Monday, September 16, 2013

Book Review: Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson

Book: Blackmoore by Julianne Donaldson
Genre: a "proper" romance!
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ★
For: Fun (supporting local authors too)
From: Bought at launch party just last week

I must admit, I was a little nervous about this book. Mostly, because several reading/blogging friends have read it already and said...."yeah, it's good but not as good as Edenbrooke."

So, I was nervous!

But I'm happy to say now that actually, I think I liked it BETTER than Edenbrooke!

True, Edenbrooke had all that fun bantering and wittiness from our main characters. That was awesome fun. And we had a new blooming romance, which is awesome fun too.

But in Blackmoore we have a long time friendship that turns into romance, which I've always been a fan of. And we have a sort of dark and mysterious house (namely Blackmoore) complete with secret passages, set on the foggy and slightly creepy moors, which gives this book a delicious Gothic feel...something else I'm also a big fan of.

Yes, this story was more serious and less fluff, which I like and makes me get into it on a deeper level. There are secrets, and manipulations and crass moms and unfeeling friends and... did I say secrets? There's a secret so terrible that it sets the course for the whole book.

By way of summary, we have our heroine, Kate, who wants two things very badly, first, to visit Blackmoore, the sort of "vacation" home of her childhood friends Henry and Sylvia, and second, to go to India with her aunt. Her mom, however, only wants her to get married and to marry well at that. However, Kate has vowed to never ever ever get married. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn exactly why.

So, they make a little bargain, and Kate hopes that she will win this sort of "bet" while she is at Blackmoore and in the end, go to India. So off to Blackmoore she goes with high hopes.

Things aren't as peachy there as she expected. After awhile, all she wants is to get out of the deal she made with her mom and just go to India and forget everyone and everything. But of course it's not going to be that easy, not by a long shot. Let's just say things get way worse before they ever get better.

Have I mentioned the romance yet? In comparison to Edenbrooke, I thought the tension and chemistry were much more intense in this one, which I of course, liked very much. Yes, they didn't banter as much, but the steaminess was heavy! They put themselves in a situation that causes all sorts of feelings and sparks. It was awesome and awful at the same time!

Bottom line: I loved it. I love this author's style and I love how she presents these stories. I am a fan for the long haul! Bring it on!

Other Reviews:

It is an easy, fun, romantic read. And who doesn’t need one of those every once in a while? From The Bluestocking Society

Thanks to Julianne for helping me out of a reading funk and for keeping me on the road of Regency Romance with clean content. From Fire and Ice

The ending was not what I was expecting, either, and I absolutely loved it!! From Mel's Shelves

Blackmoore is an enthralling, heart-twisting romance with a depth that I greatly appreciated. From LDS Women's Book Review

Everything about this book is beautiful. The story, the setting, the characters, even the not so nice ones. From Min Reads and Reviews




16 comments:

  1. I liked EDENBROOKE, so I'm excited to see how this one compares. Thanks for the review!

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  2. I'm reading this right now, and I'm enjoying it! I like the dark gothic feeling as well.

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  3. I'm reading this right now, too! Even though it's dark I'm really loving it. I'm just waiting for the sort of ex-wife to show up and burn the place down. :)

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  4. I'm really glad you liked it! It's fascinating to me to read and hear what works for different readers. Even though I loved EDENBROOKE more, I still really enjoyed this one and will definitely reread it at some point.

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    1. Jessica: Yeah, I was worried a little, but it turned out I didn't need to be!

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  5. I'm surprised you thought this was more serious than Edenbrooke. I liked it but I thought it was pretty much a dime romance novel without the erotica. Edenbrooke had a highway robbery, a kidnapping, things that surprised me.
    That said, Donaldson is great at creating romantic tension and her romantic dialogue is so juicy. I enjoyed it.

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    1. Rachel: Yes, I did think it a little more dark. I don't know, maybe the mom? Maybe the setting? Maybe that the romance seemed much more intense and less fluffy. Yeah, it was a deeper story for me than Edenbrooke. But I loved them both.

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  6. Thanks so much for quoting my review Suey! Wasn't it amazing?! LOVED.

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  7. I just bought it! I can not wait to read it! I'm wondering if I take my kid to the park if he'll entertain himself for awhile so I can get started?!

    I just read Edenbrooke {finally} and am soooooo impressed. I mean, where has this been all my life?!

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    1. Mary: Oh, enjoy! I hope you found time to get started!

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  8. Oh yay! I'm so glad you liked it. I've been nervous too! :)

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  9. I just finished this one too and completely agree with you - it felt quite different from Edenbrooke but I still SO loved it! I hope Julianne is writing books for a long, long time!

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