Review: Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams

When I think of good, solid, historical fiction—one of the first names that comes to mind is Beatriz Williams. Hands down she writes wonderful novels rich with historical detail and characters you can relate to. I have loved many of her books and when I saw she was coming out with this more modern piece of historical fiction, I was all over it. So many of her books are set in the 1940s to 1950s and this book really felt like it was going to have a more modern twist with the Russians and spies.

I bought it when it first came out and then forgot about it until my pre-order arrived…..and then forgot about it again. Every time I cleaned out my bookshelves though, I would see this book and think to myself ‘man I need to read this one’. Then suddenly—-it was time to read it one day out of the blue! I had just finished some other great pieces of historical fiction and I really wanted a tried and proven historical fiction author to read. So I grabbed this one off the self.

What appealed to me most was the time period. I love that it’s got this major spy aspect and was set in post war Europe with a heavy Russian angle. With all that’s going on in the world right now with Russia, I thought it would be interesting to read more about their culture and history even if it’s through an Americanized filter etc. I find the post war time period so fascinating for a number of reasons. So many countries and people were coming off of this horrible war and were just trying to reestablish themselves and there was still a very real threat of espionage and spying so I couldn’t have been more excited to read this one if I tried!

Continue reading “Review: Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams”

Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book on been on my radar for YEARS. I have had a copy on my shelf and that stunning green dress just calls to me on the cover. But yet I haven’t picked it up. Despite the rave reviews and all the buzz. I don’t really know why other than it sounded a little heavy but I found myself looking at it and then putting it back on my shelf. Especially the last couple of years, I have really leaned more toward light fluffy reading and just wasn’t ready for something more serious.

Then I found myself reading on my Kindle one night only to discover that I was on a ‘hot streak’ with my reading. This summer Amazon has been doing like a summer reading challenge for Kindle readers and I found that I had reached silver status. I had more challenges to unlock which included reading a ‘light summer reading’ book. It gave a list of books and this one was at the top. And right then and there I was like YES the time has come to read this one finally!

It ranked as a top beach/summer read and I was fully ready to indulge in this one. I downloaded it (never mind I had a copy on my shelf!) and dove right on in. I quickly realized this book wasn’t going to be the light and easy reading I was hoping for but I decided to read it anyway since I love the glitz and glamour of old Hollywood and I was intrigued by the premise of the book. It opens with this nobody writer who is approached by this mega star at the end of her life, to write a multimillion dollar biography. But what no one understands—-is why Monique selected to be the writer? That’s what hooked me.

Continue reading “Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid”