claudia_marcela's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
alisonalisonalison's review against another edition
5.0
So very good. This historical mystery series is marvellous and this is the second book. I absolutely loved it. Ira Adler is an incredibly engaging character and narrator. The story itself is interesting and fast-paced and so vivid, but, in some ways, it's Ira himself that makes this series so delightful. His wry commentary on his adventures is poignant and amusing and lively. He's a fascinating character and so endearing. The writing is snappy and bright and full of life. I love all the secondary characters as well. The historical detail is rich and full and never overdone, and the atmosphere is wonderful. This is a fun, vivid, exciting story, and I enjoyed every minute.
the_novel_approach's review against another edition
5.0
Jess Faraday has, simply put, written not a romance but a story of an almost tragic love, one I’m eagerly awaiting the continuation of if for nothing more than to see if love itself is enough to bring about an evolution for Cain Goddard. Though that, I will admit, may be little more than my glass half full, rose colored glasses need to see these two dynamically contradicting and complex men find their way to a happy ending.
See the entire review at The Novel Approach: http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/2014/02/03/jess-faradays-turnbull-house-is-the-perfect-sequel-to-an-imperfect-affair/
See the entire review at The Novel Approach: http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/2014/02/03/jess-faradays-turnbull-house-is-the-perfect-sequel-to-an-imperfect-affair/
meganmargoking's review against another edition
4.0
Find more reviews like this one at my blog Books A to Z
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
I was very excited when I was approved to read this book from Net Galley. I loved the cover and the description promised to hit quite a few of my favorite kinks and tropes. Then I opened the book and discovered that this was a sequel. I put it down. My philosophy had always been never to start a series anywhere else but at the beginning. It seemed stupid not to. But a day or so passed and every time I looked at my Kindle, TURNBULL HOUSE seemed to be staring at me, pleading with me to read it. I caved. I broke my own rule and read something that was not the first in its series.
I am so glad that I did.
TURNBULL HOUSE was special. So addicting. I needed to read more. The characters were distinct, sexy, and believable.
Ira was an ex-rent-boy (the hyphens!) who had gone straight (lol), earning his living by being a person secretary for Oscar Widle (this was set Wilde's London, after all) and was on the board for a place called Turnbull House (we have a title), where orphans, typically ones who were prostitutes, could learn to earn an honest living. Things go wrong when the owners, Ira and husband and wife team Tim and Beth Lazarus (note: Time used to be one of Ira's 'clients' back in his rent-boy days. Awkward), found that hey were very close to losing Turnbull House. Ira decided to turn to his old lover, crime lord Cain Goddard for help. You could see where that quickly goes right?
This novel was so fulfilling. The plot was rich, the characters were fabulous. I loved all of the sexual tension. Apparently there's something about Ira!
Tim clearly still had feelings for his co-worker, kissing him a couple times (those scenes shouldn't turned me on as much as did, right) despite being married to Beth. Ira's other main love interest in the novel was Cain. Oh dear lord the sexual tension between Ira and Cain. They were in love each other but they haven't reached a point in each of their lives where they can have a healthy relationship yet and it hurt to read. I enjoyed every second of it.
Two quick notes. Be warned, there was a brief, non-graphic dub-con/rape scene. Also I noticed a editing error. Cathy become Kathy about half way through and then went back to being Cathy at the end. However, this could be disregarded since my copy was from Net Galley.
The only reason I gave TURNBULL HOUSE a B|four stars instead of an A|five stars was because of parallels between it and Sherlock. It was done on purpose but also wasn't. It was odd. Tim was a bit like Sherlock in away, noticing every detail at a glance. Ira Adler whose name was so close to Irene Adler, reminded me of Watson, being Sherlock's writer. There was a character, St. Andrews, who was so obsessed with Doyle's tales of the consulting detective that he tried his best to emulate the fictional character, by becoming a consulting detective for the Yard and dressing like Holmes does. You could even say that Cain was Moriarty. TURNBULL HOUSE turned oddly meta when authors Doyle and Bram showed up, especially when Doyle and St. Andrews met and became instant friends. It was just weird.
After I finished reading this, I purchased the first book, THE AFFAIR OF THE PORCELAIN DOG and I am currently plowing through it. I am also very happy that on her blog the author reported that she was writing the third novel of the series, set in the American Wild West!
If you're like me, and don't want to give this book a shot because it is not the first in the series. Don't worry, the author catches you up as you go along. Read it. You won't regret it.
TURNBULL HOUSE will definitely be on my list of the best books in 2014.
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.
I was very excited when I was approved to read this book from Net Galley. I loved the cover and the description promised to hit quite a few of my favorite kinks and tropes. Then I opened the book and discovered that this was a sequel. I put it down. My philosophy had always been never to start a series anywhere else but at the beginning. It seemed stupid not to. But a day or so passed and every time I looked at my Kindle, TURNBULL HOUSE seemed to be staring at me, pleading with me to read it. I caved. I broke my own rule and read something that was not the first in its series.
I am so glad that I did.
TURNBULL HOUSE was special. So addicting. I needed to read more. The characters were distinct, sexy, and believable.
