BOOK REVIEW: "The Tailor's Daughter"

The Tailor's Daughter

By Janice Graham

Copyright 2006

St. Martins Press

Adult Fiction

4 Bookmarks

I love Victorian novels and here is another one that I rather enjoyed. The Tailor's Daughter tells the story of young Veda Grenfell, the daughter of a prominent London tailor. Veda is raised, as all young women of Victorian society are, to believe she will grow up and marry a man of her class and live happily ever after. Veda's life is thrown into turmoil when she loses her hearing due to a fever at the age of 16, rendering her unmarriageable according to society standards.

Throwing herself into her family's tailoring business, Veda impresses a great many people around her and opens up some life possibilities. However, what she really wants, she cannot have. And that is a tough lesson to learn. After all, what Victorian novel would be complete without a little unrequited love?

The Tailor's Daughter is loaded with plenty of tragedy and heartache, as well as deception and intrigue, but still manages to warm the soul with love and ardor in abundance. The characters are interesting and the story does (eventually) have a somewhat happy ending, which I always appreciate. I would recommend this one if you also like Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters.

BOOK REVIEW: "Closing Costs"

Closing Costs

By Seth Margolis

Copyright 2006

St. Martins Press

Adult Fiction

3 Bookmarks

In my "real" life, I'm a Realtor. And so when I'm choosing which novel to snatch up off the library shelf and I see a real estate phrase like Closing Costs in a book title, I'm immediately intrigued. I thought perhaps this would be a book highlighting all the wonderful things about my chosen profession. But then again, perhaps not.

In reality, Closing Costs is a novel about several Manhattan area citizens who are dealing with real estate concerns: the older couple looking to downsize, the younger couple with new baby twins who are overflowing their rent-controlled one bedroom studio, the superbly rich socialite whose husband flees the country after he's accused of embezzlement leaving her homeless after the feds seize her mansion, etc. And what do all these fine folks have in common? One hardcore illustrious real estate legend named Lucinda Wells.

Lucinda wafts into and out of the lives of the characters in this book with a sneer down her nose and an air of indifference at their situation, and yet somehow manages to completely influence the decisions of those she comes in contact with.

These, and many other characters within the pages of this book make it an interesting read. The story jumps from one set of people in fine circumstance to another. Some characters were definitely more believable than others, but the story kept me interested and reading along. Not the best book I've ever read, but not the worst either. Sort of a middle of the road read here.