TLC Book Tours: Review of A Certain Age by Beatriz Williams

Publisher: William Morrow PaperbacksPub. Date: January 3rd, 2017
Pages: 352

Synopsis

The bestselling author of A Hundred Summers brings the Roaring Twenties brilliantly to life in this enchanting and compulsively readable tale of intrigue, romance, and scandal in New York Society, brimming with lush atmosphere, striking characters, and irresistible charm.


As the freedom of the Jazz Age transforms New York City, the iridescent Mrs. Theresa Marshall of Fifth Avenue and Southampton, Long Island, has done the unthinkable: she’s fallen in love with her young paramour, Captain Octavian Rofrano, a handsome aviator and hero of the Great War. An intense and deeply honorable man, Octavian is devoted to the beautiful socialite of a certain age and wants to marry her. While times are changing and she does adore the Boy, divorce for a woman of Theresa’s wealth and social standing is out of the question, and there is no need; she has an understanding with Sylvo, her generous and well-respected philanderer husband.

But their relationship subtly shifts when her bachelor brother, Ox, decides to tie the knot with the sweet younger daughter of a newly wealthy inventor. Engaging a longstanding family tradition, Theresa enlists the Boy to act as her brother’s cavalier, presenting the family’s diamond rose ring to Ox’s intended, Miss Sophie Fortescue—and to check into the background of the little-known Fortescue family. When Octavian meets Sophie, he falls under the spell of the pretty ingénue, even as he uncovers a shocking family secret. As the love triangle of Theresa, Octavian, and Sophie progresses, it transforms into a saga of divided loyalties, dangerous revelations, and surprising twists that will lead to a shocking transgression . . . and eventually force Theresa to make a bittersweet choice.


Full of the glamour, wit and delicious twists that are the hallmarks of Beatriz Williams’ fiction and alternating between Sophie’s spirited voice and Theresa’s vibrant timbre, A Certain Age is a beguiling reinterpretation of Richard Strauss’s comic opera Der Rosenkavalier, set against the sweeping decadence of Gatsby’s New York.

 

What Did I Think About the Story?

Have you ever read the synopsis of a story, opened the pages, and been completely surprised about what you found inside? Whether for good or bad, what you end up reading is different from what you expected? Well this is exactly what happened to me upon reading A Certain Age. I expected some romance, maybe some conflict and backstabbing...sort of a love square between the two women and the two men (although not between Theresa and her brother, Ox). While these things are included in the overall story, page one let's us know that a murder has taken place and all of our various players are somehow connected - whether directly or not - with said murder. Now my interest was really piqued!

After that introduction it's probably not a surprise for me to say that my favorite aspect of the story was the  murder mystery. The way it's initially presented as little gossip columns in the newspaper, sprinkled throughout the larger story, was perfect. Towards the end the narrative begins to coincide with the murder trial and it becomes more of a central theme and I, for one, was completely surprised by what actually happened and the way everything came together at the end. This all being said, I will add that the mystery does take a back seat to the relationship trials of the characters for much of the story and really has more of a cozy mystery presentation than a taut and tense, action-packed sort of feel, but I'm so happy the author decided to add this excitement to what might have otherwise become a little too romance heavy for my general tastes.

Another aspect of the story that I very much enjoyed was just how well the author ensconces the reader in Jazz Age New York. Whether in the grander high society homes and clubs or back alley speakeasies, it's easy to see and hear and feel everything our characters are experiencing and it really drives home the changes to society, industry, and the world at large during this time. This shifting and opposing world is also reflected in the characters and the larger themes at play - youth vs. age, women as wives and mothers only vs. women in the working world, excitement and adventure vs. tradition and normality - and I can't think of a better background for all of this conflict to take place against.

All of the characters are also deliciously flawed. While I wasn't a huge fan of Theresa - she's incredibly selfish and manipulative, at least in the beginning - I did enjoy each of the characters for their own specific quirks (and there are a lot of them!). Sophie and Octavian are a little  more likeable, especially Sophie, and I did enjoy watching their transformations as the story progressed. While I can't say I would enjoy knowing any of them in real life, they definitely kept the narrative intriguing. 

