery. However, she has just too many bubble gum and cotton candy unrealistic fillers that don’t make sense or seem unlikely, over-dramatic and inappropriate scenes, and a puzzling overly excess amount of explicit content that is not needed to fulfill her character demands. It ends up getting messy, hurts the story, and loses respect for her as a character.
There
is a lot thrown into this book and a lot of roller-coaster emotions. There are very graphic explicit scenes that are
so extremely detailed – it’s beyond overshare.
It felt inappropriate and uncomfortable.
This
book does touch on betrayal, survival, passion, suspense, trust, love, second
chances, friendships, romance, drama, self-discovery, mystery, intrigue, and so
much more!
There
are some predictable scenes. However,
there are still a few unexpected twists and turns that you won’t see coming!
All
in all, even though it wasn’t my favorite book, I still enjoyed reading it, and
I would still recommend it - as long as you are OVER 18 and okay with explicit content!
**WARNING!!** Please note that this novel contains sexually explicit and sensitive content and is intended for readers aged eighteen and over.
**WARNING!!** Please note that this novel contains sexually explicit and sensitive content and is intended for readers aged eighteen and over.
Did you find this review helpful?
If so, please, please, please mark it as
helpful on Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R1E2TXLL05NMDA
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AUTHOR BIO:
Lorna Peel is an
author of historical fiction and mystery romance novels set in the UK and
Ireland. Lorna was born in England and lived in North Wales until her family
moved to Ireland to become farmers, which is a book in itself! She lives in
rural Ireland, where she writes, researches her family history, and grows fruit
and vegetables. She also keeps chickens and guinea hens.
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CONNECT WITH LORNA:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Lorna will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to
a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteLorna ~ Good morning! Welcome to FAB! It is so great to have you here! Congrats on your new book and good luck on the book tour! I enjoyed reading and reviewing your book, thanks for providing the copy! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Ally! Many thanks for hosting A Scarlet Woman on FAB and for reading and reviewing the book.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good read.
ReplyDeleteI like the cover
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your review!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful cover and I enjoyed reading the excerpt and the review.
ReplyDeleteWhere do you get your information or ideas for your books?
ReplyDeleteThe Fitzgeralds of Dublin series is set in 1880s Dublin, Ireland and my inspiration came from a personal historical connection to the streets and areas which feature in the novels. My ancestors were from Dublin and I’d always wanted to write some novels set there.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question!
The cover is gorgeous!
ReplyDelete