Appetites & Vices (The Truitts #1) by Felicia Grossman
Pages: –
Publish date: 18 February 2019
Publisher: Carina Press
ASIN: B07H5L64T3
Purchase: Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU
He’s her ticket into high society…
Banking heiress Ursula Nunes has lived her life on the fringes of Philadelphia’s upper class. Her Jewish heritage means she’s never quite been welcomed by society’s elite…and her quick temper has never helped, either.
A faux engagement to the scion of the mid-Atlantic’s most storied family might work to repair her rumpled reputation and gain her entrée to the life she thinks she wants…if she can ignore the way her “betrothed” makes her feel warm all over and stay focused on her goal.
She’s his ticket out…
Former libertine John Thaddeus “Jay” Truitt is hardly the man to teach innocent women about propriety. Luckily, high society has little to do with being proper and everything to do with identifying your foe’s temptation—an art form Jay mastered long ago. A broken engagement will give him the perfect excuse to run off to Europe and a life of indulgence.
But when the game turns too personal, all bets are off…
Appetites & Vices:
I received an earc of Appetites & Vices by Felicia Grossman from Carina Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.
I picked this one up on a whim. I had never read historical romance before, but it sounded like something I would enjoy. So I picked it up – and I adored it. Appetites & Vices was fun, heartbreaking and totally new to me. And once I started I could not put it down.
Appetites & Vices follows Ursula Nunes who has always lived her life trying to fit into the Philadelphia’s upper class. But because of her Jewish heritage and her quick temper, she has never been welcomed. When her first plans are derailed, Ursula knows she needs to come up with something quick. It’s then she runs into John Thaddeus Truitt. John “Jay” isn’t the man that his family wants him to be. He wants to live his life away from all the worries that the high society life brings. And he thinks a fake engagement, with a fake break up, will be his ticket out. But you know what never works well and both Ursula and Jay they start to feel very different about each other.
I adored this book, I can believe how much I did enjoy it. I feel in love with both Ursula and Jay and I become so invested in their story. Because I’d never read a historical romance going in, I didn’t know what to expect, but if all the historical romances I read are going to be like Appetites & Vices, then I am in.
I loved Ursula, she was a woman far too good for her time, she knows how to stand up for herself and speaks her mind. But because of these qualities, she doesn’t know to live with her time. She struggles not only to make friends but also to have friendly acquaintances. Throughout the novel, the reader is able to see Ursula pushed and taken out of her comfort zone – but not in a bad way. I adored Ursula as a protagonist, she was tough and was always herself. I liked that as the novel went on the reader is also able to see Ursula grow.
Ursula is put through a lot in Appetites & Vices and some of the things that she has to face are heartbreaking. But she is able to get right back up and not let it keep her down. Even if she is hurting – so much inside. One of the things I loved about Ursula was that she didn’t need anyone to save her. She needs a little help and guidance on the way, but she stands up not only for herself but also what she believes in.
Jay, he hurt me so much. All the pain that he has felt, I could feel it all. Jay was such a raw character, that it was so easy to feel everything that he has felt. Jay also felt very real. That might be because of everything that he went through before the novel even started or the things that happened throughout Appetites & Vices. Jay has this barrier that he has put up, and as readers, we don’t really know why. But as Ursula breaks down his walls we find out, little by little, everything that has torn him apart. And as Ursula gets to know him, so does the reader. Jay does do some things towards the end of the novel, that made me want to shake him about, but he redeems himself.
The romance was amazing. I feel in love with Ursula and Jay from the very first moment. The banter between these two just added level to Appetites & Vices. I love the fake engagement/couple trope, so from the very start, I was into this romance. And even those this was a historical romance, it didn’t feel like it – and that was really nice to see. Jay respected Ursula and vice versa. The romance was sexy, but classy at the same time everything just seemed to work. I liked that they both feel for each other, but didn’t even realise it. It was all natural. They go through some rough patches and they were hard to deal with, but it was nice to see that both Ursula and Jay could show a lot of emotions and be vulnerable.
For my first historical romance, I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved Appetites & Vices. But this one captured me from the start. Felicia Grossman is an exceptional writer, she was able to bring to life two very different characters, that have really good character arcs.
Overall, I loved Appetites & Vices by Felicia Grossman. It was engaging, heartwarming and heartbreaking. Ursula was a fantastic protagonist who just wanted to be herself, even if it didn’t fit with the times. Jay who had been through so much, and had to come to terms with it all. And together they just melled. The romance was great, the writing was fantastic and I can’t wait to read more from Felicia Grossman in the future.
Have you read Appetites & Vices by Felicia Grossman? What did you think of it? Are you planning on reading it? What are some of your favourite historical romances? Let’s Chat!
2 Comments
Leave your reply.