Life is what it's Called: The Secret of Haversham House Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

About the Book

Genre: Christian, Fiction, Historical, Regency, Romance

Publisher: Cedar Fort
Publication date: June 12, 2018
Francesca Haversham is eighteen years old and about to step into a glittering future – all she has to do is secure her wealth with an advantageous marriage. Then she learns the truth:her entire identity is a lie. Now Francesca faces a horrible choice. Will she give up all she knows or continue to lie about her past and risk everything, including her heart?

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About the Author

Julie Matern is a resident of Utah. She attended the University of Exeter in Exeter, England, and graduated with a double major in French and Education. She was born and raised in England, moving to America after her marriage and is the mother of six children. She has served in the PTA for over 20 years, taught tap dance, and enjoys amateur photography. She is the author of ‘British War Children’ ( for which she received a “Recommended Read” award from the League of Utah Writers) and ‘British War Children 2: An Enemy Among Us’.
Hometown: Highland, UT

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Snippet

Francesca stopped breathing as Mr. Ashbourne gently took her gloved hand in his and expertly spun her around the room, leaving her former partner spluttering at the lack of manners, in the center of the dance floor. She became dizzy at the realization that Mr. Ashbourne was actually dancing with her. After several turns, he lowered his head and whispered into her ear, his nose tickling her skin and sending a thrill up her spine, causing a delicious sensation in her midriff. “Are you unwell?” he asked. “You look faint.” She recovered herself and observed that he had a playful smile on his lips, fully aware of the power his presence had on young ladies. Not wanting to appear as inexperienced as she really was, she blurted out, “Oh no, you merely surprised me, that is all.” “Then I shall take pleasure in surprising you whenever I can as it only serves to heighten your beauty!” Francesca’s cheeks burned under his scrutiny and she bent her neck to avoid his piercing gaze and gather her confused thoughts.

Review

The Secret of Haversham was an interesting and a worthwhile read. It's a book that I will definitely reread again in the future and I look forward to reading more books by this author. The writing style of the author reminded me of classical 19th century writers that wrote fictional short stories and novels of Americans visiting and touring Europe. I am not sure if that was the writing style the author was going for, but it seemed to have an older quality to it. The story was driven more by actions and secrets then the characters dialogue or development. The story was in constant motion and with each chapter I felt like I was peeling away layer after layer. I highly suggest checking out this book and reading it. To learn more, click here.

Author Interview

Life Is What It's Called - What's your inspiration for this book?

Julie Matern - Social class. It is still alive and well in England but not to the extent it was in this period. One day I wondered what would happen to a person who discovered that they were actually from a much lower class. Would it change the way friends and family treated them? I decided it would and thus a main character with a secret past was born.

Life Is What It's Called -What do you hope the readers get out of the book?

Julie Matern - I hope they are transported back in time and escape into this glittering world of privilege. I also hope they root for Francesca and Phillip and that other characters evoke strong negative emotions in them. If they come to examine their own prejudices that would be icing on the cake.

Life Is What It's Called - Who/What was your inspiration behind the characters?

Julie Matern - Francesca and Annabelle are such good girls - young and naive, just as they should be after their sheltered upbringings. I needed some villains to contrast with them and we all love to hate diabolical literary characters. Matt Bomer (White Collar) was my inspiration for Langley, physically. He is so classically handsome and pleasant to look at and that was what I needed Langley to be. As for his character, Langley is a combination of many selfish and narcissistic traits all rolled into one individual.

My inspiration for Lady Augusta was Lady Catherine DeBourgh. She is so haughty but I needed Augusta to be conniving and malicious as well. I would love to see these two characters meet at a soiree!

As for Phillip, physically I used James Norton (Grantchester and Death Comes to Pemberley) as my inspiration but he is very like my husband in his personality.

Giveaway

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Please note that I received a free copy of this book to facilitate this review. The giveaway prize and selection of the winner is handled by Singing Librarian. Please note that there are also Amazon Affiliate links on this post. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases that help in running this blog.

Life is what it's Called

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The Secret of Haversham House Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

Tuesday, July 24, 2018