Seven Days at Mannerley

I really liked the tongue in cheek attitude of this book. There was a lot of dry humour especially when the narrator spoke directly to the reader. The plot is interesting, what would happen if two people, one rich, one poor swapped places. There was a really pleasing emphasis on forgiveness, where the lead character was clearly repentant and this was expected. Parts of this book need clarifying. It was great to see a multicultural relationship. There was an explanation of Indian culture, a description of the caste system, and the Indian lady wore a bhindi. However, the surname was Singh, a Sikh name. Sikhism does not subscribe to the caste system, in fact took an opposite position, asserting that all people were equal. Less than 30%of Sikh women wear a bhindi. Perhaps a change of name to a typically Hindu name is needed?

This was a great book! The cover is one of my favorite covers ever. This book was very well written and the romance was so perfect. I would highly recommend this book.

"It's not you, it's me," said the reviewer to the book.
I realize the narration style was inspired by the classics, the narrator being a stranger retelling the story of the main character to the readers. It wasn't badly executed but I just couldn't like it, there were multiple times where I was engrossed in the story when suddenly the narrator jumps in to remind the readers of another character or just prepping for another problem. It made me detach from the story.
The writing was really good, I thought with the concept of the book referencing the classics the writing would be too verbose and lyrical, which thankfully wasn't the case. It had the perfect balance between poignant and easy to read.
Part of the reason why I wasn't taken with the book was the main character, Mary. She was pretty irritating to be honest, she was literally playing the rope with both of Anthony and mr Singh. One moment she was captivated by Anthony's attention, and the next feeling emotionally close to Singh.
I thought the romance lacked chemistry. For Mary, I believe she was more in love with the novelty of being in love, while for Singh, he was just there to be the love interest. His character arch was rather weak and kind of bland.
Some of the side characters definitely redeemed the book, like Roy, Antoinette and mrs Singh. They added more levity to the plot.
Overall, it wasn't a bad book, just not my cup of tea.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

This book was fun and lighthearted. It had all of the things I like about a historical romance. It is told in a unique way where there is a narrator telling it from an outside perspective. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t just at the beginning of the chapter like Bridgerton, it would come in the middle of a chapter as well which was kind of an odd placement.

Mary is of lower class and she definitely wonders what it would be like to have a different life. It’s one reason she takes the opportunity of the ball, but also questioned whether it was a good idea or not. Her family pushed her a lot which wasn’t a bad thing, but it does get her into situations. She was a good character. I liked that even though she wasn’t like those at Mannerley when it comes to having money they never saw her any different because they didn’t know. She could easily converse with them and made lifelong friendships.

Since it is a shorter book everything does happen quickly. I wouldn’t say there was enough time for the romance, but it’s not that I didn’t like it. It worked for the story. Some of the drama felt anticlimactic and wrapped up quickly.

Overall, this was a good popcorn read that kept me entertained throughout.

A farce, a romp and a stolen identity...

Set in Victorian England, Mary finds a suitcase and crashes a house party as "Agnes."
As Agnes and in her clothing and living her life, Mary has not one, but two suitors.
Will the truth come out?
It takes a lot to go along with the charade for a week.