Tour Stop ~ Review + Giveaway: Oxford Whispers by Marion Croslydon

Madison LeBon is dead set against the dead. 

Her fresh start at Oxford University is a brand new beginning. She finally has a chance to turn the page on her psychic powers and cumbersome voodoo heritage. Snakes, dolls, ghosts, and spirits: Farewell…

Not quite.

When the tragic lovers in a painting—the subject of her first history class—begin to haunt her, she must accept her gift before life imitates art. The lovers warn her against their own nemesis, a Puritan from the English Civil War. Unfortunately, said nemesis is now going all homicidal on Madison. 

College becomes more complicated when she falls hard for Rupert Vance, a troubled aristocrat and descendant of one of the characters in the painting. With the spirit of a murderer after her, Madison realizes that her own first love may also be doomed…

So you know a book is good when you finish it with tears in your eyes. Geezum.. I'm still reeling from the emotional roller-coaster that is Madison and Rupert.

Madison is this quirky, shy, intelligent young woman who tries, with every accomplishment, to outmaneuver who she is meant to be. She's in Oxford, a place she believes will be her savior, but she soon discovers that it might be the very thing that shatters all her plans for a normal life.

I love her odd sense of humor ~ something I can totally relate to. She's a little feisty even if she's unsure of herself. She loves unconditionally, whether it be her friends or the man who claims her heart. Madison does everything she can to bear her own burdens without affecting or inconveniencing anyone else. I think this quality is both a strength and a weakness. She doesn't want to cause trouble for those she loves, but she also hurts them by pushing them away ~ she has a difficult time believing that people would actually want to be there for her. Her insecurities get in the way of the truth of things ~ especially when it comes to Rupert.

I'm not really a fan of his name, but I really fell in love with Rupert. He's the bad boy turned good through love, which could be called a cliche, but I'm totally fine with that when it comes to him. He's the typical rich hottie: he parties too much, gets whatever girl he wants, and has daddy issues.

The guy probably bought a new boat each time his other one got wet.

But he's also afraid and carries a tremendous guilt that he'd like nothing more than to bury. He wants to be better and deserving, but nothing moves him to action until Madison throws a wrench in his broody, superficial life.

Rupert's theme song....

There relationship is nothing short of electrical. Thank goodness there's no insta-love in sight, but there is an instant attraction that is as believable as it is hilarious.

He's hotter than the hinges on the gates of hell.

Madison tells Rupert exactly how she sees him: a snobby, pain-in-the-ass who gets everything handed to him. He finds this amusing, especially because she's not drooling over him like every other female in a fifty-mile radius. Props to Madison. But as attracted as they are to one another, they have a pretty rocky start due to the two different worlds they've grown up in and their massive cases of insecurity.

Attractive or not, Madison Lebon wasn't for Rupert. Even if he tried to be a better man, he wouldn't ever be enough for her. He wasn't even sure he could commit to her the way a girl like that deserved to. She was not for him.

They definitely have their ups and downs ~ it's frustrating, heartbreaking, and nail-bitingly hopeful... I lost count of how many times my heart skipped a beat...

Honestly, I could go on and on about their relationship, but there's a heck of a lot more to the story. Madison has an ancestry that follows her around, and because of this, she sees and does things that others would deny are even possible. She's an old soul, and while that's a familiar term, in this case, it's quite literal.

She's forced to deal with a tragic love story that has gone unresolved for centuries, and it needs to end with her. We get flashed back to the past that is in relation to the present, raising ghosts and emotions that Madison can't explain. This novel is just saturated in history, all revolving around a single painting and the tragic story that stems from it. As an art history graduate, I was entranced.

And the twist... I kept trying to figure out who the bad guy actually was. And I guessed wrong about three times. Totally didn't see that coming.

You want love? You got it. Mystery? Loaded. Danger? Totally. History? It's everywhere. Thrills? You won't be disappointed.

If you can't tell, I'd highly recommend Oxford Whispers. (Keep scrolling for a chance to win a copy all to yourself *(:*)

5/5 stars :)

*****

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Favorite Quotes

Please God, keep this dress below my panty line.

Surely there was an expiration date on vengeance, even for ghosts. 

Bad boys were so not advisable for virgins. Whatever they wrote in romance novels. 

But in the words of her mother, Lebon women always held their heads high and their ninnies even higher. 

Engaging in coversation felt like climbing Everest. Barefoot. In a bikini. 

"Madison Lebon, there's only one place for you in my life, and it's in the front row." 

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Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~