DNF. I'm a bit sad that I couldn't get into this as many of my friends raved about this book, but unfortunately the writing style didn't mesh with me.

This is a quick, super belated review because I can't believe I never submitted one when I really enjoyed this book.

✓: Both the characters are really complex and unique. Either one could've easily fallen under stereotypical archetypes or an obvious "let's mix Characteristic A with Interest 4 and Vice C" and neither main character does that. Most of the side characters (although not all) don't either.
✓: The characters come to care for each other and fall in love in a really believable, lovely way.
✓: I love the setting, both time and place-wise.
✓: The dialog snapped and sparkled. I loved it.
✓: I loved how complex the characters and themes were for what would've been a very light and fluffy plotline in any other circumstance.

tl;dr: Grossman's debut really impressed me and the summary for the second book really intrigues me. I'm keeping an eye out for both!

Disclaimer: Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for the free ARC, with no incentive or coercion on your parts.

A delightful tale of a girl who is very much not belonging in society's eyes and a man who is suffering from his gambling addiction.

Felicia Grossman’s Appetites & Vices was a book that I saw a great deal of buzz about before it was released. And given that it was a historical romance set in 1841 America with a Jewish heroine, I had this on my “must-read” list. I am so glad that I did that I saw the buzz and read this book.


I will admit that I had a tough time getting into this one though. The first couple of chapters felt choppy to me, so I put this one down 3 or 4 times before I clicked with it which honestly was right about the time Ursula and Jay arrive in Philadelphia fakely engaged.

Ursula is an intriguing heroine. She is not good with society or understanding the rules of fitting in. Because of this and because she is Jewish, she doesn’t fit in. However, she desperately wants to be liked. I can say that Ursula’s pain and confusion because of this is heartbreaking. She cannot figure out why people do not like her.

She wants to marry her friend Harry whose family is set upon arranging a marriage for him to a suitable young woman. She thinks if she can get to Philadelphia and into the social swirl there, she can convince Harry’s family that she will make a good bride. Enter Jay Truitt. While Harry does remain as a character, Ursula realizes fairly quickly that a marriage to him is not what she really wants.

Jay is from a wealthy Philadelphia society family, but one who is at odds with his family. He has an addiction he is fighting as well as some serious past hurts. He agrees to a fake engagement with Ursula figuring it will help him with his family.

For me, the best part of this book is the relationship between Ursula and Jay, two people who are deeply hurt by different things but forge a genuine friendship that becomes so much more. In each other, they find the acceptance and love they have both so desperately been searching for.

Each fights for the other when things go wrong - and boy wrong they go. Both Jay and Ursula have things in their past that come to light and rock their lives and society. Fortunately, they learn to face them together. There are also some rather twisted family dynamics that had me thinking "WTF?"

Ursula’s Jewishness is an important part of her character. While she and her father aren’t as devout as her cousins, her heritage is important to her and to the story - and to her place in high society in 1841.

It is also important to note that Jay is a recovering opium addict and he deals with this on page. This could be triggering from some readers.

Appetites & Vices is a rather delicious historical romance between an extremely smart but awkward woman and a playboy man who charms all those he meets. Ursula and Jay might seem like opposites but they fit together spectacularly.

If you are looking for an unusual historical romance with some sexy heat, Appetites & Vices by Felicia Grossman would be an excellent choice. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Ursula Nunes is Jewish and her father owns banks. Her best friend is Hugo Middleton and is Gentile. They feel after all this time that they should marry but she meets Jay Truitt. Needless to say, that changes things very quickly. He sees her not as a made up person or what someone wants to see but her. She gives up her claim to Hugo and accepts a faux engagement to Jay. She has met her match, they get along so well and she is so happy. He was sent away two years ago to cure opium addiction. That was two months of hell. Jay is charming and can read people. This makes him very valuable at least to her.
The story is excellent and certainly keeps your attention. The characters are great but, boy do we have a mix. Hugo is infatuated with Ursula and she with him, Ursula and Jay love each other. He goes to Philadelphia, she and her Dad go to his brother-in- law's home also in Philadelphia. They go there once a year to see family. There are a few surprises and so worth the time to read.

