Monday Give Away: Alsworthys and Unicorns and India, Oh My!
Every time I think I’ve rounded up all available author copies, another batch appears, this time a pile of the paperback edition of Pink III, The Deception of the Emerald Ring.
There are various subgroupings within the Pink series. The series can be broken up in all sorts of ways, whether it’s tracing the rise and fall of the Black Tulip (The Masque of the Black Tulip, The Deception of the Emerald Ring, and The Seduction of the Crimson Rose), the Paris duo (The Orchid Affair and The Garden Intrigue), Fitzhugh Family Fun (The Mischief of the Mistletoe and The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla), or what I privately term the Reidiad, the three books involving members of the Reid family: The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, The Passion of the Purple Plumeria, and The Lure of the Moonflower.
For me, another one of those subgroups is the quartet formed by Emerald Ring, Crimson Rose, Night Jasmine, and Blood Lily. They’re set up in strophe and antistrophe: Letty and Mary, Charlotte and Penelope. In each set, the first one an antagonistic pair of sisters, the second one mismatched friends, each has to break away from the role imposed upon her by the other in order to find her true place in the world.
So, with that very long-winded introduction, I have three sets of the Troubled Friendship Quartet up for grabs!
For a chance to win the books above, here’s your question:
— Who do you feel for the most: practical Letty, ambitious Mary, lost-in-a-book Charlotte, or rebellious Penelope?
Winners will be chosen at random on Thursday.
Surprisingly, Mary. She always seemed trapped by her beauty and the expectations surrounding it. No one took the time to know the real her until Vaughn. The real her was not overly magnanimous, but that is beside the point.
For me it was always Letty, maybe because i’m also the one who has to clean up after other people’s messes!
Lost in a book with Charlotte. Always feel like the studious wallflower who gets missed because she reads/knows too much.
Charlotte for sure!
Penelope. Her curiosity caused her to make mistakes which earned her a reputation she didn’t deserve. Deciding to live up to that reputation had her acting out in a way that was contrary to her true nature.
Lost-in-a-book Letty…mainly because I see a lot of her in me.
I have always felt bad for Penelope. I cried quite a bit while reading her book. I loved Pen, because she was such a loyal friend to Charlotte. I mean she married Freddy to save her friend. She gets stuck with a schmuck of a husband. I was happy she did get her happy ending. I also loved Letty’s story too. I mean she stuck her nose into her sister business trying to protect her. Knowing she was marrying her sisters intended, and not being the beautiful one.
Letty.
I haven’t read those books yet (only The Secret History of the Pink Carnation), so I would love a chance to read the books and find out who I would feel for the most!
Letty – I just like her practical nature.
I think Penelope for me, for various reasons, but mostly because rebelliousness seems to run in my blood, too. 🙂
Both Penelope – who does outrageous things but inside just wants to be loved, and Charlotte – who doesn’t really understand love but has romanticized it. Both of them find men who love them – but neither has an easy time of it!!
I thought Penelope had the hardest row to hoe. She got a dubious reputation, tried to live up to it, got stuck with a schmuck for a husband, and tried to make the best of it all after being exiled to India.
Letty, always practical and so strong.
The Reid family are by far my favorites characters.Please tell us you are going to write Lizzy and Kat stories.
Definitely Letty. I relate to her the most.
Letty for sure. She’s the mother hen who is ready to clean up any mess.
Letty
Charlotte. Because I also think book people are so much easier to deal than real ones!
Penelope has been my favorite character ever since I read Blood Lily. But Letty was my favorite until then. So… can I say both of them? I love Letty’s story with Geoff, how she races to find him and earns his love by being herself. And I love how Penelope just thrives as soon as she is free from conventions and allowed to be herself, her real self.
Mary
would say Mary
I always enjoyed that the basis of The Deception of the Emerald Right was Letty’s noble, but misguided, meddling, mainly because I too dabble in meddling and managing.
Oh, Charlotte! I get lost in books, and always want a happy ending!
I really like Charlotte, I love someone who loves to read.
For me I think I am a combination of Letty and Charlotte. I’m always there for my family and friends but I also love getting lost in a book.
Definitely Penelope
I am going to say ambitious Mary, because I cried the most during her book. I was seriously slayed, Lauren. I thought I knew and disliked Mary prior to her story, but there are layers to her and I found myself appreciating her and admiring her and cheering for her. (I am not so sure I would want to face her in a ballroom because she would sneer at me, but that wasn’t really the question, right? :-))
I also feel for Mary. I found her perspective to be so unique, as a woman valued by others only for her beauty.
Penelope!! ❤️
Lost in a book Charlotte, I can relate to her the most.
I have always felt for Penelope: the bad reputation, the second chance, everything. I kept hoping we’d get peeks at her again what with all the Reids in subsequent books!
Rebellious Penelope, without a doubt, though I was more like Charlotte twenty years ago when I was in college. And I keep hoping for more Penelope updates too!
Betrayal of The Blood Lily is one of my favorites of the series. I always felt sorry for Penelope and loved that she got a happy ending with a man who loved and understood her.
I feel the most for Letty. She earns the ire of both her sister and Geoff for trying to save her family’s reputation. I am so glad Geoff wised up and saw the gem he had in Letty!
Letty. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for this practical, well-meaning 19-year-old who gets initially stuck with a husband she doesn’t want, and then has the clout to go after him because hello, they’re married and it’s “the right thing to do”. Spunk and practicality make an awesome combo.
My favorite is the rebellious Penelope!!!
Charlotte’s always been my favorite!