A Certain Age is full of quirky, somewhat likeable characters and enough intrigue and mystery to keep you turning the pages. While I will say that I think those interested in the historical fiction and romance aspects of the story will find more to appreciate then staunch murder mystery readers, I think there is enough to draw the interest of general lovers of reading good stories as well. I have a few more of Beatriz Williams's books on my shelves and I'm now very excited to read them!

What Did I Think About the Cover?

 

It's very pretty, especially in person as the cover has a pearly aspect to it. The style, dress, etc. feels very authentic to the story and from the story within it's easy to see that this young lady is Sophie (which I always appreciate...I hate when characters are described one way and presented on the cover differently). This cover would definitely draw my eye in a bookstore!

 

My Rating: 4.5/5.0

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and HarperCollins for providing me with a free copy of A Certain Age in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. Please continue below for more information about the book, the author, and the blog tour.

About the Author

A graduate of Stanford University with an MBA from Columbia, Beatriz Williams spent several years in New York and London hiding her early attempts at fiction, first on company laptops as a

communications strategy consultant, and then as an at-home producer of small persons, before her career as a writer took off. She lives with her husband and four children near the Connecticut shore.

Find out more about Beatriz at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Buy the Book

HarperCollins | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A Certain Age Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, January 16th: Show This Book Some Love
Tuesday, January 17th: Living Outside the Stacks
Wednesday, January 18th: Savvy Verse & Wit
Friday, January 20th: Black ‘n Gold Girl’s Book Spot
Monday, January 23rd: I Wish I Lived in a Library
Tuesday, January 24th: Just Commonly
Thursday, January 26th: Back Porchervations
Friday, January 27th: Stephany Writes
Monday, January 30th: Books and Bindings
Wednesday, February 1st: Chick With Books
Wednesday, February 1st: Reading to Distraction
Thursday, February 2nd: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
Friday, February 3rd: Book by Book
Monday, February 6th: The Paperback Pilgrim
Tuesday, February 7th: Art Books Coffee
Wednesday, February 8th: Broken Teepee
Thursday, February 9th: A Splendidly Messy Life
Friday, February 10th: A Soccer Mom’s Book Blog
Friday, February 10th: A Literary Vacation

Cover Reveal! Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War + Giveaway!!

There are certain authors that I get particularly excited about when I see they have a new book coming out (I'm sure anyone reading this can relate). Well imagine my excitement when I hear a bunch of my favorite authors are getting together and coming out with a collection of stories all centered around the aftermath of World War I...yes, that noise you heard was my head exploding! I am so excited to share with all of you the cover reveal for Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War! Here's all the information you need to find out more about this wonderful collaboration as well as the GORGEOUS cover. I've already pre-ordered my copy and I hope you will consider doing the same if this sounds as marvelous to you as it does to me!

 

 

Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War 

 

by Heather Webb, Hazel Gaynor, Beatriz Williams, Jennifer Robson, Jessica Brockmole, Kate Kerrigan, Evangeline Holland, Lauren Willig, Marci Jefferson

 

 

 

William Morrow Trade Paperback; March 1, 2016; $14.99; ISBN: 9780062418548

 

 

Barnes and Noble / Amazon / IndieBound / Books-a-Million

 

 

 

Top voices in historical fiction deliver an intensely moving collection of short stories about loss, longing, and hope in the aftermath of World War I—featuring bestselling authors such as Hazel Gaynor, Jennifer Robson, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig and edited by Heather Webb.

 

 

 

A squadron commander searches for meaning in the tattered photo of a girl he’s never met…

 

 

A Belgian rebel hides from the world, only to find herself nursing the enemy…

 

 

A young airman marries a stranger to save her honor—and prays to survive long enough to love her…The peace treaty signed on November 11, 1918, may herald the end of the Great War but for its survivors, the smoke is only beginning to clear. Picking up the pieces of shattered lives will take courage, resilience, and trust.

 

 

Within crumbled city walls and scarred souls, war’s echoes linger. But when the fighting ceases, renewal begins…and hope takes root in a fall of poppies.

