Behind the Scenes - Jen Turano

In the free novella, At Your Request, we were introduced to group of young women known as Wallflowers in New York society.  Women who, for one reason or another, have not been taken in by high society, and while they attend the social events, they are not expected to mingle or converse, but rather are banished to their own isolated section.  However, Miss Permilia Griswold has found a way to use her Wallflower status to her advantage, and collects information from unsuspecting society guests to use in her column published under the pseudonym Miss Quill.  While snooping around a wealthy hostess's house, however, she overhears a conversation that puts a gentleman in danger, as well as herself for having heard it.  Now, she must convince Mr. Asher Rutherford that she is telling the truth and keep both him and herself safe.

I love Ms. Turano's books; her characters are so fun and quirky, and unusual for the time periods they're set in.  I love how she develops friendships between groups of women, sometimes in unusual circumstances, such as this one.  Wallflowers are not supposed to have friends at all, and they certainly are not supposed to converse with one another, yet beginning with Wilhelmina in the novella, and continuing with Permilia and Miss Gertrude Cadwalader, as well as a small appearance by Miss Temperance Flowerdew, the author has again created a group of women who are brave and smart, and fun.  I greatly enjoyed Permilia's interactions with Asher, and the snippets of Gertrude's life that will surely prove to be an interesting novel later in the series.  If I had a wish for this book, it would have been to add in Wilhelmina from the novella, and to get to know Temperance a bit more - assuming she'll be the main character later on.

As much as I loved the main characters and their interactions in this book, the overall plot fell a bit short for me this time.  Without giving too much away, the dangerous situation seemed contrived, and overdone, and made the book seem sillier than others by this author.   It was a detraction from the character development for me, and I was left disappointed.  However, I still enjoyed the writing, and I am definitely looking forward to future installments in this series.

I give this book 4 stars, mostly based on the strength of the characters themselves, and the hope for this to be the beginning of a great series.

You can find Behind the Scenes HERE.
The free novella is available HERE or HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.
Or, you can connect with her on Facebook HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, Bethany House, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.