// Mark of Distinction //
Price of Privilege Series // Book #2
By Jessica Dotta
{Review Written By Bethany}
Source: Review copy from the publisher
Genre: Historical Fiction/Gothic Fiction
Number of Pages: 380
ISBN: 1414375565
Publisher: Tyndale
Publication Date: Ma 1st, 2014
Rating: Four out of five stars
// Book Synopsis //
{Taken from GoodReads}
"London is said to be the glittering jewel of society, a world unto itself—but to Julia Elliston it is a city of shadows. Her life is swiftly dissolving into scandal. And in Victorian society, even a whisper of scandal—substantiated or not—can be the death of a young woman’s reputation.
When Julia discovers that Lord Roy Pierson, her guardian and one of most influential men in England, is the father she has never met, she begrudgingly accepts his protection. But Chance Macy’s power is far-reaching as well.
Thrust into society as the Emerald Heiress, Julia is the toast of London, a celebrated curiosity. But in reality she’s trapped between the clutches of two powerful men. Aided only by a gentleman whose intentions she prays she can trust, Julia must finally take control of her own fate—but outwitting one’s foe rarely goes according to plan."
When Julia discovers that Lord Roy Pierson, her guardian and one of most influential men in England, is the father she has never met, she begrudgingly accepts his protection. But Chance Macy’s power is far-reaching as well.
Thrust into society as the Emerald Heiress, Julia is the toast of London, a celebrated curiosity. But in reality she’s trapped between the clutches of two powerful men. Aided only by a gentleman whose intentions she prays she can trust, Julia must finally take control of her own fate—but outwitting one’s foe rarely goes according to plan."
// Book Review //
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Born of Persuasion which is the first book in this Price of Privilege series, last year; and was so excited to continue Julia's story! I'd become a fan of Jessica Dotta with Born of Persuasion which was her début novel, and was impressed with this novel as well! With the cliff-hanging ending that both Born of Persuasion and Mark of Distinction had, I now eagerly await the final installment, Price of Privilege which the final book in this exciting and unique trilogy, which reminds me of Downton Abbey, Jane Austen and Jane Eyre's style and time period!
Along the positive sides of this novel, the first thing that comes to mind is the lovely writing style. I feel like some authors write because they are good at telling stories; and other write because they have the gift of beautiful writing. I can happily day that Jesica Dotta truly possesses both of these qualities-and both at such high levels! I've never really read an author who has such a fantastic way with words, but also can share such a wonderfully thought-out out plot in an intricate story/trilogy. The writing style is just amazing. It's very classic in the fact of the descriptions and how they are described in such elegant ways. The story-line is so well thought-out, all the different twists and turns were such surprises and the character development was incredible; as some characters start out being either good or bad, and then all the sudden you start to re-consider your view of them. This author just has such a true talent for both writing and story-telling, and I believe that this series is such a true gem!
I think that this was such a wonderful second novel in this trilogy. Questions from Born of Persuasion were answered, but there were also new questions that arose that make you eager for the final novel! At first I feared I'd have a hard time getting back into the story and remembering all the characters (sometime it can be a bit tricky keeping them all in order), especially since it had been a year since I'd read Born of Persuasion, book number one. While I did find it easier remembering all the characters than I originally anticipated, I do think it was still at times tricky remember who was who and the events that played out in the previous novel. While this in some ways was mostly due to my long-term memory, it was still a bit tricky. But after about a quarter to half-way through the novel things got easier to remember as the characters came up and references were made to the previous happenings.
Along that note, I did feel like there was a bit of dragging in this novel too. For a period of time Julia is basically under house arrest of sorts since her father forbids her to go out in public, so for a while there isn't terribly much happening since she stayed home all the time. However I don't think the slow bits were a big deal for me. I did notice them but they didn't hinder my reading pleasure and didn't really get in the way of the story for me.
Over-all, I really enjoyed this novel and look forward to the final installment in the trilogy! Anyone who enjoys the writing style and descriptiveness of classic books, or those who enjoy Gothic fiction that is similar to Jane Austen and Jane Eyre will love this exciting and every delightful novel! However I will say that for anyone who is interested in this series, it is definitely, without a doubt one of those series you have to read in order for things the make sense. But once you do I'm sure you'll enjoy this novel just as much as I did!
D I S C L A I M E R :: I received a complementary review copy of Mark of Distinction from the publisher for the sole purpose of this review. I was not paid to write this review or promote this book. All thoughts expressed in my review are completely my own, honest and unbiased.
