Behind the Scenes

Apart from the Crowd, Book 1

De: Jen Turano

Narrado por: Lauren Ezzo

Start of a delightful new series from historical romance author Jen Turano.

Miss Permilia Griswold may have been given the opportunity of a debut into New York high society, but no one warned her she wasn't guaranteed to "take". After spending the last six years banished to the wallflower section of the ballroom, she's finally putting her status on the fringes of society to good use by penning anonymous society gossip columns under the pseudonym "Miss Quill".

Mr. Asher Rutherford has managed to maintain his status as a reputable gentleman of society despite opening his own department store. While pretending it's simply a lark to fill his time, he has quite legitimate reasons for needing to make his store the most successful in the country.

When Permilia overhears a threat against the estimable Mr. Rutherford, she's determined to find and warn the man. Disgruntled at a first meeting that goes quite poorly and results in Asher not believing her, she decides to take matters into her own hands, never realizing she'll end up at risk as well.

As Asher and Permilia are forced to work together and spend time away from the spotlight of society, perhaps there's more going on behind the scenes than they ever could have anticipated....

©2017 Jen Turano (P)2017 Two Words Publishing

Fun and novel read

Quirky and funny! Word choice was brilliant and easy to picture the events taking place.

Extremely Entertaining!

Warning...this book will make you laugh out loud!
I absolutely adore Permilla Griswold! I loved the detailed descriptions of the clothing, the rooms, the people. I loved the "wallflowers!"
Oh, and the handsome gentleman Mr. Asher Rutherford. Have a fainting couch at the ready, he is swoon-worthy.
I loved this book!
*Sorry for the short review, I got Out of The Ordinary on Audible and HAD to listen to it right away.

Enchanting

This story was so much fun. You will love the female lead and laugh out loud.

Sweet, funny and delightful

Set in New York, Permilia overhears is an independent, outspoken young lady who has no problem speaking her mind whether it's proper or not. Asher Rutherford, a high born man, whose family suffered a financial blow, struggled to keep them out of poverty by becoming a businessman and made a big. It was at a masquerade ball that Permillia overhears a plot to kill Asher and thus it begins. This story will make you laugh time and time again. A sweet and delightful love story you will enjoy. Whether you prefer to listen to the story--the narrator did a great job-- or read it yourself, you will truly enjoy this novel.

Turano brings one back to Wholesome Shows

Okay, I admit. I read the first two books out of order. Oops! But, I still enjoyed hearing how Asher and Permilia got together. How Gertrude met Harrison and Mr. MacParland. Plus the back story of Henrietta and her sister.

Ms. Turano weaves a fun tall which includes humor, mystery, and romance. Her leading characters are satisfyingly well developed. And I enjoy her feisty leading ladies (and their endearing silly quirks). I also liked how, at the end, everyone is gathered and the mystery is revealed.

I already remarked in my review of book 2, Out of the Ordinary, that I found Ms. Ezzo's style for this series distracting (too many gasps). That said, here's what I liked about the narration. Ms. Ezzo's pacing (pauses) was perfect. While, I still could not tell the difference when Asher/Harrison, or Permilia/Gertrude/Lucy spoke, I could tell when young versus older characters spoke and male vs females spoke. Plus, Ms. Turano writes in a way that it doesn't take long to figure out who is in a scene.

This story didn't have as many silly situations, that caused for a chuckle, as book 2. This also allowed for me to enjoy each scene as it played along. Ms. Ezzo's clear narration voice is very enjoyable to listen to. The production was also nicely done.

Overall, I found Ms. Ezzo's captured the upper class style of Ms. Turano's characters extremely well. I can see why she chose the style of narration. It's just not for me.

I still see classic and classy actresses like Audrey Hepburn playing out these scenes. I would definitely recommend both author and narrator for future works.

I was given a free copy of this audiobook. I wrote this review as a thank you to both the author/publisher and narrator.