Most American historicals I’ve read cluster either around the Civil War or the settlement of the West—but there’s no better way to break that streak than with this strange, fine novel about a gorgeous, fat Jewish heiress and the charming, traumatized opium addict she gets fake-engaged to.
When we meet Ursula Nunes, she is in an upstairs hallway on the verge of tears because her best friend Hugo is explaining that his family refuses to let them wed. Ursula is not in love with Hugo, but they’ve been friends forever and they both saw marriage to one another as an escape from marrying anyone else (Delaware society being unusually full of overbearing fathers and poisonous debutantes). Hugo returns to the party—and Ursula is approached by Jay Truitt, an upper-class son generally considered to be a feckless womanizer, and who, of course, heard everything. He offers to pretend to be Ursula’s fiancé to spur Hugo’s family to change their mind (the Truitts being almost too upper class for the upper classes)—she can then break it off with Jay, who will use being quote-unquote heartbroken as an excuse to run far away and avoid his terrifyingly disappointed father.
Let’s be clear: this is a dumb, dumb plan, and I adore it. Fake engagements are one of those unrealistic romance tropes that I simply eat up—and this one does more than the usual amount of heavy lifting. As our fake couple socializes, they also start to notice one another’s better qualities: Ursula is clever and steely as well as sensitive, and Jay’s charm hides a profound gift for reading people, and a strong moral sense thrown perilously off by personal tragedy and addiction. (Which is, I should add, presented as a terrifying disease and not a quirk standing in for emotional depth. I was very, very worried for Jay in this book.) This is one of those lovely, lonely stories where the characters think so highly of each other, and so lowly of themselves; the contrast is an exquisite ache. The voice is a little eccentric, like classic Judith Ivory, all glints and refractions and implications. And if, at the end, it is a little too generous with the redemption (some of the side characters needed a little more shouting at, in this reviewer’s humble opinion), this is the most forgiveable kind of flaw. Ursula’s arc in particular more than makes up for it: she goes from a trembling, sobbing mess to a give-no-fucks fox without ever losing her sense of herself, and it’s bliss to watch.

I was excited by the blurb for this historical romance: a fake engagement story, but one with both an unusual setting (antebellum America), and an unusual heroine (Ursula Nunes, a Jewish girl who has trouble fitting in to upper class mid-Atlantic society). But I couldn't get past the third chapter. The writing is often confusing ("Her presence at the soirée was secured out of obligation—humiliating, but at least being the sole child of a banking baron provided some benefits" ??), and Ursula is a heroine in the ridiculously optimistic, rather than intelligent, mold. I didn't really want to put myself in the position of constantly laughing at "four-time deviant" Ursula— Jewish, wealthy, "aggressively" beautiful, and lacking in social graces—as both Jay, our hero, and the text seems to ask me to do.

This ended up being a case where i had trouble with the pacing. I really enjoyed the herione more than the hero. And I didnt quite end up rooting for them together but it was a fun ride in a time period we dont get to see often

I kept Felicia Grossman’s Appetites and Vices close to my reader heart for weeks, patiently awaiting release day. I was excited about a new romance writer with an unusual premise. Sadly, work kept me at a panting pace and my reading was sporadic at best, a chapter here, a nodding over a page in bed there. My interest, maybe because of the pace at which I read, was equally uneven, enthralled at times, sluggish at others. More of that later.

For now, to the plot and premise! Which proved convoluted. In 1841 Delaware, 21-year-old Ursula Nunes, adored daughter of Judah, smart, eccentric, and Jewish, is insider and outsider to society. Outsider thanks to her religion, insider thanks to her family’s wealth. Whatever makes her an outsider to society by virtue of her birth is compounded by her eccentricities: beautiful, blonde, curvaceous, and blunt, blurting painful truths and creating awkward silences, gaps in sociable chitchat, and painful stretches without dancing partners, female friends stand at nil.

