For young adult Downton Abbey fans, this is a story about a young house maid, employed by a unique mistress. Soap opera, you bet! A relationship with a man from India, a gay young man. Told from different points of view, readers will relish the escapades of the wealthy.

This was just a sneak peek and I found myself intrigued but not enough to actually seek the book out. I actually forgot that I ever read the sneak peek and I feel bad.

Late review-

Cinders and Sapphires is a bit like Downton Abby...but with none of the restraint the Crawley’s have! The whole book is like a fast paced soap and drama is at every turn! It was a bit predictable but ultimately keeps you turning pages

So, sorry. I had actually reviewed this a long time ago but forgot to post it back on here.

Review:

Goodness, it's been ages, ages since I've reviewed something. Damn. You can blame grad school and my social life for that. Forgive if things are lacking some coherency because I'm very rusty.

Despite rating of this book being on the lower end of things, I found a lot of recommendable things to say about this novel even though my rating might not entirely reflect it. I think there are two key points that made me like this a lot more than I would have.

First, the writing style. It's quick, snappy, and a breeze to read through. It's very engaging and easy to get into the character's mindsets even though there is a large cast of characters which could be difficult to keep track of. Nothing dragged and she had a good sense of pacing and tension, even if it revolved more around the smaller contained things rather than the large and dramatic. You could read through this book very fast which I think is an asset.

Second, the main romance between Ravi and Ada. He's Indian and I suppose this could be done for a bit of the diversity angle but it does fall in line with the happenings in Victorian Era England. You know the expansion into India to seek riches and business. I like how this wasn't glamorized to the biased point of Ada, who is a very white main character. Ravi repeatedly calls her out on her white privilege and colonial mindset, and he does not back down from his stances.

I loved how this isn't glossed over and how their viewpoints are contrasted with each. Ada constantly in denial and anger at being called out on her world view, while Ravi being patient and just about explaining his real feelings. This felt very genuine and not a simple skip over on a larger issue. I think this is what's lacking in a lot of fiction these days and should be given more thought and attention toward.

But let's get on with the contrasts, shall we?

The low points of the book. The romance between Ada and Ravi moved entirely to fast for my liking, being too idealistic and constant profusions of overly saccharine sentiments. I'm sorry but I've grown increasingly jaded and tired of these plotlines, especially when most of Ada's chapters are focused on him. Although I must say she does have ambitions and goals outside of him which is a plus.

I've seen Downton Abbey (a few episodes) and while this book tries to emulate the rich grandeur, cast, and drama it sort of falls short. The backstabbing, scheming, and plotting between the female characters is a great nuisance and I wanted to roll my eyes every time one of those scenes occurred. It was just too much and became quite artificial and forced to me. As there wasn't much development to these characters outside of the main ones. The good ones stayed good (or grew backbones) while the bad ones stayed catty and conniving. No thanks. Plus the subplot with the son and all was just a bit too much. (It also reminded me of Downton Abbey quite a bit) Like she tried to pack in too much action to keep the reader's attention. 

I'm not too sure if the historical conventions are true or not but some of the character's behaviors and speech felt a bit too free and modern. It did make for some excitement (if she had stuck to the true conventions) and greater connection with readers, I suppose. 

All in all, not bad. There are some shining points in here but I would recommended this for those who love the sort of girl scheming, emulation of Downton Abbey in a book (the glitz and drama), and lighter period pieces.

So excited, can't wait to read the whole book! I'm going to read it next to find out what happens in this wonderful retelling.

I greatly enjoyed this sampler. I can't wait to read the whole book. I plan on requesting it from my library soon.

This was just a sneak peek, but enough of a sample that it whet my appetite for more.

This sneak peak did not encourage me to read the full book, but thank you for the opportunity to sample it.

I love sneak peeks! They get you hyped enough to want to finish the entire book. So maybe I also hate it for the unintentional cliffhanger? Anyway, the drama in this book is definitely intriguing and I would definitely put this up the top of my TBR.

Decided on a break from my usual sci-fi / fantasy / horror / thriller genres. 

Not my usual genre to pick up but I found this to be very engaging. Despite being a sneak peek to the actual novel, there was still a good chunk of the actual book to get through (13 chapters if I remember correctly). 

It was all rather predicatable, in that I have a good idea where the author will be taking the story and the character development. However, well written and fun and I would like to finish reading the book itself to see if I was correct, or be pleasantly surprised.

Enjoyable. Would be tempted to read it in the future.

Sorry - didn't realize this was an excerpt...........