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Monday, July 15, 2019

A Scarlet Woman by Lorna Peel - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!


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.

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations.**

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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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.**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.

10 comments:

  1. Lorna ~ 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! :)

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  2. Hi Ally! Many thanks for hosting A Scarlet Woman on FAB and for reading and reviewing the book.

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  3. Beautiful cover and I enjoyed reading the excerpt and the review.

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  4. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?

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  5. The 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.
    Thanks for your question!

    ReplyDelete