LADY LIGHTFINGERS – RRAH review. Top Pick!

LADY LIGHTFINGERS

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS: www. romancereaders at heart.com. Top Pick!

Celia Jane Laws is only fifteen years-old, yet she’s had to shoulder so much through her young life, and that is what gives this young woman her strength. Life in the slums of London is not what she wants, and it’s not what she’s willing to accept; to that end, she will do almost anything it takes to pull herself and her family out of it.

The journey she takes is one of determination, and the combination of her skill and proficiency, which earns her the moniker of Lady Lightfingers, along with her quick wit, you’ll root her on and rejoice in her triumph.

Along the way, Ms. Woods introduces us to some characters that are unforgettable, like Alice Laws, Celia’s mother, who fights the good fight and, against all odds, teaches her daughter that morals are never to be abandoned.

Then there's Thomas Hambert, a man that out of the goodness of his heart, takes an interest in a bright and curious mind of a child-woman who lifts his watch, and is determined to help her reach her full potential. James Kent, Thomas’ nephew, is a young man with great prospects of his own, and someone that is full of doubts in regards to the ‘beggar girl’ that his uncle is determined to help; he, likewise, is determined to make sure Thomas is not taken advantage of. There's Johnny Archer, a boy with nothing to his name but a small cart who ‘attaches’ himself to Celia and grows on us while he does the same to her!

And last, but not least, we have Charles Curtis, a young and arrogant man that offers a madam of a whore house a substantial amount of money for Celia’s services, and sets into motion events that would teach him a thing or two about redemption, love, and sacrifice.

If you love authors such as Carla Kelly, Georgette Heyer, and that incomparable of them all, Jane Austen, you will love LADY LIGHTFINGERS. The romance of it more than makes up for the lack of sensuality and heat that you might be looking for, and I highly recommended this story of pure love.

Melanie Friedman

Copyright © 2001-2011 Romance Reader at Heart

LADY LIGHTFINGERS - Booklist review.

Review – Lady Lightfingers.
Although Celia Laws is only a teenager, she is a proficient pickpocket supplementing her family's meagre earnings in order to survive in the slums of mid-nineteenth-century London. Her mother is from a respectable family, but she was abandoned while pregnant by her husband, and forced out of the family home by a conniving stepmother. Even in their reduced circumstances, however, she did teach her daughter how to read. One of Celia's more daring escapades involves Charles Curtis. He perceives the beauty hidden by rags and dirt, and longs to know the identity of this light-fingered thief. He offers a large sum of money to a local madam to out her, but her search induces Celia to runaway to relatives in Dorset. Her sweet Aunt Harriet tries to make Celia into a proper young woman, but her past, and the determined Charles Curtis, catch up to her. The ever-popular Woods offers her avid readers a lovely and thoughtful historical romance that delves into poverty and injustice, as well as the power of attraction. Triumphant! Booklist, September 15, 2011

LADY LIGHTFINGERS

Severn House publishes books in several genres. Romance, ancient and modern. Saga. General fiction and Crime – in fact they have just launched a new line Crème de la Crime. I imagine you think this blog is a plug for Severn House as well as my book. Well, yes, it is. But why not when they publish my work, and have done so for some time? I’m proud to find myself in the company of well-known and best selling authors.

Of the twenty-eight books I’ve had published, LADY LIGHTFINGERS is my thirteenth publication with Severn House. It will be released in hardcover in June, and is available now for pre-order. LADY LIGHTFINGERS has a Dickensian feel in the location and story line, I've been told. As always, it has the traditional happy ending my readers have come to expect. I’ll let the blurb speak for itself. And yes . . . the lovely cover does reflect the story, since the gold watch and key features in the early pages of the book.

LADY LIGHTFINGERS – by Janet Woods
Severn House UK
Release date. June 30th 2011
ISBN: 978072788056

Raised in the slums in 1850s London, Celia Laws is a rarity, an educated young woman whose creative skills have attracted notice. But with family to care for, circumstances have driven her to pickpocketing. In Celia’s harsh world, it’s a small step from picking pockets to prostitution. When a young man offers her a fortune in return for spending a week with him, she takes the money and runs – to a spinster aunt in Dorset.

Aunt Harriet takes pity on her young relatives, and she offers them a home and opportunities. But Celia’s conscience will not allow her to forget the money she stole, nor can she bring herself to spend it. A chance encounter with Charles Curtis, the young lawyer she deceived – and eventually comes to admire – brings her face to face with her past and thrusts her into an uncertain future.