A Slightly Gothic Adventure: Lady Jayne Disappears by Joanna Davidson Politano

Friday, December 01, 2017

Genre: Historical

Rating: Four out of five hearts ♥♥♥♥

About:

All of England seems to be enamored with a mysterious author, known only by the pseudonym "Nathaniel Droll". What no one knows is the author is really a man who has been in debtor's prison since his daughter, now an adult, was a baby. And no one knows that that man has just died.

The sudden death of her father brings many changes into Aurelie Harcourt's life. Debtor's prison is all she has ever known, and the aristocratic life she must enter is one she is not used to. Her newfound family is not fond of her, and society's expectations are not something her sweet disposition is used to. But a new home and family are not the only things Aurelie's father left her, but also his pen name, Nathaniel Droll. Aurelie must take up the story her father's death left unfinished and learn the only tale she has ever wanted to know- how, and why, her mother Lady Jayne disappeared.

My Review:

From the mysterious front cover to the first pages, Lady Jayne Disappears oozes intrigue and... questions. How did Woolf Harcourt, wealthy British citizen, end up in debtor's prison? Why didn't his well-off, titled sister give over the money to free him? And whatever happened to Lady Jayne, anyway? All those questions will be answered, but only after several (or, rather, many) twists, turns, and red herrings. And while I normally am not a fan of first-person writing, I did approve of it in Lady Jayne Disappears. It kind of helped us get into Aurelie's thoughts and imagination, her questions and theories as to what happened to her mother.

In addition to intrigue, there is also a heavy dose of romance (which I expected and also approved of). Both hero and heroine have questions that need answered (and therefore, so do we, the readers) and that keeps the pages turning. The whole novel had a slight Jane Eyre/Gothic feel to it- and also a slight bit of creepiness (the old, mysterious house, which was the location for 90% of the story, was partially responsible for lending this creepy air). Which was interesting, for I've never read (nor found there to be many) books with such a slightly gloomy-Gothic-mystery feel to them. But these aren't the only words I'd use to describe the book- it also had lots of inspiring themes, coming mostly from Aurelie (loved her name, by the way), who held a firm belief in God while trying to make sense of all that was happening, and had happened in the past.

Apparently this was also Mrs. Politano's first published book, and so I heartily applaud her for making such a stellar first novel. Both the writing and the creative story line were excellent. Keep an eye out for more novels from Joanna Davidson Politano in the future!

As a side note, I was thrilled to find a quote from my all-time favorite author so fittingly placed at the end- it went perfectly with the story.

Note: I got this book from Revell in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Also, check out the book trailer here.

And by the way, happy first day of December! Only 24 more days 'til Christmas!

2 Comments

Korin

2 lovely thoughts

DiwakarDecember 10, 2017 at 2:20 AM
Hello Korin and Kara. I am a Pastor from Mumbai, India. I am glad to stop by your profile on the blogger and the blog post. I am also blessed and feel privileged and honored to get connected with you as well as know you both as Pastor's daughters. I love getting connected with the people of God around the globe to be encouraged, strengthened and praying for one another. I have been in the Pastoral ministry for last 38 yrs in this great city of Mumbai a city with a great city of Mumbai a city with a great contrast where richest of rich and the poorest of poor live. We reach out to the poorest of poor with the love of Christ to bring healing to the brokenhearted. We also encourage young and the adults from the west to come to Mumbai to work with us during their vacation time. We would love to have you two sisters come with your friends from your church to work with us during your vacation time. I am sure you will have a life changing experience. Looking forward to hear from you both very soon. God's richest blessings on you, your family and friends. Wishing you a blessed and a joyous Christmas season as well as bright and a Christ centered coming New year 2018. My email id is: dhwankhede(at)gmail(dot)com and my name is Diwakar Wankede. Praying for you both as you seek God's direction in your life. God willing I will be coming to the States in the month of May 2018 and will be do glad to meet your Dad and Mom along with you to share with you and Dad about the opportunity for you as young people to come to Mumbai to work with us on a short/ long term missions trip.
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