A masterful, original take on a beloved fairy tale is sure to please romance readers.
A gender-swapped “Cinderella” about an heiress and a custodian in 1832 London.
After her father’s untimely death, Isabella Lira must marry to secure her family’s business and standing. Her father sat on the London Commission of Delegates, an organization that works with the Crown for the safety and security of the entire Jewish community in England, while also co-owning a business with the powerful Berab brothers. The three brothers each offer to marry her, hoping to secure total control of the shared business. Isabella wants to preserve her own influence in the company, so she hatches a plan to find another suitor—one outside the sphere of the Berab family. She's going to throw three festivals in three weeks, between the holidays of Passover and Lag b’Omer, and she enlists the help of Aaron Ellenberg, an unlikely ally. Aaron exists in a strange liminal space in the community: He’s a kindhearted and gentle man who has never successfully found a job or home of his own. The community supports him by providing work as a custodian in the synagogue. He has become expert at observing everyone and everything while remaining invisible in the background. Isabella asks him to spy on prospective suitors at her parties to help her find one who won't try to control her—a man with a secret that Isabella could hold over him. In return, she offers Aaron 200 pounds, enough money for him to have a home and family, which had always seemed like an impossible dream. Isabella and Aaron should have nothing in common, but while working together they learn to respect and love each other despite their differences in status and the many obstacles in their way. It’s an engaging and sexy romance, almost old-school in its complexity, complete with genuine conflict, delicious tension, and dense, meaty subplots.
A masterful, original take on a beloved fairy tale is sure to please romance readers.Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2023
ISBN: 9781538722541
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
These letters from some important executive Down Below, to one of the junior devils here on earth, whose job is to corrupt mortals, are witty and written in a breezy style seldom found in religious literature. The author quotes Luther, who said: "The best way to drive out the devil, if he will not yield to texts of Scripture, is to jeer and flout him, for he cannot bear scorn." This the author does most successfully, for by presenting some of our modern and not-so-modern beliefs as emanating from the devil's headquarters, he succeeds in making his reader feel like an ass for ever having believed in such ideas. This kind of presentation gives the author a tremendous advantage over the reader, however, for the more timid reader may feel a sense of guilt after putting down this book. It is a clever book, and for the clever reader, rather than the too-earnest soul.
Pub Date: Jan. 1, 1942
ISBN: 0060652934
Page Count: 53
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 17, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1943
A lively, quirky gothic romance for readers who like ghost stories as much as love stories.
The fourth wife of a dreadful lord finds intrigue in the Scottish Highlands.
Nobody wants Genevieve to marry Lord Burnsby, “England’s most boring peer.” He’s almost 70 and has three dead (possibly murdered) wives in his past. But Evie isn’t looking for love; she’s just looking for some stability at her “august age” of 25 and a dowry for her younger sister. Through their hasty wedding and long trek north to his estate in Scotland, she’s determined to make the best of it—until they arrive at the dreary, cold abbey where he resides. Lord Burnsby, it turns out, has been keeping his mistress there, and generally terrorizing everyone around him. Evie also meets the handsome Sir Godric Everley, a lawyer friend of Burnsby’s heir, whom she initially counts as another villain but soon discovers is surprisingly interesting and kind. Faced with a situation for which her years of perfect behavior have left her utterly unprepared, Evie realizes she will have to take charge even if it means acting unladylike. And though her growing confidence brings many good things to the abbey and its residents, it also brings danger, as Evie and Godric begin to uncover decades of secrets. This historical romance is technically a Regency, but more than anything, it’s a gothic tale. Told in the first person from Evie’s perspective, the book stands apart thanks to her dry, knowing voice combined with the haunting yet whimsical nature of Burnsby’s abbey. It’s a moody ghost story, full of plot twists, but it’s also the tale of a strong heroine with a quick wit and a piglet for a pet. There’s plenty of chemistry as Evie’s relationship slowly develops with Godric, but Evie’s personal development is almost as compelling. Though the story takes some time to find its feet, this book is likely to be enjoyed by James’ fans, as it’s one of her best in years.
A lively, quirky gothic romance for readers who like ghost stories as much as love stories.Pub Date: May 12, 2026
ISBN: 9781668200056
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
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