ARC Review: Holding Court by K.C. Held

Published: March 1, 2016 by Entangled Teen
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Mystery
Format: ebook
Source: Sent through Netgalley for honest review

Goodreads Summary

Sixteen-year-old Jules Verity knows exactly what's in store at her new job at castle-turned-dinner-theater Tudor Times. Some extra cash, wearing a fancy-pants dress, and plenty of time to secretly drool over the ever-so-tasty--and completely unavailable--Grayson Chandler. Except that it's not quite what she imagined.

For one, the costume Jules has to wear is awful. Then there's the dead body she finds that just kind of...well, disappears. Oh, and there's the small issue of Jules and her episodes of what her best friend calls "Psychic Tourette's Syndrome"--spontaneous and uncontrollable outbursts of seemingly absurd prophecies.

The only bright side? This whole dead body thing seems to have gotten Grayson's attention. Except that the more Jules investigates, the more she discovers that Grayson's interest might not be as courtly as she thought. In fact, it's starting to look suspicious...

"Who told you to say that?"
"What? No one. I have a blurting problem. It happens more when I'm nervous. Like now. My friend Cami calls it Psychic Tourette's Syndrome. PTS for short. I call it mortifying."

The Good

This was such a funny and cute story. The characters are wonderful. Jules Verity comes from a family in which the women all exhibit some sort of power. Her quirky grandmother runs a matchmaking company called The Aura of Romance with her ability to read auras and she drives a pink golf cart around town with advertisements plastered on it. Her mom has the ability to tell the history of an object by touching it. Jules is the best though. She randomly blurts out psychic premonitions that often sound more loony than accurate. For example, "Be alert to the squirt and smell the ketchup!".

Jules finds the best job for her possible as the Mad Maid of Kent at Tudor Times. It's a place for people to visit where everything is set in the time of King Henry the VIII. The Mad Maid of Kent is known to be a crazy psychic so it works quite well. This setting made for some interesting dialogue as well as unique weapons and storing places for bodies. The story is a mystery. She finds a dead body on her first day of work and rolls on from there with Jules investigating.

The Bad

While I'm sure there were flaws with the story, I didn't notice them. This was just what I needed at the time.

The Romance

Jules has had a crush on Grayson for quite some time. I like how in this one, Grayson has a girlfriend that Jules loves. She thinks Bree is one of the best people she's ever met, and I have to agree that she's pretty great. This sets up an interesting dynamic, and I'm glad about how everything worked out in the end.

Conclusion

Holding Court is a very funny, cute read. I laughed quite a lot while reading it. The characters are wonderful and the romance is charming. The setting at Tudor Times makes for a fun environment with interesting dialogue and the mystery of the dead bodies makes for a great who-done-it plot. Definitely recommended.

Excerpts

The only thing that could possibly make the situation more awkward would be for me to have one of my uncontrollable psychic fits. So, of course, I do. 
"The keeper of secrets keeps too much!" I blurt, then clap a hand over my mouth. 
King Henry looks like he's waiting for the punch line. "Indeed," he finally says.

"Sometimes it's beneficial for people to think you're nuttier than a fruitcake, dear. And this is one of those times."

"Grayson looks amazing in that Prince Charming outfit."
"I know," I whisper back miserably. "And Bree looks like Cinderella post-bibbidi-bobbidi-boo."

"Ruination is found in a sequined gown!"