Book Critic
-
Review: The Firebird (Slains #2) by Susanna Kearsley
Nicola Marter is a seemingly normal women, with an extraordinary gift. She can touch an object and see it’s past history. But she doesn’t like using her gift. She is afraid of being called a ‘freak’ and that people won’t accept her. So she hides her gift. While working in an art gallery specializing in Russian art, an old woman arrives with a wood carving of a firebird, claiming it belonged to Catherine the Great. Nicola’s boss doesn’t have any way of authenticating it and thus, it has no value to an art dealer. But when she touches it she sees that it was in fact given to a girl named Anna…
-
Review: The Tudor Vendetta (The Spymaster Chronicles #3) by C.W. Gortner
Tudor lit is always a favorite sub genre for those who write historic fiction. And why not, it’s a ruthless age full of romance, intrigue, and political unrest. There is a lot for authors to draw inspiration. One of the things I love best about C.W. Gortner as a writer is he tends to pick strong women in history to write about which is unusual for a male author. I think having a male write about these women provides readers with a unique perspective. In this novel he utilized a male as the POV character which was different but no less entertaining. Queen Mary is dead and the young Elizabeth takes the throne. One…
-
Review: The Heiress of Winterwood (Whispers on the Moors #1) by Sarah Ladd
Amelia Barrett made her best friend a dying promise: to take care of her child, Lucy, at all costs….and Amelia plans on fulfilling that promise. Lucy’s father has been away at sea and has never met the child but he is returning from his adventures soon and will meet her for the first time. Amelia is fearful that he will take the child and she will never see her again. Lucy has become like her own daughter and she can’t stand the thought of never seeing her again. So Amelia has devised a plan to keep her and Lucy together forever….her can Captain Sterling will need to get married. There…
-
Review: The Laws of Murder (Charles Lenox #8) by Charles Finch
Charles Lenox has just given up his Parliament seat to pursue his dream….running his own full time detective agency. He has high hopes for this new agency. It’s essentially the first of its kind and with all the assistance he has provided to Scotland Yard over the years, surely the referrals will come. Lenox and his colleagues have let a building and are currently taking new clients, things are looking promising. But while the others are bringing in steady business….Lenox is not. What happened to all the potential referrals from the Yard and his friends within the agency? Well, it appears someone is trying to sabotage Lenox’s new agency. One day…
-
Review: Hallowe’en Party (Hercule Poirot Series #36) by Agatha Christie
Happy Halloween readers! And what better way to celebrate this holiday than with a Halloween inspired mystery!? Confession alert…..I have never read anything by Agatha Christie. I know, sacrilege. I’m ashamed to call myself a mystery/detective novel fan! For years my family has been telling me that I absolutely must read a Miss Marple or a Hercule Poirot mystery as they are all so wonderful. So when Hallowe’en Party came up on my Amazon recommendations and was only $1.99, how could I resist downloading and reading it as my Halloween read?! While the staff and children at Woodleigh Common, decorate for a Hallowe’en party, they have a famous mystery author…
-
Review: Gracelin O’Malley (Gracelin O’Malley #1) by Ann Moore
In Ireland, poverty is dominating the country throughout the 19th century. It’s a time of British rule and the Irish people need to make some concessions in order to survive to famine. Gracelin (Grace) is forced to put aside what dreams she had for herself and marry an English lord, Bram, to save her family from ruin. Though her brother encourages her to hold out and wait for love, Grace proceeds with the marriage. Initially the marriage seems like it will workout. Bram seems tender and gentle but after a time his true colors begin to shine though and their marriage rapidly becomes one of promise, to nothing short of a nightmare.
-
Review: The Hawley Book of the Dead by Chrysler Szarlan
Reve (Revelation) Dyer’s life changes in the blink of an eye. She works as an assistant to her magician husband, Jeremy, and together they have three lovely daughters. Their magic show in Las Vegas draws crowds every night, but in an instant everything changes. While performing a magic trick, Defying the Bullets, she is supposed to ‘shoot’ her husband and he in turn coughs up the bullet. When blood sprays and Jeremy falls dead to the ground, the audience and Reve are completely stunned. It becomes clear that someone altered her gun with a real bullet but the question was why? Reve and her daughters suddenly start receiving envelopes of pictures…
-
Review: Music for My Soul by Lauren Linwood
Madeleine Bouchard is on the run. She flees from her abusive husband in the dead of night. She hopes to make it to London and board a ship to France that will take her back to her family. She plans on putting as many miles between her and her husband as she can while it’s still dark when fate intervenes. Lord Garrett Montayne and his friend are also on the road to London in the wee hours of the morning when they see a woman walking alone. When they ride up on her, she goes into survival mode.When asked who she is, she can’t use her name as these men could be…
-
Review: Night of a Thousand Stars by Deanna Raybourn
Deanna Raybourn has been an author long on my radar. I hear wonderful things about her Lady Jane series from a number of people. So when the opportunity to review her latest standalone book, I was eager to try her books out! Poppy Hammond, is all set to marry into an aristocratic family but she has other plans which include making a run for it. She is assisted by the dashing curate Sebastian Cantrip who helps her escape to her family’s house where she can have some time to think and sort out her life. Before she can thank Sebastian for his assistance, he disappears and she sets her mind to…
-
Review: The Duplicitous Debutante (Cotillion Ball #6) by Becky Lower
New York society in the 1850’s, expects women to find a good husband, set up a functional home, and of course….have children. But Rosemary Fitzpatrick has other plans, the last thing she is interested in is entering society and beginning the great husband hunt! Rosemary has other ambitions which include writing the popular Harry Hawk dime novels. But it’s an age that frowns upon female writers and thus Rosemary writes as the gender generic, F.P. Elliott. Well the head of the publishing company sends his son, Henry Cooper, to meet this F.P. Elliott along with the other authors of the publishing company. Rosemary is totally captivated by his good looks and charm, and…