Books, Booze, & Bubbles - Dalliances & Devotion

It’s Thursday! The weekend is almost here and it’s the perfect time to kick off the first review of the year. This is a book that came out last year, but I’m slow, y’all know this by now. LOL Anyway, let’s get to it.

The wine: I picked this wine for two reasons. 1) It had David in the name and that is the hero of this story. 2) It’s a Kosher wine. Why does that matter? Well, because Dalliances and Devotion is a Jewish romance and I was thrilled to find a wine that would fit in.

However it’s hard to describe how I feel about this wine. It’s not great and it’s also not terrible. It reminds me of the wine you’d get at Communion (if you ever did that). Mostly grape juice so overly sweet, but has a little bit of a bite just enough to remind you it’s something else. Yeah, that’s what this tastes like. Not something I’d try again and I won’t be finishing this bottle.

The bath bomb: It’s the Lucky Cat from Lush Cosmetics. I picked it as sort of a nod back to book one which features the heroine’s parents. Ursula (the mom) had a ton of animals and I thought that would be a fun combo. Not to mention the color goes well with the book cover. It smelled divine and tuned the water a pretty pink. The scent lasted long after it dissolved which is always nice. Best part, unlike some, it didn’t leave a lot of residue after the water drained.

Now the book

A change in course can be refreshing…when it’s done together.

1871

After two disastrous marriages, beauty columnist Amalia Truitt’s life is finally her own—well, it will be if she can get herself back to Delaware and demand access to her share of the Truitt family fortune. After all, the charity she’s organized for women who can’t afford their own divorces won’t fund itself.

However, not everyone wants her to reach her destination. When her family learns she’s been receiving anonymous death threats, a solo journey is out of the question.

Enter David Zisskind, the ragtag-peddler-turned-soldier whose heart Amalia broke years ago. He’s a Pinkerton now, and the promotion he craves depends on protecting his long-lost love on the unexpectedly treacherous journey across Pennsylvania.

That their physical connection has endured the test of time (and then some) is problematic, to say the least.

In very close quarters, with danger lurking around every curve, with each kiss and illicit touch, the wrongs of the past are righted. But David can’t weather another rejection, especially with his career in jeopardy. And Amalia can’t possibly take a lover, never mind another husband…not with so much depending on her repaired reputation. Not when she’s hurt David—her David—so badly before.

Publisher’s Note: Dalliances & Devotion contains content that some readers may find challenging, including PTSD, depression, war, sibling death and antisemitism.

***My Review***

5 Stars

As I mentioned, this is book two of Ms. Grossman’s Truitt series. It’s a second chance romance also set in America like book one. I LOVE that it’s America set since so many historicals are UK or something.

I don’t read a lot of historical romances. They just aren’t my jam and that could be because they are usually European set and deal with Dukes, and Earls, and really I can’t get into all of that. The societal “norms” they try to set with the gender roles and all that, yeah I can do without. What I loved about the heroine in this book is she is different in that regard. Amalia is divorced! Not just once, but twice. Something that is (in my limited knowledge) unheard of in a historical romance. LOVED IT! Not only that, she runs an organization devoted to helping other women get divorces without being left destitute. BRILLIANT!

But…like with any good heroine, she has her flaws. Some of them could put her in the “unlikable” category, and that is okay. When a lot of emphasis is put on being “not like other girls” Amalia embraced being exactly that. So what if she loved dresses and makeup. So what if she put time and thought into her appearance. She was proud of who she was and what she did, no matter how much people tried to talk down to her and tell her it was silly.

The hero, David, well I admit he got on my nerves a little. LOL I have been known to be tough on the guys. What can I say, I like my dudes to be devoted to their ladies and not give them a hard time. He spent a lot of the time acting on things he believed without bothering to get confirmation. That colored a lot of his interactions and behaviors and made me want to pull my hair out a time or two.

One thing he was devoted to was doing his job. He took pride in his work and would not be deterred no matter how much his longing for Amalia tried to distract him. They were perfectly opposite and it was so fun to read how they fed off each other, good and bad.

There is danger and a mystery. That dreaded miscommunication issue that always irks me, and some steamy sexy scenes. Overall this was an excellent follow up to her first book.