But Ursula, who keeps the family books like a gorgeous abacus, has an idea: to marry her friend, Hugo Middleton, equally removed, but blissfully gentile, and salvage both their lives. Unfortunately, Hugo’s father has other ideas, involving Hugo and the daughter of an influential man who’ll ensure him a judgeship. In enters dissipated hero, Jay Truitt, notorious womanizer of dubious sobriety, who makes a pact with Ursula: they will pretend an engagement, making her more sought-after and attractive to Hugo’s family, Jay will teach Ursula society’s ways and, in turn, he will escape his family’s strictures and travel to Europe, where he can quietly be as useless as he’s been and feels.

I adored Ursula, who, like me, doesn’t suffer fools well or easily, and I loved Jay, older but not wiser, charming, vulnerable, weak, and oh-so-interesting. They were complex, compelling, and perfectly compatible. They were outside the pale, with families who loved, but didn’t quite understand them, of questionable reputations. Ursula is distinguished by her Jewishness: ” … a four-time deviant. Her Jewishness, her wealth, her near-aggressive beauty, and her charm – or lack thereof – made her almost hopeless.” Jay is set apart by his addiction: “Two years he’d held himself together, but the moment he returned home a single craving ensorcelled his senses – too many people, too many rules, too many memories.” Ursula and Jay also share integrity, the ability to give and receive affection, and a strong protective streak, especially Ursula, who, despite her youth and inexperience, rescues her family, her friend, and Jay.

When Grossman’s novel opens and Jay and Ursula have made their pact, the narrative is peppered with witty repartee, especially from Ursula. Jay and Ursula reminded me of Chase’s Rupert and Daphne in Mr. Impossible, Jay being charm and not-much-by-way-of-brains and Ursula a brainiac of the first order. Their initial exchanges are a hoot:

There was gossip about him, and not the good kind. She frowned. Something about him being a drunkard? …

“So, a dullard, not a drunkard, and libertine to boot. I’m not sure if that’s an improvement.”

“Have you been conversing with my father?” …

“What do you want to do?” She studied him. What did this man enjoy? Besides the obvious?

“I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it.” He shrugged, still staring out over the party. “Travel? I like meeting people.”

“And finding ways to remove their clothing.”

Despite Ursula and Jay’s banter, they have more in common than their initial opposites-convenience pact suggests. Jay and Ursula share shame: he because he disappointed his family and remains a craving, sweaty, craven addict and Ursula because she can’t get any of the social niceties right. Their initial incompatibility soon turns to a deep sympathy and Grossman does a great job of showing how two people grow in respect and affection.

But her narrative struggles under too-much-ness. It veers out-of-control from what starts out as comedic and turns into the torments of hell for Jay and an overly sentimental and dramatic family reckoning for Ursula. In a nutshell, I think Grossman’s a romance writer to watch (and I’ll follow her to the next book), but in Appetites and Vices, she isn’t quite able to steer the ship. She is a writer not quite in control of her ample material.

On the other hand, who can resist the depth and charm of passages such as these:

“Is there a difference? Between vices and appetites, I mean?” And her mouth, her perfect plump, pouty lips – even eating an apple. She’d be the death of him one of these days.

“Well – ” Jay pushed back his hair with his palm. “I suppose it comes down to control, order versus disorder. With a vice, you’ve lost all semblance of control. You crave, and you need to have what you desire, no matter the consequences. With a mere appetite, you indulge and enjoy, but if the subject was not ideal, you could pass. You aren’t filling an empty hole.”

The beauty of Grossman’s magnificent conclusion, in contrast to her saggy middle, is the notion of enough. Jay and Ursula, though there is pain and setback, find that emptiness can be filled by sharing love, through the body, heart, and spirit. When the other is enough, complete, perfect:

“No one had ever smiled at him like that, satisfied with just him.”

And as Jay says to Ursula, “I want you because you’re you and that’s all. You don’t need to be or do anything else. That’s enough. You’re enough … ” For this reader, it may not have been perfect, but Grossman’s Appetites and Vices was enough: every imperfect, original, compelling word of it. With Ms Austen, we say that Appetites and Vices is evidence of “a mind lively and at ease,” Emma.

