Blog Tour of “Catherine” by Sue Barr, review + giveaway

A year and a bit later, after she introduced us to her Caroline, I am delighted to have again Sue Barr in My Vices and Weaknesses, her last release “Catherine” may impress you or maybe not, however, it would not leave you indifferent.

Before I knew anything about this book, I read the title and what may have come to my mind? Yes, maybe you thought of “the magnanimous and excellent” Lady Catherine de Bourgh (please read this with Mr Collins (1995) voice in mind) 😉

However, in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, we have another Catherine that sometimes is overlooked… Catherine Bennet, that is, Kitty. I have to admit that I really enjoy reading about the other sisters and I normally love the books where they are the protagonists. Nonetheless, it may be interesting to read as well about Lady Catherine, perhaps when she was younger, before marrying or when Anne was little… Sue and authors… just saying (wink wink).

As usual, I am losing the track of what this post is about: Catherine, yes, Bennet. Before reviewing the book, I would let you read the description of this book…

Some secrets are not meant to be shared.
Catherine Bennet, known as Kitty to close friends and family, knows this better than anyone. She also knows that she will never marry, and it never bothered her before she met Lord George Kerr at Elizabeth and Darcy’s wedding. He’s determined to breach the walls of defense she’d carefully constructed around her heart, and she’s just as determined to stay the course.
Some secrets cannot be shared
Lord George Kerr knows this better than anyone. For five years, as a spy for His Majesty the King, he played the part of a Rake, concealing his espionage activities beneath a blanket of brothels, drink and loose women. Even though he’s forced to resume his regular life within London’s finest society, he still must keep some things hidden.
One thing he does not hide is his attraction to Miss Catherine Bennet of Longbourn. Enraptured by her beauty and warmth of character, he plunges headlong into winning her heart, only to find it carefully guarded and she’s unwilling to give him even a small pinch of hope.
Some things are beyond your control
When circumstances bring Kitty’s secret into the open, she fears the tenuous bonds of friendship she’s forged with Lord George will be lost forever along with whatever love he proclaims to have for her. With the very lives of England’s vast network of spies working undercover in Bonaparte’s France hanging in the balance, she’s forced to face her worst nightmare.
Her secret is laid bare, can he love her enough to overcome what he learns?

Secrets? What are you talking about? What secret(s) may Kitty have? Who is this Lord George? Why Kitty will never marry?

If you are a bit puzzled, the guilty one is the author, Sue Barr, let me (re)introduce her:

Sue Barr resides in beautiful Southwestern Ontario with her retired Air Force hubby, two sons and their families. She’s also an indentured servant to three cats and has been known to rescue a kitten or two, or three…in an attempt to keep her ‘cat-lady-in-training’ status current. Although, she has deviated from appointed path and rescued a few dogs as well. Sue is a member of Romance Writers of America and their affiliate chapter, Love, Hope and Faith as well as American Christian Fiction Writers.

http://www.suebarrauthor.com

From there you can follow her on Facebook or Twitter or hop on over to her blog and find out how boring her life really is…. While there, don’t forget to sign up for her announcement only newsletter. No spam. Pinky promise.

If you prefer to go directly to some of her social media, here you have the links:

Facebook       Twitter       Goodreads         Pinterest        Sue Barr’s Blog

 

Before reviewing, I want to point out that Catherine can be read on its own, as a stand-alone book, however, there may be a couple of things when Caroline Bingley appears that you may not be sure about or you may be intrigued. That is because that Caroline is the protagonist of Sue Barr’s Caroline and they are related. I recommend you to read both books but you do not have to. However, I recommend it again 😉

Review

Kitty Bennet, normally known for following Lydia and her crazy behaviour, she may not be one of the favourite sisters, her cough is annoying and she is always arguing because Lydia “steals” her ribbons… 😉 To be honest, she has a lot of potential and Sue Barr has found it.