 

 

Excerpt

 

 

 

To whet your apetite, here's an excerpt from "Hour of the Bells", one of the short stories included in Fall of Poppies:

 

Beatrix whisked around the showroom, feather duster in hand. Not a speck of dirt could remain or Joseph would be disappointed. The hour struck noon. A chorus of clocks whirred, their birds popping out from hiding to announce midday. Maidens twirled in their frocks with braids down their backs, woodcutters clacked their axes against pine, and the odd sawmill wheel spun in tune to the melody of a nursery rhyme. Two dozen cuckoos warbled and dinged, each crafted with loving detail by the same pair of hands—those with thick fingers and a steady grip.


Beatrix paused in her cleaning. One clock chimed to its own rhythm, apart from the others.


She could turn them off—the tinkling melodies, the incessant clatter of pendulums, wheels, and cogs, with the levers located near the weights—just as their creator had done before bed each evening, but she could not bring herself to do the same. To silence their music was to silence him, her husband, Joseph. The Great War had already done that; ravaged his gentle nature, stolen his final breath, and silenced him forever.


In a rush, Beatrix scurried from one clock to the next, assessing which needed oiling. With the final stroke of twelve, she found the offending clock. Its walnut face, less ornate than the others, had been her favorite, always. A winter scene displayed a cluster of snow-topped evergreens; rabbits and fawns danced in the drifts when the music began, and a scarlet cardinal dipped its head and opened its beak to the beauty of the music. The animals’ simplicity appealed to her now more than ever. With care, she removed the weights and pendulum, and unscrewed the back of the clock. She was grateful she had watched her husband tend to them so often. She could still see Joseph, blue eyes peering over his spectacles, focused on a figurine as he painted detailing on the linden wood. His patient hands had caressed the figures lovingly, as he had caressed her.


The memory of him sliced her open. She laid her head on the table as black pain stole over her body, pooling in every hidden pocket and filling her up until she could scarcely breathe.


“Give it time,” her friend Adelaide had said, as she set a basket of jam and dried sausages on the table; treasures in these times of rations, yet meager condolence for what Beatrix had lost.


“Time?” Beatrix had laughed, a hollow sound, and moved to the window overlooking the grassy patch of yard. The Vosges mountains rose in the distance, lording over the line between France and Germany along the battle front. Time’s passage never escaped her—not for a moment. The clocks made sure of it. There weren’t enough minutes, enough hours, to erase her loss.


As quickly as the grief came, it fled. Though always powerful, its timing perplexed her. Pain stole through the night, or erupted at unlikely moments, until she feared its onslaught the way others feared death. Death felt easier, somehow.


Beatrix raised her head and pushed herself up from the table to finish her task. Joseph would not want her to mourn, after two long years. He would want to see her strength, her resilience, especially for their son. She pretended Adrien was away at school, though he had enlisted, too. His enlistment had been her fault. A vision of her son cutting barbed wire, sleeping in trenches, and pointing a gun at another man reignited the pain and it began to pool again. She suppressed the horrid thoughts quickly, and locked them away in a corner of her mind.


With a light touch she cleaned the clock’s bellows and dials, and anointed its oil bath with a few glistening drops. Once satisfied with her work, she hung the clock in its rightful place above the phonograph, where a disk waited patiently on the spool. She spun the disk once and watched the printed words on its center blur. Adrien had played Quand Madelon over and over, belting out the patriotic lyrics in time with the music. To him, it was a show of his support for his country. To Beatrix it had been a siren, a warning her only son would soon join the fight. His father’s death was the final push he had needed. The lure of patrimoine, of country, throbbed inside of him as it did in other men. They talked of war as women spoke of tea sets and linens, yearned for it as women yearned for children. Now, the war had seduced her Adrien. She stopped the spinning disk and plucked it from its wheel, the urge to destroy it pulsing in her hands.


She must try to be more optimistic. Surely God would not take all she had left.

 

*Reprint Courtesy of HarperCollins Publishers*

Giveaway Time!!

 

To celebrate the upcoming release of Fall of Poppies and today's cover reveal, HarperCollins is giving away copies of After the War is Over (by Jennifer Robson), A Memory of Violets (by Hazel Gaynor) and Land of Dreams (by Kate Kerrigan)! To enter fill out the rafflecopter form HERE.

 

Good luck!