More happy, happy news! That extra happy isn’t just for extra happiness, but because this week brought not one, but two more rave reviews for Night Jasmine, one from Library Journal, which gave glowing notices to “[a]nother well-written chapter” in the Pink series and the other from Kirkus, which decreed that “[s]mart characters of both genders, fast-paced plotting and a dash of self-conscious humor make this installment a winner”. Huzzah!
Kirkus further made my day with this comment: “Willig, a Harvard-educated historian, mixes pitch-perfect period details with lighthearted romance for a fresh take on the genre”. I knew I went to grad school for a reason.
Add in last week’s Publishers Weekly review, and you have what my editor has happily proclaimed “a trifecta of wonderful reviews”.
Good things clearly come in threes.
Hi, again!
For those curious about the painting we’ve been discussing below, the detail on the Night Jasmine cover was taken from a painting by Charles Sillem Lidderdale called At the Garden Gate.
You can see the full painting on the Fine Art Photographic Library website.
Our anonymous lady (let’s just call her Charlotte, shall we?) is standing at a garden gate, which is very appropriate in the context of the book. I can’t quite make out what she’s holding, but it looks like she has a key in one hand and a flower in the other…. Or is that a note tied in a ribbon?
Hi, all!
Thank you so much for your fascinating and insightful comments on the cover of Night Jasmine.
Frankly, I get a lot more out of the picture now than I did before. I love the interplay that some found between title and picture, perceiving the lady on the cover as weighing the moral dilemma of the titular temptation. And I’m very intrigued by Tamar’s point that the same reserve that marks out this lady as a potential wallflower in a gentleman would be called “enigmatic” and perceived as dashing. After all, think about how many Regency heroes we know spend their lives propping up mantelpieces and staring sardonically into the crowd, thus garnering whispered compliments and feminine flutters without ever having to utter a word.
But I digress. Again.
The randomly chosen winner for this week’s web contest is… Ariana. Congrats, Ariana!
There are still three more ARCs to go after this, so stay tuned!
Yesterday’s Publishers Weekly included an article on what messages covers are meant to convey to the reader. One of the covers discussed was that of The Temptation of the Night Jasmine. According to the PW article, the subliminal message indicated by the cover of Night Jasmine is that “[t]he heroine, while innocent and beautiful, also has a secret.” So… here’s this week’s question:
When you look at the cover of Night Jasmine, what does it say to you?
There is, quite clearly, no right or wrong answer to this question. (I thought it would be more entertaining for us all to have lots of opinions rather than the same correct answer seventy-three times over, as amusing as that was.) I’m just curious to see what message the cover conveys to you.
One commenter will be chosen at random to receive an advance copy of Night Jasmine– cover and all. Check back here Wednesday for the winner!
Hi, all!
Henrietta’s stuffed animal is, indeed, Bunny-the-Bunny. Bunny’s long ears must be burning after all those mentions of his name last night. But, hey, that’s what happens when you’re the Official Stuffed Animal of The Most Popular Pink Carnation Character (TM).
As a side note, I was terribly touched that so many people remembered Brooke’s Doggie-the-Doggy. Being a shy and retiring stuffed animal (accustomed to being stuffed into bedding and baggage), Doggie is probably hiding his blushes under a pillow somewhere.
Our randomly chosen winner is… Beth! (Proud owner of Piggie-the-Piggie).
Thanks to all for stopping by! I’ll have another question up and ready next Tuesday– same time, same place.
My little sister called me up last night, crowing over being the most popular Pink Carnation character. When pressed, Brooke admitted that she might not actually be Henrietta, but insisted the relationship was near enough as to make very little difference.
In honor of Henrietta (yes, Brooke, that’s Henrietta), here’s this week’s Pink Carnation trivia question:
What is the name of Henrietta’s stuffed animal?
One winner, chosen at random from among the correct answers, will receive an ARC of The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (in which Henrietta gets to play a disproportionately large role). The winner will be announced Wednesday morning, here on the News page.
As I may have mentioned before, there is a little pile of advance copies of Night Jasmine on one of my kitchen chairs. (The reason they’re living on my kitchen chair is that the place under my cocktail table is already occupied by a pile of research books. Isn’t everyone’s? And the space under the kitchen table is already taken by a large pile of historical fiction that I really will get around to reading one of these days.) But I digress. Chairs are useful things. Ergo, the ARCs must find good homes.
I thought of having another contest, but that seemed… well, a little dull. It didn’t afford enough opportunity to procrastinate on an extended basis.
Instead, I bring you… the Five ARCs of Night Jasmine.
For the next five weeks, every Tuesday, I’ll be hosting a little trivia quiz here on the News page. One winner will be chosen at random out of everyone who posts the correct answer. And, gradually, the pile on my kitchen chair will diminish to sit-able dimensions….
Keep an eye out for the first of the mini-quizzes tomorrow (Tuesday)!
p.s. if you have a trivia question burning away in your brain that you’d like to contribute, that would be highly welcome! Any trivia ideas can be emailed to me at willig@post.harvard.edu.
The very first review of The Temptation of the Night Jasmine is in. According to Publishers Weekly, Night Jasmine is “an elegant and grandly entertaining book”.
Huzzah!
For those who are interested, you can read the full text of the review here (just scroll down a bit– Night Jasmine is the ninth book down). They did a wonderful job summarizing the plot.
Yay for Publishers Weekly!
The winner of the Pink Carnation popularity contest is…
Second Runner Up (shocker!):
Lord Vaughn, hero of The Seduction of the Crimson Rose.
First Runner Up:
Letty Alsworthy, heroine of The Deception of the Emerald Ring.
And the Winner:
Lady Henrietta Selwick, heroine of The Masque of the Black Tulip.
Can’t you just hear Henrietta crowing? Miles and Richard will never hear the end of it.
It was an exceedingly close run race. Letty Alsworthy, heroine of The Deception of the Emerald Ring, had a large early lead in the polls, but Henrietta, in true Henrietta fashion, sprinted behind, shouting out, “Wait for me!” and pulled ahead in the final stretch.
Eloise, Jane, Miles, Amy and Richard all hovered respectably in the middle of the polls. In a surprise upset, Colin Selwick actually ranked below Miss Gwen. One can just imagine the means Miss Gwen used to extort those votes… ah, that sword parasol. The Dowager Duchess of Dovedale and Lady Uppington tied for dead last, behind Penelope Deveraux and Turnip Fitzhugh. You can imagine they’ll be fighting that one out for a while, with the Dowager intent on proving that she was more last than Lady U. It’s no fun unless one gets to be THE most despised person in the election.
What do you think? Do the results surprise you? I have to admit, the final line-up wasn’t what I had expected at all….
Little did Lord Richard Selwick realize when he set out to attain fame and glory that, one day, he would become… yarn.
A friend of mine just passed on this link from Etsy. It was too, too cool not to share. The Purple Gentian now has his very own shade of merino wool. Isn’t it a pretty color? Kudos to Kitti!
Henrietta, of course, is demanding to know why Richard gets all the best dyes. Just because he got himself written up in a few little papers…. Fortunately, Miles is busy with a ginger biscuit and isn’t quite sure what one does with yarn anyway, so he’s not all that perturbed.
