Don’t you love a good fairy tale? I certainly do. But you can only watch so many versions of Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast. Sometimes a fairy tale with a new story and fresh perspective is needed. And that’s just what Penelope offers.
PENELOPE SYNOPSIS
A long time ago, a witched cursed the Wilherns. The first daughter born into this wealthy family would be born with the face of a pig. The only way to break this curse is for her to be accepted by one of her own kind – a blueblood. After many generations of sons, Penelope becomes the unfortunate bearer of this cruel curse.
Ashamed of her daughter, Jessica Wilhern has hidden her away in the family home for most of Penelope’s life. But in recent years, she has been working with a professional matchmaker to find an aristocratic man willing to marry Penelope and break the curse. Edward Vanderman, the most recent man to reject the sweet natured “pig-girl” has teamed up with Lemon, a journalist holding a long-standing grudge towards Jessica. They hire Max Campion, a gambler they believe to be a fallen blue-blood. Max agrees to secretly snap a picture of Penelope for a pay-off thousands of dollars.
But Penelope is gun-shy and doesn’t show herself to Max right away. Instead he is forced to make multiple visits to the Wilhern mansion. With a one-way mirror between them, Max and Penelope develop a friendship through many conversations. However, the individual plans of Jessica Wilhern, Edward, Lemon and Max all go awry when Penelope finally decides to run away from everyone’s plans for her. What will happen to a girl who has lived in seclusion all her life, when she finally discovers the world? Can the curse truly be broken or will Penelope find another way?
To read the full review, please follow me over to The Silver Petticoat Review.

Travel is one of my passions. I love going someplace new and experiencing the culture and sights of that place. However, time and money limits the amount of travel I’m able to do.
The events of this time are seen through the eyes of five young adults whose own personal backgrounds influence the way they react to Korea’s slow death.

Seeing Miss Heartstone

As a last resort, Helena Reynolds answers an advertisement for marriage to a complete stranger. She is desperate for the security of a husband’s name and the safety of living in a remote estate in Devon.
It all begins with four matching travel bags. One contains top secret stolen documents and papers. A government agent is hot on the trail, tracking them for recovery. The second belongs to the wealthy Mrs. Van Hoskins and contains her jewels. Dr. Howard Bannister is the owner of the third. It holds his beloved igneous rock collection. Howard is in town as a finalist for an important grant which would allow him to continue his studies on the effects of rocks in creating music. Accompanying him is his uptight fiancée Eunice Burns who manages his life like an automaton.
