This book has made the rounds and no mistake. I started seeing early reviews awhile back and read a few delightful interviews with Leanna Renee Hieber and found myself intrigued to read her first novel-- The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker . I was, therefore, tickled to receive a copy for review from Ms. Hieber and quickly set about settling in. I knew it was a Gothic paranormal mystery of sorts, featuring (among other things) a group of loyal comrades, a private London academy, a bit of magic, an albino, and a swoon-worthy broody professor a la Richard Armitage in North & South . *moment of silence for the awesomeness of The Armitage* And that was the extent of my pre-reading knowledge. That and the fact that I loved the cover with its simple yet moody, midnight blue and its slightly off-kilter, scripty title. Miss Percy Parker is about to embark on an adventure, albeit a much larger one than she imagines. Leaving the convent--the only home she's ever known--
That's the perfect image of Brisbane! I love the background as well.
ReplyDeleteAnd congrats cqueen2!
I just finished reading the first in this series and I really liked it! :D
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree about the picture, she did a great job!!
Li, the background is great, isn't it? *love*
ReplyDeleteSamantha, yay! I'm so happy to hear that. What were your favorite parts? ;)
I think I really enjoyed Raybourn's prose more than any one scene. It was very fluid and I liked Julia's reflections about everything that was going on around her. She was open-minded but still very much like a young lady of the time. I hate it when characters feel like they're from the 21st Century when they aren't. Raybourn did a great job mixing her "eccentric" upbringing with what it must have been like growing up during Queen Victoria's rule. Even Brisbane remarks how she's not like most of the women he knows. ;)
ReplyDeleteI loved the characters, too! :)
Her siblings are great. From Belmont to Val (even little things, like the exchange between the two sisters when Portia brings her dog to Julia's house had me laughing out loud).
I have the next one on order from the library, so hopefully I'll be catching up soon.
I went to the author's website and it says her next book is not part of the Julia Grey series, so I'm excited to see what direction she goes while we wait for Julia's next adventure.