Book Critic
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Review: Well Matched (Well Met #3) by Jen DeLuca
Of all the books, I couldn’t wait to read April’s story! I think mostly because she and I are basically the same age and while I loved the other books I felt like this one was going to be the book I related to the most because of that reason. April is a single mom and divorcee who is a little antisocial and is counting down the days until her daughter graduates and she can start living her own life again. While I am NOT a single mom, I felt this connection to April early on in the books. I am also a little reserved and struggle to fit into…
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Review: Well Played (Well Met #2) by Jen DeLuca
I picked up the first book in this series on a whim. I had seen the third book around the social media world and thought it sounded cute but wanted to start with the first book in the series (which I loved by the way!). Naturally I moved on to this second book with a ton of enthusiasm! I downloaded the audiobook for this one as well as the first book. The narrator is the same and I enjoyed her quite a bit. Plus, I can listen at work which is a huge bonus for me! I have really enjoyed this quirky series. I mean it’s not every day that…
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Review: Under the Golden Sun by Jenny Ashcroft
I was first introduced the Jenny Ashcroft’s wonderful writing ability in her novel Meet Me in Bombay last year and I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t read anything by her before. So when I saw she had another historical fiction novel coming out this year I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. It’s now a foregone conclusion, I need all of her books. I love that she writes historical fiction novels that are set in exotic locations—Egypt, Singapore, Bombay and now Australia. This book is set in WWII (her other books also have a war backdrop) and I think this is such a wonderful pairing because so many…
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Review: Shadows of Swanford Abbey by Julie Klassen
I read one of Julie Klassen’s books a few years ago and absolutely loved it. She reminds me of a modern Victoria Holt and by modern I don’t mean her stories, as they are all historical fiction, but modern in that Klassen is a modern woman and she writes strong, vibrant heroines! I was super excited to check out this latest novel from Klassen so when it came up for review, naturally it was a no brainer as a YES! In the historical fiction world, there are a ton of Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart fans and for good reason. Their novels really took the small ‘Gothic romance’ genre and…
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Review: Beneath a Starless Sky by Tessa Harris
You had me at forbidden romance with this one. I am an absolute sucker for forbidden romances and this book sounded like it had the ultimate forbidden romance—German soldier and a Jewish woman during WWII. I mean come on how could I pass on that? I was super excited to dive into this one. Author Tessa Harris has written two other historical mysteries series (which I now need to read) but this is her first stand alone historical fiction novel. While her other novels are set in the Victorian era, this one is set during WWII and I thought she did a wonderful job with her historical research and presentation…
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Review: All I Want for Christmas is a Cowboy (Wyoming Cowboys #1) by Jessica Clare
After reading Holly Jolly Cowboy on vacation, I immediately needed another cowboy book to keep me entertained so I snagged the first book on my Kindle the second I finished with the other book. This series has quickly become my guilty pleasure and I am not even a little bit sorry about it. I love small town romances and this series has made me want to move to Wyoming and buy all the cows and do all the ranch things not to mention transform my husband into a sexy cowboy. If you are looking for some steamy holiday romances, this series has you covered. Now not every book in the…
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Review: Holly Jolly Cowboy (Wyoming Cowboy #7) by Jessica Clare
I literally have no idea where I saw this book or why but I think it must have been on Amazon and I was like ‘awwww look at that cute dog on the cover’ and next thing I know, this book is arriving in my mailbox. In all honesty, I didn’t think I would read this one. I thought it would be a holiday book that I picked up and then sat on my bookshelf for the next 12 months until next holiday season and by which time I would have forgotten all about. But I left it sitting on my coffee table and that cover just kept calling to…
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Review: A Class Coveted (A Matter of Class #4) by Susie Murphy
Over the years I have read so many historical fiction novels all with varying degrees of subject matter, time period, and sub genre. I am always on the lookout for the next hot historical fiction novel especially from up and coming new authors. I love having a ‘secret’ book that no one knows about that I can share with everyone. A few years ago I reviewed the first book in this series, A Class Apart, and I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect when I first picked it up but then I was quickly involved with Bridget and Cormac’s story and devoured the book. Author Susie Murphy is an independent…
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Review: All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M Morris
In my lady murder book club, we are always looking for the hottest new thriller to read. While we really want to read just murder books, we are also open to more of the thriller variety. But lately, we have been looking for thrillers/murder books that are written by POC. To say that the POC pool for thrillers is scant would be an understatement. We have been looking for months and nothing has been popping up on our radar—-until this book! We were so excited to see this book when it was pitched to me last summer. We decided in July that it would be our November book to read…
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Review: The Ex Hex (Ex Hex #1) by Erin Sterling
This book I snagged on a whim as my Book of the Month pick for October. It sounded like funny fluff reading and even if I haven’t been a fan of Erin Sterling AKA Rachel Hawkins, I was still excited to read something a little funny and distracting for the bewitching season. And yes I know that it is now November and I am just now getting around to posting my review of this one. Things have been a little crazy so while I did read this one back in October my review calendar has been pretty full so here we are. So what exactly attracted to me to this…