A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano (Ladies of Distinction Series)

First of all.....
A FREE novella by Jen Turano for Kindle can be gotten here! Hurry while you can get it free! ;)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091T62FS/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=bookreviews0b4-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0091T62FS&adid=0X75PGNFK91QMPM1CFE5

Now, A Change Of Fortune, that is something a few of us could use. In this case, our Lady in hiding, Eliza aka Miss Sumner aka titled daughter of Lord Southmoor, is in a mess! While working as a "plain" governess, she winds up pressed back out into the social circles of New York. It was here that she thought she could be in hiding since loosing her fiance' and her fortune back in England. That plan was working, until she was pressed into a dinner where she meets Mr. Hamilton Beckett, and his brother. The elder Mr. Beckett is the catch that none of the ladies can seem to catch, and he is already smitten with Eliza.

Soon they find they are both trailing the same family, the same man, the man who has taken Eliza's fortune and changed her life so drastically. Events just keep cascading and soon Eliza is working rather closely with Hamilton  and she isn't totally sure how she feels about it, until his children tug at her heart and she finds herself wondering if her new lot in life will be being their governess if her fortune can't be reclaimed.

This book was just lovely to read. It was funny, and cute, and moved at a good pace. The characters grew and developed with each other and with God. There was adventure, mystery, pain, and healing and forgiveness and closure and yet... new things opening and starting. I enjoyed this book quite well!

Carol :)

About the Book: 

Lady Eliza Sumner is on a mission. Her fortune was the last thing she had left after losing her father, her fiance, and her faith. Now, masquerading as Miss Eliza Sumner, governess-at-large, she`s determined to find the man who ran off with her fortune, reclaim the money, and head straight back to London.

Mr. Hamilton Beckett, much to his chagrin, is the catch of the season, and all the eyes of New York society–all the female ones, at least–are on him. He has no plans to marry again, especially since his hands are full keeping his business afloat while raising his two children alone.

Eliza`s hapless attempts to regain her fortune unexpectedly put her right in Hamilton`s path. The discovery of a common nemesis causes them to join forces and, before she knows it, Eliza has a whole retinue of people helping her. Eliza`s determination not to trust anyone weakens when everyone`s antics and bumbling efforts to assist her make her wonder if there might be more important things than her fortune and independence.

When all of Hamilton`s and Eliza`s best-laid plans fall by the wayside, it will take a riot of complications for them to realize that God just might have had a better plan in mind all along.

About the Author:

Jen grew up in the small town of St. Clairsville, Ohio, where she spent an idyllic childhood riding her purple spider bike, ice-skating on a little pond and reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon books in her tree house. High School was, surprisingly enough, fabulous as Jen spent time with her girlfriends. She headed off to college with no idea of what she wanted to be when she grew up, but settled on pursuing a career in fashion because she thought it sounded glamorous. Her parents thought she’d lost her mind, but they resigned themselves to her choice and after earning a BA degree in Clothing and Textiles, Jen set off to take the fashion world by storm, only to discover retail was certainly not the glamorous career she’d imagined it would be. She moved to Buffalo, New York to take a job in the buying office of a large department store, learning all there was to know about cookware, which again, was hardly glamorous, especially to a girl who did not have a knack for cooking. She met her future husband, Al, a few months after taking this job and eight months later, they were married. After moving into management at another department store and working that for a few years, the company went out of business and Jen decided she’d had enough. One year later her son was born and Jen hung up her heels for good and concentrated on being a mom.

She began dabbling in writing when her son, then in elementary school, said he liked her made up stories as much as those in his books. It was then that she  fired up the computer and never looked back.

Jen loves to write humorous stories with quirky characters and a dash of intrigue and finds historical romances especially appealing, seeing as how she’s been reading them since she was a teenager. Her mother gave her a copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss, The Flame and the Flower, and Jen was hooked on the genre. When not reading romance, she loves to read mysteries, young adult and her favorite series of all time, Harry Potter.

Besides writing, Jen enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Author's Web Site: http://jenturano.com/

The Book Link: http://www.amazon.com/Change-Fortune-A-Jen-Turano/dp/0764210181

I received my copy of this book for reviewing purposes from Bethany House Publishing.