Holding Court

This super fun read finds Jules working in a Tudor castle as the crazy psychic nun. Since Jules has a problem blurting out random psychic predictions it is the perfect place for her! Plus, her longtime crush (and girlfriend) work there. Unfortunately, Jules finds a body on her first day and things get a little crazy. No one else sees the body and she has to trust herself , as well as her crush, to solve the mystery. Funny, cute, charming I really enjoyed this quick read. Twists and turns and filled with humor, a fun read for anyone who likes a ya mystery with a psychic twist!

This story was by no means what I had expected. I did not expect there to be so much role play and dialogue from the Tudor times, but there was. I definitely made this for a unique read. I thought this story was good, but had the potential for more. With that being said, I am not disappointed that I read it. The mystery part of it was very interesting!

Jules is a young lady that has a sort of problem with blurting out random things. Jules can't help what she says. Her family thinks that it is from the magic that their family possesses. Jules can also see things that others can't and this helps to play along with her new job that she has accepted at the Tudor times. Jules has landed the role of the crazy nun and with her outbursts, she can play this part perfectly. Jules also is excited about working at the Tudor times because of Grayson, her crush that has been off limits. Will she get time with Grayson now that they work together?

When Jules is wandering around the old castle one night right after she started working there, she stumbles upon a secret door and discovers an even bigger surprise! Jules has stumbled on a dead body, but when she goes to get someone that she can tell, the body is gone when they get back. Everyone is now really wondering about Jules's sanity. Will Jules ever figure out what happened to the body? Why is Grayson beginning to look suspicious in all of this while Jules is doing her own investigation?

There are tons of twists and turns in this story that will keep you wanting to know the outcome of the mystery. The humor of Jules blurting out random things throughout the story was pretty funny too. I thought this all made for a great YA read. K.C. Held did a good job with the suspense and mystery, but I would have liked a little more romance with Jules and Grayson. Thanks for a good read though!

Ohmigosh, this book made me so giddy with happiness! I'm pretty sure my cheeks are going to be sore from smiling and laughing so much.

Let me be fair by saying I am obsessed with two things that feature prominently in the book - the Tudor family and The Princess Bride. I've also always wanted to work in one of those old-timey places where you get to wear a costume and play someone else for tourists. So, really, this book had me from the description.

Poor Jules Verity has an unfortunate gift for prophecy. It sounds like such a cool thing, right? Being able to prophesize the future? Except, she more blurts out sentences that seem nonsensical and appear at the worst of times (which her BFF dubs Psychic Tourette's Syndrome). As hard as she tries to control it, she can't seem to stop blurting silly things for no reason. This makes her absolutely perfect for a summer job at the Tudor Times, where she'll play a nun who also had a gift for prophecy and was known for babbling nonsense. Even better, Jules' crush, Grayson works at the castle, too. Seems perfect--until Jules stumbles over (literally) the dead body of a girl in a secret passageway, only to have that body disappear as Jules runs for help.

This book combines mystery, romance, and humor. I honestly didn't want it to end, and even cursed my already long commute for not being longer when it came to having to put it down at my stop. Jules is a hilarious MC, and I can't but feel bad for her and all of her embarrassing moments. Grayson is totally swoon-worthy, and I don't blame Jules one bit for her crush--even if Grayson does have a longtime girlfriend. Oops.

I highly recommend this to anyone who wants a laugh-out-loud YA with a bit of a mystery/thriller vibe thrown in.

LOVE.

a lot of fun, i hope this turns into a series!

Absolutely adorable and hilarious! Juliet blurts out bits of prophesy at the most inappropriate times and then the things she says?? Crying out loud funny! This is a cute YA mystery romance I'm very happy I got to read :-)

Leaving reviews on Amazon and goodreads.

Holding Court is the sort of fun, hilarious books that are uplift you after a day of reading some particularly serious books. The setting is contemporary, with a slightly paranormal twist – Juliet is psychic but blurts out her premonitions randomly, without context, making for a very troubling social life. When she gets a job as the Tudor Times castle as a performing psychic, she is interested only because her crush is also one of the actors there. But when a body turns up on her first day, and disappears soon after, she has to use her psychic powers and wits to keep away from the killer and get to the bottom of the matter.

The story is mostly light, with frequent scenes involving Juliet’s random outbursts that lead to awkward or hilarious situations. Her sleuthing skills are not exactly top-notch, and she is suspicious of everybody, including finally the very boy she crushes on. I wish I could say the twist was unexpected, but Gran’s reaction had pretty much solidified my doubts. The mystery was good – and the creepy caretaker was a nice touch. As for the romance, it is definitely adorable with these two precious Princess Bride nerds flirting with each other. Simply put, this is a book you’ll enjoy if you looking for something light and cute.

Holding Court is a cute and funny romantic mystery with a hint of thriller and a touch of paranormal thrown in. It's an easy and quick read, a fun bit of escapism and an enjoyable story with adorable characters.

4.5 “I fell in love with the protagonist” STARS

First thing I'll say about this is I started and finished it in one day. A Friday. I could've gone out with my friends or gone with my husband to a nice restaurant... or even started partying since it's Carnaval this weekend, but nope. I chose to stay home and finish this book because I fell in love with Jules.

