The Husband List - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

When I hear "Janet Evanovich," I don't think of historical romance. But she has teamed up with Dorien Kelly to write two books in this genre. I'm about halfway through The Husband List, and it's moving slowly. However, since I don't read a lot of historical romance, maybe I'm not a good judge of the genre. The story has its entertaining moments, but I'm feeling like the first 150 pages could have been written in fifty. It's not bad; it's just not grabbing me. This is the second book in a series and, of course, I haven't read the first one! 


Beginning:
Close your eyes and think of chocolate cake, Caroline Maxwell told herself. It was the only way she could get through this tedious dress fitting. Even in the advanced year of 1894, an American heiress had certain rules to follow, and allowing herself to be a pincushion for the House of Worth seemed to be one of them. What Caroline really wanted was adventure, independence and to see the world. But she doubted her parents would ever come to their senses enough to set her free.

Friday 56 (page 56 in my hardback copy - found on Barnes & Nobles' bargain table):
With the butler ushering the way, Caroline and her sisters followed Mama and her little dog like silk-and-lace-garbed ducklings into the salon, in which someone--likely not Mrs. Longhorne--had shown an admirable restraint in the placement of decorations so that the view of the ocean was the room's focus.

Genre: Historical Romance
Length: 309 Pages
Amazon Link: The Husband List

Synopsis from Amazon:
    Based on the family from the bestselling Love In A Nutshell, the story of an heiress longing to marry for love or not at all     From The New York Times bestselling writing duo Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly, comes the story of a young woman’s search for true love. Caroline Maxwell would like nothing more than to join her brother, Eddie, and his friend, Jack Culhane, on their adventures. While Jack and Eddie are off seeing the world, buying up businesses and building wildly successful careers, Caroline's stuck at home frightening off the men her mother hopes will ask for her hand in marriage.  When her mother sets her sights on the questionable Lord Bremerton as a possible suitor, Caroline struggles with her instincts and the true nature of her heart.  She longs for adventure, passion, love, and most of all . . . Jack Culhane, an unconventional Irish-American bachelor with new money and no title. A completely unacceptable suitor in the eyes of Caroline's mother. But Caroline's dark hair, brilliant eyes and quick wit have Jack understanding just why it is people fall in love and get married.    Set in New York City in 1894, The Husband List is an American gilded age romantic mystery. It evokes memories of the lavish lifestyles and social expectations of the Vanderbilts and Rockefellers—a time when new money from the Americas married Old World social prestige and privilege. Dresses by Worth, transcontinental ocean voyages, lavish parties, a little intrigue, and a lot of romance await in, The Husband List.

                             
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