Out of the Ordinary ~ Review

Out of the Ordinary
Apart from the Crowd #2
By Jen Turano

Let me just start out by saying this is a fun book to read. Gertrude is a delight whom any reader would love to call a friend. This is the second book in the Apart from the Crowd series and just as much fun to read as the first Behind the Scenes.

Miss Gertrude Cadwalader finds herself in the most unusual situations and they are not of her own doing but rather the ill-advised works of her employer Mrs. Davenport. Once again Gertrude finds herself at the mercy of Mrs. Davenport's lack of fashion design and the unlikely victim is Harrison Sinclair's fainting couch aboard his yacht. And Gertrude's predicament allows Mrs. Davenport to partake in her favorite pastime that which involves her reliving others of their possessions.  What follows is a series of unfortunate and unexpected occurrences that finds Gertrude soon to be on the wrong side of the law.

Harrison is determined to right the wrongs and rescue Gertrude from the tangle she finds herself in but his efforts find him misspeaking and hurting Gertrude and her feelings. What follows is a hilarious attempt to undo Harrison's whoops moment. And with the "help" his good friend Asher Rutherford Harrison and Gertrude's potential romance may be stymied before it ever gets a chance to begin. And sweeping a woman off her feet takes on a whole new meaning and should be avoided if you value your life. Yes, it was that bad.

This book is a perfect mood lifter with its hilarious missteps. Gertrude and Harrison are perfect for each other with their quirky personalities, but finding this out might mean ditching their well-meaning friends who seem determined to help them. And Harrison's sisters are quite the threesome who have their own strong opinions on romance and just how it should be achieved or not depending on the sister.

This series is worth reading and if you have yet to read the first book in the series that is fine as you can easily go back and read it at a later date. Out of the Ordinary can be easily read without the backstory that was established in Behind the Scenes.  The author has developed a cast of characters that one looks forward to visiting again in future books.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher Bethany House through their blogger program but was under no obligation to post a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

About the Book:

"With all the charm of a Regency romance, 

the humor of a drawing room farce, and the 

swoon-worthy delight of a fairy tale, Turano's

 first Apart from the Crowd historical 

absolutely sparkles."

--Publishers Weekly on Behind the Scenes

Working as a paid companion may be quite commonplace, but Miss Gertrude Cadwalader's eccentric employer makes her job unpredictable, to say the least. She finds herself carrying out an array of highly unusual tasks, including wearing peculiar outfits and returning items the woman pilfered. But when the wealthy Mrs. Sinclair catches Gertrude sneaking around the Sinclair yacht with some of the missing items in her possession, she immediately jumps to the wrong conclusion.

Shipping magnate Harrison Sinclair is caught in the middle of a misunderstanding between his mother and Gertrude, but he can't help coming to his friend's defense. Even as he hopes their friendship might become something more, Harrison is unprepared for the outlandish escapades that seem to follow the lovely, anything-but-ordinary Gertrude at every turn.