The main change (that I can write about) from the original book, is that the wedding of Jane and Charles+Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth takes place in Pemberley instead of Longbourn. During that event, a lot of pople from the higher circles attend the wedding and it is there, that the Bennet family is introduced to the Kerr family. Specially, we will focus on Lord George Kerr and his short chat with Miss Catherine Bennet.

Nothing really happens during that chat, just a nice chat with some witty comments. Yes, witty, Kitty is lively and witty, she is more similar to Lizzy than to Lydia. She has a mind of her own, mainly after what happened to her…

Lord George has to finish his life as a spy due to an event with one of his colleagues who is also a cover for his “rake” life. After this event, he has to go back to a “boring and conventional” gentleman-like life but his instincts do not let him stop getting to know the truth about the event at his friend’s house and how his cover was compromised.

He has a couple of hints to where to start investigating, so on his way to Cambridgeshire, he has an accident with his horse due to a person being in the middle of the road, that person being more scared falls down in a ditch and hurts herself. Lord George quickly attends that woman who happens to be Catherine Bennet. He is surprised, happily surprised, and he takes her to her home as she is injured.

From there, Mrs Bennet is sure that he will propose as he has also promised to take Catherine and Mary to London as she was going to go shortly after the accident. However, you must remember that Catherine has said that she will not marry.

Once in London, they meet several times as Lord George feels that it is his duty to show her around and accompany her as he “almost kill her” according to Mrs Bennet.

Let’s face it, he is very intrigued by her, he has been thinking about her from their first conversation until he saw her again. He is fascinated by her and she likes him but she is taming her heart as she will not marry anyone.

Lovely scenes with the couple but the best one at the beginning of their stay in London is the one where Catherine recognises Lady Harriet, a friend who she has not seen for ten years. The interesting part is when Lady Harriet flies away when she is recognise by her friend as now, Lady Harriet is the companion to Lord George’s friend… interesting.

Interesting because everything is related to the event who caused George to stop working for the crown and his trip to Cambridgeshire… and also, all the people involved are related to the reason why Catherine does not want to marry anyone. Confused? It will be very easy once you read the book.

Tour Schedule

Follow the tour, previous stops and the ones to come, you are going to find really good things 🙂

28th May /My Jane Austen Book Club/ Launch Post & Giveaway 

29th May /From Pemberley to Milton/ Excerpt Post & Giveaway

30th May /Just Jane 1813/ Guest Post & Giveaway

31st May /More Agreeably Engaged/Author Spotlight & Giveaway

1st June /  So Little Time…/ Excerpt Post & Giveaway

2nd June / Liz’s Reading Life/ Book Review & Giveaway 

4th June / Diary of an Eccentric/Book Review & Giveaway

5th June /My Vices and Weaknesses/ Book Review & Giveaway

6th June /Savvy Verse & Wit/ Guest Post & Giveaway 

7th June /Margie’s Must Reads/Book Review Post & Giveaway

8th June /  Obsessed with Mr. Darcy/ Book Review & Giveaway

9th June /My Love for Jane Austen/ Excerpt Post & Giveaway 

10th June /  Babblings of a Bookworm/Excerpt Post & Giveaway 

11th June /  Austenesque Reviews/ Guest Post & Giveaway

Giveaway

Apart from showing us her latest release, Sue is presenting us with a great giveaway.We can have up to six different winner on this blog tour! Three winners will receive a copy of Catherine. Two winners will receive eBooks and one winner will receive an autographed paperback book of Catherine. All giveaways are open to international winners. Click on the link below and read the Terms and Conditions as well:

Rafflecopter – Catherine by Sue Barr

Terms and conditions:

Readers may enter the drawing by tweeting once each day and by commenting daily on a blog post or review that has a giveaway attached to this tour. Entrants must provide the name of the blog where they commented. Each winner will be randomly selected by Rafflecopter and the giveaway is international. Each entrant is eligible to win one eBook or paperback book.