Galatea's Revenge by Kelly McClymer - Happy Book Birthday!

  

Plucked from the gutters of London as a child, Elspeth was taught to be a lady, and married to the son of her benefactor. When she realizes her husband will never consider her anything more than a gutter brat, she demands that he undo all that his father did in teaching her to be a lady so she can once again survive on the streets of London. Can seeing his wife on the streets of London finally show Damian the true lady within his guttersnipe bride?

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MY THOUGHTS

Usually, I try to break the ice before I start writing what I think about a book.  This time, I'm just going to say it - I really, REALLY enjoyed Galatea's Revenge by Kelly McClymer!

At first I had wondered why the book was called Galatea's Revenge when the MC's name was Elspeth.  But Galatea (aka "Gal") is the name Elspeth uses in London as an adult.

We first meet Elspeth when she is 12 years old.  Her parents are deceased, and her grandmother is her guardian.  She has already become a pickpocket.  Food is scarce and money is even scarcer. 

Before he died, Elspeth's father saved the life of Lord William Winterline, Earl of Grayboke, and in gratitude, the Earl had pledged his son to Elspeth.  So, here's a 12 year old grubby pickpocket, home from a long day's pick-pocketing, to find herself married (they came equipped with a parson) at 12 years of age to a 17-year old Earl's son, who hates her.  

Ten years later, the old Earl is dead, and Damian (the erstwhile 17 year old), now 27 has become Earl.  He tells her that their marriage was not legal, as no banns were read previous to the ceremony.  He further states that he wants to stow her away in a far corner of Wales - but it's a nice cottage and she will have a staff of servants.  She does not want to go to Wales; she wants to take 'lessons' so she can learn to live on the streets of London again.  Damian think's she's nuts and I'm hard pressed not to agree with him!

I'm not going to talk any more about the plot, because I don't want to spoil it for you!

This was my first read by Ms. McClymer.  Then I looked on GoodReads, where she has 30 (count 'em, t.h.i.r.t.y.) distinct works.  I'm going to be very busy because I am going to read every single one of them, even though it may take months or years.

Kelly McClymer is a masterful (mistressful?) winder of tales.  The reading was effortless on my part, kind of like I was riding through london in a carriage, doing the 'royal wave' to the regular folks on the sidewalks.  The story flowed wonderfully and I was totally carried away!  (Sorry, Calgon.)

Ms. McClymer has 'officially' made it onto my list of Top 10 Favorite Authors, and might be in the top 5!  So if you are looking for a top-notch historical romance, I highly recommend Galatea's Revenge by Kelly McClymer!

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MEET THE AUTHOR

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Kelly McClymer has been telling stories since she first learned to talk. When she learned to write, she discovered that was a much better way to tell her stories. Her story focus ranges from the contemporary close-up look at a young mother suffering from sleep deprivation (“Napping on Jungle Time”), back to Victorian era romance (Once Upon a Wedding series), and into the future where one person’s identity can be transferred to another’s body (“Solomon’s Paradox). She has even written stories that transcend reality and dip into the realms of magic (Blood Angel, the Salem Witch trilogy).

A reformed writing instructor, Kelly McClymer has been known to slip into “teacher” mode from time to time, when talking about storytelling. She firmly believes that most of us have an inner-writer who’d like to come out to play — if she wasn’t locked up in the basement, chained by the fearsome rules of grammar, syntax, and vocabulary that our fourth-grade teachers instilled in us.

Fairytales feed Kelly McClymer’s imagination, and she devours them as often as she can find them, from the obscure to the ancient. The fairytales she concocts don’t begin with “Once Upon a Time…”, but with “I wonder what would happen if…”

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You may wonder about the two different covers for this book.  My e-book cover had the 2nd of the two graphics.

Thank you so much for visiting the Back Porch today!  I hope you decide to read Galatea's Revenge for yourself!  In any case, please leave a comment for the author to wish her a happy book birthday!

(Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest review.  This post contains an affiliate link.)