Felicia Grossman’s Appetites and Vices is published by Carina Press. It was released on February 18th and may be found at your preferred vendors. I received an e-ARC from Carina Press, via Netgalley.

With the Historical Romance category filled with Regency dukes and earls, Appetites & Vices stands out as a completely unique story. The American setting, Jewish heroine, and new twist on familiar tropes make it feel fresh and different than other Historical Romances I've read. Jay is completely adorable and, though Ursula is prickly, I enjoyed seeing the love blossom between them.

This is an incredibly strong romance between two flawed, real and utterly delightful characters. Better yet, it’s got that one thing which can be ridiculously elusive in historical romances; it’s got diversity. Ursula, the heroine, is Jewish, full-figured, and definitely on the autism spectrum. In 1848 Philadelphia society, however, she comes across as unbearably brash and friendless except for Hugo, an awkward, bookish type she hopes to marry purely to avoid ending up alone. When Hugo’s parents refuse to allow the match, however, Jay Truitt comes into the picture, offering a fake engagement as a way to help achieve both Ursula’s goal and serve his own ends.

Jay’s hard to like at first, as his sardonic inner thoughts critique Ursula, but hints soon clue the reader in to the bitter truth of Jay; he’s a recovering opium addict. Opium addiction is one of the dirty secrets a lot of historical fiction glosses over, and I’ve only seen one other book which covered the painful recovery addicts had to suffer in the era. Jay’s continuing battle against his demons and the way his growing love for Ursula helps him keep them at bay is beautifully written.

There’s a lot more to unpack about both Jay and Ursula and the way they’re treated by the society they move in, and how they both recognize the injustice that Jay can get away with almost anything because he’s a wealthy white man whereas Ursula, despite her riches, is almost a pariah. Jay teaching Ursula to play poker as a strategy for learning to read people and tailor her reactions accordingly was masterfully done.

Despite not liking Jay in the beginning, by the end of the story I was rooting for this couple to succeed together. This is a really well-written historical romance which doesn’t shy away from the tough topics and paints a very accurate picture of the situation Jews found themselves in, in the mid-19th century in both the US and Europe. Five stars for an engrossing read, and I’ll definitely be looking for more by this author.

Dissapointing

As a jew, I was excited when I saw that Felicia Grossman’ Appetites and Vices had a jewish character as I find that a rarity in romances. Sadly the book was a DNF for me which is very very rare. I just felt the tone was anti-semitic and stereotypical. Ursula the jewess’ father is a money lender who uses it as leverage just as she thinks she can. Jay was
odious in his initial dealings with Ursula. It may have gotten better, I just couldn’t bring myself to continue reading the story.
I received an advance reader copy via Netgalley.

Appetites & Vices by Felicia Grossman is book One in The Truitts Series. This is the story of John Thaddeus “Jay” Truitt and Ursula Nunes. Ursula's Jewish heritage keeps her on the edge of society and also hiders her from marring a man she considers her good friend. So Jay and Ursula think to do a fake engagement that would benefit the both. But what started out as a deal to get what they both wanted turns into something they didn't know they needed. Their feelings are taking over for what they truly want and need. Enjoyed their story.

Charming and delightful. I super loved the rapport between Jay and Ursula from the start, but as their relationship develops, there are so many fun aspects-- like Jay trying to Pygmalion Ursula via poker. They both come together as super flawed characters, but while their characters grow to meet the challenges with the world, I loved that neither of them need to change to be right for one another. Those flaws are what infuriate and then endear them to each other. And it's adorable to watch their animosity transform into love. It was impossible not to root for this pair to conquer the world together.

