A Quirky and Fun Read!--"Diamond in the Rough" by Jen Turano--Review & GIVEAWAY!

About Diamond in the Rough

Hardcover: 352 Pages

Publisher: Bethany House Publishers (September 3, 2019)

To save her family from financial ruin, Miss Poppy Garrison accepts an unusual proposition to participate in the New York social season in exchange for her grandmother settling a family loan that has unexpectedly come due. Ill-equipped to handle the intricacies of mingling within the New York Four Hundred, Poppy becomes embroiled in one hilarious fiasco after another, doomed to suffer a grand societal failure instead of being deemed the diamond of the first water her grandmother longs for her to become.

Reginald Blackburn, second son of a duke, has been forced to travel to America to help his cousin, Charles Wynn, Earl of Lonsdale, find an American heiress to wed in order to shore up his family estate that is in desperate need of funds. Reginald himself has no interest in finding an heiress to marry, but when Poppy’s grandmother asks him to give etiquette lessons to Poppy, he swiftly discovers he may be in for much more than he bargained for.

Purchase Links

Amazon | Books-A-Million | Barnes & Noble

My Review

You don’t find many historical fiction novels that also can be humorous and light hearted.  But "Diamond in the Rough" by Jen Turano is certainly just that among the many historical fiction novels published today.  I might even go so far as to say it’s a “Diamond of the First Water,” just as our main character Poppy strives to be!

Poppy Garrison is a unique, klutzy, and completely genuine and loveable character (and what a name).  I loved watching her as she tries to navigate the rules and etiquette of the New York Four Hundred social season (think of Poppy adjusting a broken bustle in public–the horror).  But this book isn’t just light and fluffy; there is also a lot of character growth and development and themes of family and identity. 

I thoroughly enjoyed my romp through the social season, but I am very glad Poppy was the one to do it and not myself, thank you very much! 

Content: This is a clean read.

Rating: I give this book 4 stars.


I want to thank TLC Book Tours, Jen Turano and Bethany House for the complimentary copy of this book for review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I express in this review are my own. This is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s CFR 16, Part 255.

About Jen Turano

Jen Turano is a USA Today bestselling author and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado. Visit her website at www.jenturano.com.

Connect with Jen

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Instagram tour:

Monday, September 9th: @girlandherbooks

Tuesday, September 10th: @theshybooks

Wednesday, September 11th: @southernbellereading

Thursday, September 12th: @all.the.lovely.pages

Friday, September 13th: @thereadingchemist

Saturday, September 14th: @thecaffeinated_bibliophile

Sunday, September 15th: @LisaBReads

Review tour:

Monday, September 16th: From the TBR Pile

Tuesday, September 17th: What is That Book About – excerpt

Thursday, September 19th: Broken Teepee

Thursday, September 19th: Lori’s Reading Corner – excerpt

Friday, September 20th: The Lit Bitch

Monday, September 23rd: Write Read Life

Wednesday, September 25th: Laura’s Reviews

Friday, September 27th: View from the Birdhouse

Monday, September 30th: Christian Chick’s Thoughts

Wednesday, October 2nd: Empowermoms

Friday, October 4th: Blooming with Books

Monday, October 7th: Faery Tales are Real

Wednesday, October 9th: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

GIVEAWAY!!!

Open to US only.  One lucky winner will get a copy of the book!

1.  Leave a comment below and tell me what you would find hard in the High Society of the time?  The clothes, etiquette, etc.  

2.  Follow me on any of my social media accounts and comment where you followed and under what username.