Blurb: How much must she pay for the chance to call her life her own?
When Betsey Dobson disembarks from the London train in the seaside resort of Idensea, all she owns is a small valise and a canary in a cage. After an attempt to forge a letter of reference she knew would be denied her, Betsey has been fired from the typing pool of her previous employer. Her vigorous protest left one man wounded, another jilted, and her character permanently besmirched. Now, without money or a reference for a new job, the future looks even bleaker than the debacle she left behind her.
But her life is about to change … because a young Welshman on the railroad quay, waiting for another woman, is the one finally willing to believe in her.
Mr. Jones is inept in matters of love, but a genius at things mechanical. In Idensea, he has constructed a glittering pier that astounds the wealthy tourists. And in Betsey, he recognizes the ideal tour manager for the Idensea Pier & Pleasure Building Company.
After a lifetime of guarding her secrets and breaking the rules, Betsey becomes a force to be reckoned with. Together, she and Mr. Jones must find a way for her to succeed in a society that would reject her, and figure the price of surrendering to the tides of love …
When Betsey Dobson disembarks from the London train in the seaside resort of Idensea, all she owns is a small valise and a canary in a cage. After an attempt to forge a letter of reference she knew would be denied her, Betsey has been fired from the typing pool of her previous employer. Her vigorous protest left one man wounded, another jilted, and her character permanently besmirched. Now, without money or a reference for a new job, the future looks even bleaker than the debacle she left behind her.
But her life is about to change … because a young Welshman on the railroad quay, waiting for another woman, is the one finally willing to believe in her.
Mr. Jones is inept in matters of love, but a genius at things mechanical. In Idensea, he has constructed a glittering pier that astounds the wealthy tourists. And in Betsey, he recognizes the ideal tour manager for the Idensea Pier & Pleasure Building Company.
After a lifetime of guarding her secrets and breaking the rules, Betsey becomes a force to be reckoned with. Together, she and Mr. Jones must find a way for her to succeed in a society that would reject her, and figure the price of surrendering to the tides of love …
Why I read this book: While at the 2013 RT Convention I passed an author’s gorgeous display in Author Alley, by far the best there. The display made me stop and look, and the book’s cover made me want to read it. I also admired the creative marketing tools like magnets advertising the fictitious vacation resort where the book is set. The following day the author had set-up station at the Giant Book Fair and was standing in front of her stall, telling passers-by that they could have a play on her vintage typewriter. The author’s engaging attitude got me to stop and have a quick chat, and I couldn’t resist buying the book – the only book I bought from an unknown-to-me author at the Giant Book Fair, out of hundreds of authors (and I only bought two other books, from my fav authors). My point with all this? Creative marketing really does pay off. In fact, I was so intrigued by The Typewriter Girl that it was the first book I chose to read out of the 30+ books (mostly free) that I left the convention with.
I loved the refreshing setting for a historical, both in time – Edwardian – and location – seaside resort town. (Conversely, although the cover conveyed Edwardian, and having since looked at the author’s website I can confirm that to be correct, within the book itself it would have benefitted from a clearer indication of the time because I was never quite certain of the year when I was reading it.)
The heroine is feisty and hardened, and this defensive nature leads her to make choices and comments outside the bounds of what’s expected of a historical female, and I liked it. I often felt heartache when her damaged nature showed through, and I was invested in her journey.
The author’s voice is definitely unique with a bent for literary depth and she often writes a clever turn of phrase. Her characters and plot also don’t follow typical expectations, which is a bold approach for a debut novelist. For instance, (*spoiler ahead, skip to next paragraph to avoid it*) when the heroine and hero have sex for the first time, it’s far from romantic fireworks and basking in adoration. Quite the opposite. But Atlee pulled it off because it made sense for the characters, and although the romantic in me was disappointed, the reader and editor in me really appreciated the scene.
The author also gets kudos for the Pinterest collection of helpful tidbits on the era and setting.
I didn’t care for the hero’s speech pattern. He’s Welsh, so perhaps that has something to do with it, but on paper he sounded an awful lot like Yoda at times, which is just about the worst imagery parallel for a romantic hero as you can get. An example from a randomly opened page just now: “Rule the world and any man in it, you could, wearing that frock.” (eh, not a great example) This was such a shame because I liked his inner character well enough, but my overall feeling towards him wasn’t what it should have been. I suppose it’s that I liked him as a character, but not as a leading-man in a romance.
Beyond that, I can’t put my finger on why I didn’t entirely love this book. I really wanted to, but something just didn’t resonate for me.
Overall though, I’m still glad to have read this book, and glad to have discovered Alison Atlee. I think she has a lot of potential for originality and I look forward to reading her next book.
Favorite quote: (setting: the hero helps heroine prep for a business meeting) [Mr. Jones] was uncommonly bad at seduction if he though talk of common capital and incorporation would do the trick, but she could think of no other reason he would lavish her with such time and care.
Except the impossible one: No motive but to help her. Such purity didn’t exist, though. If it did …
If it did, he’d be a dangerously good seducer.
More quotes at Goodreads
Series: none
Publication: Trade paperback and ebook from Gallery Books (January 29, 2013)
Similar reading: I can’t say I’ve read anything quite like this in tone, era or setting.
The heroine is feisty and hardened, and this defensive nature leads her to make choices and comments outside the bounds of what’s expected of a historical female, and I liked it. I often felt heartache when her damaged nature showed through, and I was invested in her journey.
The author’s voice is definitely unique with a bent for literary depth and she often writes a clever turn of phrase. Her characters and plot also don’t follow typical expectations, which is a bold approach for a debut novelist. For instance, (*spoiler ahead, skip to next paragraph to avoid it*) when the heroine and hero have sex for the first time, it’s far from romantic fireworks and basking in adoration. Quite the opposite. But Atlee pulled it off because it made sense for the characters, and although the romantic in me was disappointed, the reader and editor in me really appreciated the scene.
The author also gets kudos for the Pinterest collection of helpful tidbits on the era and setting.
I didn’t care for the hero’s speech pattern. He’s Welsh, so perhaps that has something to do with it, but on paper he sounded an awful lot like Yoda at times, which is just about the worst imagery parallel for a romantic hero as you can get. An example from a randomly opened page just now: “Rule the world and any man in it, you could, wearing that frock.” (eh, not a great example) This was such a shame because I liked his inner character well enough, but my overall feeling towards him wasn’t what it should have been. I suppose it’s that I liked him as a character, but not as a leading-man in a romance.
Beyond that, I can’t put my finger on why I didn’t entirely love this book. I really wanted to, but something just didn’t resonate for me.
Overall though, I’m still glad to have read this book, and glad to have discovered Alison Atlee. I think she has a lot of potential for originality and I look forward to reading her next book.
Favorite quote: (setting: the hero helps heroine prep for a business meeting) [Mr. Jones] was uncommonly bad at seduction if he though talk of common capital and incorporation would do the trick, but she could think of no other reason he would lavish her with such time and care.
Except the impossible one: No motive but to help her. Such purity didn’t exist, though. If it did …
If it did, he’d be a dangerously good seducer.
More quotes at Goodreads
Series: none
Publication: Trade paperback and ebook from Gallery Books (January 29, 2013)
Similar reading: I can’t say I’ve read anything quite like this in tone, era or setting.
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