Book Critic
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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…
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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…
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Review: A Certain Darkness (Verity Kent #6) by Anna Lee Huber
Anna Lee Huber is one of my most favorite historical mystery writers! I have read all of her books and called in love with her different characters and series. I cannot tell you how comforting it is to pick up a book and know that you are going to enjoy it. Perhaps some books more than others but overall, each of the books she has written have been entertaining, engaging and I have no problem escaping into them each time a new Huber book is released. The Verity Kent series has been an interesting series for me. It’s a bit of a break in her usual style of heroine and…
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Review: A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers
This book has been on my radar for months and I was so excited to start reading it. I planned to read it when I had COVID but I couldn’t focus on anything and I ended up setting it aside and then I sort of forgot about it. Then when I was on my way to Cabo I thought this would be a great book to read on the plane so I picked it up on my way to the airport and was so glad I had it in my bag! I was hooked from the very beginning! I love gothic tales and ghost stories and this book promised both…
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Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
When I was asked to review this book, I was beyond excited! I haven’t read anything by Ali Hazelwood before but I was well aware of her STEM romance bestseller, The Love Hypothesis. I have The Love Hypothesis on audiobook as well as a hard copy and have been meaning to read it. Then I saw this one was coming out and I instantly added it to my review calendar because I just KNEW I would love this book! I love that the author features women in academia and STEM, I mean there really isn’t anything out there like that and when you throw in a hot romance with book…
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Review: The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman
I have adored Sara Ackerman’s books over the years. She writes such interesting novels about WWII that are set in Hawaii. Her passion for the island and its history really shine under her pen plus there is always a little bit of romance to entertain readers. I really enjoyed reading all of her books and find that each has been between a 4 and 5 star rating for me. When I saw this one was coming up, I made room on my review calendar for it. I hadn’t actually planned on reading it as soon as I did but I knew I would read it before the summer was out.…
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Review: The Lost Summers of Newport by Beatriz Williams, Karen White, and Lauren Willig
I have read all of Lauren Willig’s book and many by both Beatriz Williams and Karen White. All of their books have been some of my most favorite reads. Then they started to team up and write collective books together and I devoured those books so incredibly fast! I love how well written each book is and not just independently but as a writing team. When I saw this book was coming out, I knew I had to read it. I love how in all of their collective books, there are characters that make appearances in other collective books. For example in this book we meet Prunella who has been…
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Review: The Forgotten Cottage by Courtney Ellis
I read Courtney Ellis’s debut novel last summer, At Summer’s End, and good lord was it ever good! I devoured it and it was one of my favorite reads last year. So naturally when I saw this one coming up for review I was thrilled! This one has a great dual timeline aspect which I know is often overdone in historical fiction, but for me it never gets old! I love readling dual timeline books! This book promises long buried family secrets and complex characters rich in historical detail. And it certainly had all of those things! Ellis write beautiful historical fiction with lots of historical details and heart and…
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Review: Evil in Emerald (Harriet Gordon Mysteries #3) by A. M. Stuart
I think it’s safe to say that I cannot WAIT for the next book in this series. I have devoured this series over the last week and have loved every single book and this one ended on quite the cliffhanger and I NEED the next book! The series has such wonderfully written characters and each one stands independently strong in the story. Meaning neither character is fully dependent on the other if that makes sense. Curran and Harriet are both strong leads and watching their friendship evolve through the series has been so great, they don’t need each other to shine but they choose each other which makes this series…
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Review: Revenge in Rubies (Harriet Gordon Mysteries #2) by A. M. Stuart
The binge reading continues with the second book in the Harriet Gordon series. I loved the first book so much that I downloaded the next two in the series and read them each in a day! This is a wonderful series and I cannot believe it took me this long to discover it—-ok rather not discover it since I have had the first book sitting on my shelf for a couple of years—-but read it! There is so much to love in this series. Complex characters with their own unique stories and history, who don’t try to control or overly protect each other. They are independent and self assured without…