Book Review: After a Fashion & In Good Company

If you haven't discovered Jen Turano you are seriously missing out on some of the funniest romantic comedies to date.

The first time I got my hands on one of her books was through Bethany House's Blogging for Books program. The cover of the book just jumps out at you and makes you have to read it. I mean look at this face. She's practically begging you to sit down and let her explain how the whole thing came about.

A Change of Fortune

The covers always catch the eye. The ladies are fashionable but don't let them fool you. They are not the well-behaved ladies that their well-poised photos would have you believe. These ladies always find themselves in the middle of some sort of mischievous activity.

After reading the first series, I had the great fortune of meeting Jen at my local library. She is a very interesting and utterly charming lady. So when I got the chance to read the latest books from Jen Turano, of course I jumped at the chance.

This latest series is called A Class of their Own. The first book is After a Fashion. It features leading lady Harriet Peabody who after quite the "eventful" delivery of fashionable goods finds herself in need of employment. Enter our leading man, Oliver Addleshaw. He's in a bit of a bind as he needs to play the part of a family-type man who's more settled in life to impress a client. Oliver makes Harriet a completely honorable proposition to have her pretend to be his fiancee until the deal goes through. It's a bit like in Pretty Woman but a lot less inappropriate. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I can't tell you how many times I've laughed so hard I woke up my poor snoozing husband (I read at night).

The second book in this hilarious series is In Good Company, which I've read twice now. I LOVE this book! It follows up with some of the characters in the previous book and introduces the story of Millie Longfellow. She's a brilliant if not under appreciated nanny. She's once again found herself out of a job. Coincidentally, Everett Mulberry, a wealthy bachelor who has recently inherited 3 wards is once again in need of a nanny. Sounds like a match made in heaven, right? It's got a very Pride and Prejudice feel with a lot of Lucy and Ethel thrown in. Everett and his lady friend are preparing to go to Newport for the summer as most classy people do. But with Millie, the children, a nosy (if not well meaning) matchmaker in tow it's not smooth sailing.

I love love love this book! I read it in July and just finished re-reading it last night. It's a wonderful seat-of-the-pants adventure. Lots of swoon-worthy scenes. And yes, plenty of laugh-out-loud-wake-the-poor-sleeping-husband-up scenes. I am so ready to read the next book in this series. It needs to show up soon! It's called Playing the Part and it follows the story of Lucetta Plum from the previous books. And it's not going to be out until March next year?!? Seriously? Oh well, that's plenty of time to catch up on all of Jen's books :)

I get to read awesome books for free because of the wonderful people at Blogging for Books. If you'd like to learn more please visit their website: http://www.bloggingforbooks.com/