Having read many romance novels based in England, I was unsure what of ‘Appetites and Vices’ but with such a captivating title, I was drawn in. I am so pleased that I was able to review this book, as I thoroughly enjoyed both of the characters - Ursula Nunes and Jay Truitt. What begins as a faux engagement, soon finds Ursula and Jay, intrigued with each other. Ursula comes from a rich Jewish family and needs to gain the acceptance of the upper class and finds the possibility of an engagement with Jay, as a means to achieve this goal. However, whilst Jay comes from a wealthy family, his past threatens all their well laid out plans. They soon find themselves seeing and bringing out the best in each other but are too frightened to reveal their feelings to the other.
Both characters were so well developed and their relationship beautifully developed. I found the intricacies of both their families very fascinating, adding depth to this romance. Felicia Grossman doesn’t shy away from controversial issues, exploring the issue of Jay’s addiction with tremendous sensitivity. In many ways, this vice was the making of the book, as it provided an opportunity to see the fragility of both main characters when faced with this very issue.
I look forward to ready more from Felicia Grossman, who has made a great debut with this story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Reviewed on GoodReads.
Run date: 16 February 2019

i was up late last night binge-reading this book! i couldn't put it down. there are so many things i find unique about this story. i studied the nineteenth century a lot in college. any class focused on it, i was there. but i clearly have a knowledge gap regarding what was happening in american society at the time. i like that this book is set in this time frame. it's different, but not.

it's 1841 in philadelphia (and delaware) as appetites & vices opens, and life wasn't all wars. there was a social structure that owes its framework entirely to the europeans. and life in the city was a whirl of social engagement. though money talks more than pedigree, to an extent.

ursula nunes is a wealthy young woman, her father is a brilliant investment banker and she is as smart as he is about business. social situations are more of a challenge. she doesn't suffer fools, and rather unfortunately, tells them about it. and on top of that, she is jewish. and that closes all sorts of doors for her.

jay truitt is a little bit desperate. he's got some serious baggage. but something about ursula draws him to her. and he wants to help. in a totally mutually beneficial way. so he proposes a fake engagement. she gets what she wants—marriage to one hugo middleton—and he gets some freedom to pursue his demons.

when jay storms into her life, ursula doesn't know what to make of him. but she quickly takes his measure. and while jay would believe that he is severely lacking, ursula sees a man who is doing his best to survive. and what he does for her, how he helps her, will let her survive too. these two characters are so wonderful together because they truly prop each other up. when they are together they are the best possible versions of themselves. it's not that they aren't without flaw, because they are deeply flawed. but their flaws are outshined by the good that they are with each other.

this is the kind of story i love, where it's not some silly miscommunication that causes the black moment between the leads. both jay and ursula have some real problems, and their future is one that will always be shadowed by them. but that doesn't mean they can't find happiness or don't deserve. they just have to fight that much harder. and the reward ends up being that much sweeter, because it is so hard-earned.

i can't gush enough about this story. it's such an enjoyable read. and the different setting, the #ownvoices aspect of jewish history and culture, all make this something special.

**appetites & vices will publish on february 18, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/carina press in exchange for my honest review.

Happy Valentine’s Day, my lovelies! 💕 I’m so excited to feature this week’s smashingly brilliant historical romance with a Jewish heroine and a smolderingly sexy bad boy hero. Appetites & Vices, by Felicia Grossman—released by Carina Press—as my lovers’ holiday review! It’s a treat and a half, to say the least. It’s also the first in a series, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled!

This little gem happens to be the first historical book I’d ever read that truly piqued my interest. I was fortunate enough to beta read for Ms. Grossman—both for this, and for the next book in the series entitled Dalliances & Devotions, set to be released in September! I positively gobbled them both up. Ms. Grossman managed the impossible by drawing my non-historical reading self into a love and obsession with her characters!

Ursula Nunes might very well be one of my favorite—and if nothing else, the feistiest!—heroine I’ve had the pleasure of reading in quite some time. Her voice is so distinct, and her character so vivid, I was left blinking big ol’ heart eyes. And that’s nothing on what Jay Truitt did to me. Holy guacamole, folks. This stud is Hot with a capital “H.” Ms. Grossman manages to draw such realism and beauty into her characters, that I assure you’ll be walking away just as grinning-like-crazy as I was.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves historical romances, but also to anyone who might not think they’re a historical fan and is willing to give it a one-off shot at proving themselves wrong. Because, speaking from experience, Ms. Grossman—and her cast of delightful characters—will win you over. Of that, I have no doubt!

