It is the meeting of colorful characters, who exchanged witty lines in the most hilarious circumstances that sets this Jen Turano story apart from other novels of this genre.
Playing the Part, the third novel in the A Class of Their Own series, followed the life of famed stage actress Lucetta Plum as she temporarily moved to Ravenwood to hide from her obsessed fan Silas Ruff, who wants to acquire her as his mistress.
Ravenwood, which has a castle standing in the midst of a sprawling property, is owned by Bram Haverstein, a handsome but eccentric gentleman who is the grandson of Lucetta’s widowed friend Abigail.
In Ravenwood, hilarity ensues as the characters find themselves tangled in each other’s lives with rumors of ghosts in the castle and a budding romance between Bram and Lucetta as well as Bram’s younger sister Ruby and Lucetta’s bodyguard, Mr. Skukman.
Turano picked an independent, intelligent, and strong-willed character in Lucetta, a rarity in the year 1800s, the time the story was set to have unfolded.
Lucetta is no damsel-in-distress. Lucetta left her southern life in Virginia when she was only 16 years old and moved to New York to work as an actress and this is where we see the two different sides of Lucetta’s character left significant marks in her life decisions including that of falling in love.
Turano employed several women characters in this novel that I’m feeling the women empowerment theme, which is very appropriate noting that I read the novel and published this review still within the period of International Women’s Month.
Although this is the third novel of the series — the first two were stories of Lucetta’s best friends Harriett Peabody and Millie Longfellow – reading the previous novels is not required. Playing the Part is a stand-alone novel and you can still enjoy the delightful scenes and characters without prior reading of After A Fashion and In Good Company.
Turano wrote this story laced with wit and humor that it’s not a surprise to catch yourself picturing how the scenes would turn out in the silver screen. Think people in gowns and suits but are downright hilarious exchanging banters and throwing lines which would send in a fit of giggles.
This is my second historical fiction novel and I admit it was an amusing ride back to the 1800s with people speaking in formal English language. Frankly, I did not expect it to be a fun read.
I did not have high expectations of this novel and so I started out in somewhat grim mood and just wanted to finish it for this review. But Turano’s writing blew me away. Let me just say, again, that I never expected a historical fiction novel to be this funny. I was laughing at 3:00 a.m.
For all the joy this book has gave me, I’m giving this a 10 out of 10 stars. Rare are writers like Jen Turano who can combine romanticism, fun, and inspiration in one story that puts the spotlight on an actress.
Continue writing, Jen.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book from Bethany House via the Litfuse Publicity Group for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write positive reviews. Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”.