When that happens, don’t expect me to step away until there are no more words to read. Then, I end up feeling both happy and sad. I guess every bookworm knows the feeling. And while I was thrilled to get to know Jules, I was sad to have to let her go.

You should come meet Jules -- a.k.a Juliet Verity a.k.a Buttercup a.k.a my new BFF. A super awesome sixteen-year-old who comes from a line of eccentric women with special “gifts.” Her grandmother, for example, can see people’s auras and find their perfect match. And while her grandmother and her mother have found ways to turn their gifts into something profitable for the family, Jules is still suffering through the “I’m a freak” phase. It sure doesn’t help that her gift isn’t making being a teenager any easy. According to Jules’ also very funny best friend, the poor girl suffers from "Psychic Tourette's Syndrome". What’s that? Out of nowhere, Jules will yell some absurd prophecy that makes no sense at the time, but later turns out to be helpful. Sounds pretty cool, except when you’re trying to keep people from thinking you’re batshit crazy.

But you know where being batshit crazy is cool and profitable? At the castle-turned-dinner-theater Tudor Times where everyone dresses up and pretend to be someone else. Jules is hired to play the part of Mad Maid of Kent (a psychic num), which means she’s practically getting paid to be herself. Pretty good, huh? What makes it even better is that she’ll get to spend time with her longtime crush and now coworker, Grayson Chandler.

It’d be the perfect job if it weren’t for the dead body she found. The same body that disappeared minutes later, leaving everyone wondering if Jules really saw it or if this was just another part of her psychic gift. Only way to find out? Teaming up with Grayson and searching for the dead girl and her murderer. That’s when the adventure begins.

While the whole Tudor vibe and the mystery about the missing body made the story unique and interesting, Jules was the most special element in this story as far as I was concerned. You can call her a special snowflake, if you want… I honestly don’t care, because I connected with her from the start.

Jules was funny, like make-me-laugh-out-loud-a-lot funny. Her logic was spot on and her sense of humor was refreshing:

“That brings up an interesting point, Miss Verity. You’re the only one who’s seen Sarah Buckley dead.”
“Uh, no. I’m pretty sure whoever killed her and moved her body saw her, too.”

Like, dude, she was hilarious.

Jules stood firmly against slut shaming. Though Grayson was in a relationship with Bree, the most perfect girl in town, every time Jules talked about her “rival”, she did it in a way that made you respect her even more:

Bree Blair is so perfect you can’t even hate her properly.

She (Bree) envelops me in a rose-scented hug. She doesn’t just look perfect, she smells good, too. I should hate her. But I can’t.

And don’t expect Jules to get involved with someone else’s boyfriend, because she’s not up for that kind of crap:

“Cami, I’m serious. I will never be Bree Blair, and I’m not going to be the kind of girl who goes after someone else’s boyfriend, either.”

I highlighted another part that proves the point above (“You’d better go call Bree” – can’t say more because of spoilers) while reading and added “YES, YES, YES!” as my notes. Honestly, I’m so tired of people treating cheating like it’s not a big deal, and I was so, so happy that Jules wasn’t of one them.

I guess what I’m saying is I fell hard for Jules, so I completely understand the big secret revealed at the end. It makes perfect sense to me. *shrugs*

The romance wasn’t as big as I normally like, but with the search for the missing girl and the mystery involving the possible murder taking much of everyone’s time, it was understandable that they had to keep the romance was a subplot.

I’m sure there will be reviews pointing out historical inconsistencies (there’s always someone complaining about that), but (again) I don’t care. I didn’t request this book because of the historical references and I’m not quoting anything from a fiction with history as a subplot when discussing important historical facts, so yeah… there’s that.

This book delivered what it promised and a little more: a fun, sweet YA contemporary story with a main character that made my list of characters I want to be friend with.

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this book. The cover immediatly made me wanna read it. The story sounded pretty interesting too.

The book is about Jules, 16 years old, blessed or well cursed with PTS (Psychic Tourette's Syndrome), it's the way her best friend Cami calls her spontaneous and uncontrollable prophecies that Jules keeps shouting in other people's faces. Jules is looking for a summer job, and finds an add in the newspaper for a job at a castle. She imagines she can dress up in beautiful dresses. Instead her job is to be the crazy nun. Also on her first day at work, she finds a dead body. And the mystery begins.

I love Jules as a main character. It's been a while since I read someone so fun. There were some lines in there that actually made me laugh out loud. At the same time she has a lot of insecurities, thinking that everyone assumes she is just a freak because she has these weird outburst. I just found her to be really lovable and overall really well written.

The story also had amazing characters. I loved Jules friendship with Cami and the relationship she had with her grandma (she's one amazing character. So many great lines. Such a fun personality.)

Something that I also really enjoyed was the love triangle. Uh, I know. Another one of those. But I loved how this one was written. How Bree wasn't the typical "other girl" that was mean and not likeable at all. Cause I loved Bree. And I really loved all the little revelations at the end of the book. So well handled. SO GREAT.

The writing in the book was amazing. It was such a fun and easy read. I loved the setting. I loved the mystery. I never got to the point where I just didn't care anymore who killed who. So I'm giving this book all the stars and I'm telling you all to pick up this book and reading. It's so entertaining.