The good things I'd heard about this book made me want to read. made me want to read this. To be fair, so did the fake relationship trope and the fact I’ve been craving a good historical romance. Sadly, this was a case of nick approved book not quite working for me for very me reasons. The book was actually really enjoyable with interesting characters and it succeeded in not falling into the usual romance plot traps and surprising me… but it didn’t click and fall into the ‘this is amazing’ category.

Ursula (what is with that name?) was totally charming with her complete inability to read people and her utter social awkwardness. She was so easy to like and she had a love for animals! I was always going to like her. And our romantic hero, Jay, was not the stereotypical man who gets around with money and privilege. He was many layered and he had secrets which slowly emerge throughout the story. I was wary of him, at first. I knew there was more to him than met the eye but I hadn't realised how many secrets he held and honestly thought he was going to be the typical over privileged man who was rich and slept around and wasn’t very interesting. Turns out he was a grower not a shower and I loved how he was actually adorable. He seemed like he would be the kind of rich guy who was a snob, like he would be judgey and savage people and be inconsiderate of others feelings but in fact he was the most considerate man. he always knew how to make those around him more comfortable and feel better about themselves, almost to his own detriment. He was a sweetie who had been told a few too many times he wasn't good enough.

There was a lot to like with these characters and the story was easy to get sucked into as you try and figure out the various secrets going on. But something didn't work. I kind of feel like it was the way the book was written. I constantly felt like I’d missed something and found myself flicking back because I wasn’t certain if I’d skim read and missed something only to find the book had gone forward and would flashback to explain a missed scene. Scene transitions just didn’t seem to work to me and I know everything was there and nothing was ever missed, but I think the writing for some reason distanced me from the story and threw me out as I tried to figure out what was going on and decide if I’d missed something. I also found I couldn’t always keep the secondary characters straight in my head. Names would be mentioned and I’d be left questioning ‘who’s that again'?’ which is never a fun feeling when reading. I can’t say the secondary characters weren’t well developed, but for some reason names wanted to stick in my head even less than usual. I am guilty of forgetting names when reading but this was worse than usual.

I don't know it was enjoyable and I was drawn in by the characters and the story but things were really minor and shouldn't have impacted my enjoyment too much seemed to bother me.more than usual here. It was good and I do recommend. Yet it also wasn't totally for me. Its weird. I would be interested to read more from this author to see if it was just this book or maybe it's their writing style which doesn't totally click with me. It's hard to pinpoint but something was missing to stop me rating it higher but enjoyment was there.

I love discovering new authors that surprise you with their stories. Appetites & Vices is that story. I love that it is unconventional with different main characters. Granted, Jay’s vice is portrayed in other books but Ursula is out of the realm of other historical stories (and I loved her appetite for sweets, great reading that instead of always figuring out how they can eat less). Normally I would say we read these books to escape reality if only for a little while, but this story pulled me in and I did escape. Reading Jay and Ursula’s interactions was a joy, they were clever and full of double entendre. A wonderful debut book.

This book was not at all what I expected, and I mean that in the best way possible! First, it is set in America. Second, it talks about the discrimination of Jewish people in high society as it was at the time. And third, it shines a light on the dangerous misuse of opium and the never ending addiction that its users fight against. I truly love it when a Historical Romance Author has the courage to show the true history of the era and the struggles of its people all while building the life changing love stories that keep me coming back for more. This book is all of that and more!
Ursula Nunes is the only child of the wealthy Jewish banker, Judah Nunes, and she has her mind set on marrying her Christian best friend Hugo Middleton. Too bad his family is refusing to let that happen based completely on her faith. In desperate need to prove her worth to his parents she makes a deal with the one man she thinks she is immune to his charms. Or is she?
Jay Truitt has done everything he can to stay away from his parents’ home for the last two years as he has been fighting addiction. On the night of his return he has a chance encounter with a damsel in distress who he thinks may just solve all his problems. Little does he know just how right he is.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be adding it to my bookshelf as soon as possible.