Ira was an ex-rent-boy (the hyphens!) who had gone straight (lol), earning his living by being a person secretary for Oscar Widle (this was set Wilde's London, after all) and was on the board for a place called Turnbull House (we have a title), where orphans, typically ones who were prostitutes, could learn to earn an honest living. Things go wrong when the owners, Ira and husband and wife team Tim and Beth Lazarus (note: Time used to be one of Ira's 'clients' back in his rent-boy days. Awkward), found that hey were very close to losing Turnbull House. Ira decided to turn to his old lover, crime lord Cain Goddard for help. You could see where that quickly goes right?
This novel was so fulfilling. The plot was rich, the characters were fabulous. I loved all of the sexual tension. Apparently there's something about Ira!
"John Thomas had seen more action in the past week than in the previous two years."
Tim clearly still had feelings for his co-worker, kissing him a couple times (those scenes shouldn't turned me on as much as did, right) despite being married to Beth. Ira's other main love interest in the novel was Cain. Oh dear lord the sexual tension between Ira and Cain. They were in love each other but they haven't reached a point in each of their lives where they can have a healthy relationship yet and it hurt to read. I enjoyed every second of it.
"If you tear up that contract, you'll never have to deal with me again on any level." He met my eyes. "Unless you want to."
I swallowed hard. After all that had happened, I found the very idea inconceivable. At the same time, the very thing I had wanted-- a fresh start with him, uncomplicated by the patterns of our past, and with every hope of a future of equality and mutuality-- that very thing was dangling in front of me, daring to take it."
Two quick notes. Be warned, there was a brief, non-graphic dub-con/rape scene. Also I noticed a editing error. Cathy become Kathy about half way through and then went back to being Cathy at the end. However, this could be disregarded since my copy was from Net Galley.
The only reason I gave TURNBULL HOUSE a B|four stars instead of an A|five stars was because of parallels between it and Sherlock. It was done on purpose but also wasn't. It was odd. Tim was a bit like Sherlock in away, noticing every detail at a glance. Ira Adler whose name was so close to Irene Adler, reminded me of Watson, being Sherlock's writer. There was a character, St. Andrews, who was so obsessed with Doyle's tales of the consulting detective that he tried his best to emulate the fictional character, by becoming a consulting detective for the Yard and dressing like Holmes does. You could even say that Cain was Moriarty. TURNBULL HOUSE turned oddly meta when authors Doyle and Bram showed up, especially when Doyle and St. Andrews met and became instant friends. It was just weird.
After I finished reading this, I purchased the first book, THE AFFAIR OF THE PORCELAIN DOG and I am currently plowing through it. I am also very happy that on her blog the author reported that she was writing the third novel of the series, set in the American Wild West!
If you're like me, and don't want to give this book a shot because it is not the first in the series. Don't worry, the author catches you up as you go along. Read it. You won't regret it.
TURNBULL HOUSE will definitely be on my list of the best books in 2014.
kjcharles's review
Bit of an oddball, straddling the lines between historical detective story and romance. It's definitely not a romance because no HFN/HEA but it's very focused on Ira's love life, and the mystery isn't really primary to the plot. You could call it historical fiction maybe but it has a very genre feel to me, which is not a bad thing: it's highly readable.
The storytelling's assured; Ira is a bit on the "sexually irresistible to every passing male" side for plausibility (which is something you'd expect in an erotica of the James Lear type but there's barely any on page sex) but the atmosphere is well developed, the large cast is handled with assurance, the cameos of real people aren't as obtrusive as in #1 (I hate cameos of real people because they always jar me out of the story, YMMV). The mystery isn't a huge element but is well developed and handled for what it is, and it's well written and paced.
HOWEVEROK so books 1 and 2 are all about Ira's relationship with the crime lord Cain, and Cain's efforts to find some sort of way back to him, and then in book 3 Cain is with someone else and Ira gets a HEA with someone completely different?! What? I fully grant this *isn't* sold as a romance, the author can do as they please, but I was properly invested in the Cain/Ira story and reader expectations are a thing. As in, if your palate as a reader is all lined up for curry and then you get served chocolate brownies you probably aren't going to appreciate the chocolate brownies as you should, even if they're excellent. I was really intrigued by the complex moral tangle with Cain, and wanted to see how that got resolved, and I'm disappointed it won't be. Possibly I should have been reading this book as How Ira Gets Out Of His Bad Relationship With Cain (Which Is A Good Thing For Him To Do) and then it would have worked as a narrative arc that he finds someone else. But I liked Cain and I couldn't help reading this as a romance and that changed my expectations. Oh well.
The storytelling's assured; Ira is a bit on the "sexually irresistible to every passing male" side for plausibility (which is something you'd expect in an erotica of the James Lear type but there's barely any on page sex) but the atmosphere is well developed, the large cast is handled with assurance, the cameos of real people aren't as obtrusive as in #1 (I hate cameos of real people because they always jar me out of the story, YMMV). The mystery isn't a huge element but is well developed and handled for what it is, and it's well written and paced.
HOWEVER
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