Book Critic
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Review: A Grave Robbery (Veronica Speedwell #9) by Deanna Raybourn
I discovered author Deanna Raybourn many years ago. I love all her books. She has written some wonderful historical mystery series that I will forever cherish, this series being at the top of that list. Veronica is such a wonderful character and I have loved watching her and Stoker grow together as a couple and in their friendship throughout the course of the series. Naturally this was on the TOP of my TBR list for this year. There have been times though where I have felt like maybe this series could have wrapped up but it is hard to say good bye to characters that you have become attached to.…
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Review: A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke
I randomly watched a show on National Geographic about Sir John Franklin’s lost Arctic expedition days before I was pitched this book. I was fascinated by the lost expedition and when this book made it onto my desk for review immediately following the show, I was super intrigued and couldn’t WAIT to read this one! I was so excited to read a new ghost story and one that featured shipwrecks, questions, and a rugged landscape that takes on a life of its own within the story. I have really been on an Arctic kick lately, the Franklin expedition show was just the start, I got hooked on more series featuring…
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Review: Murder in Masquerade (A Lady of Letters #2) by Mary Winters
I absolutely adored the first book in this series! I loved the idea of an advice column as a catalyst for a murder investigation (which is how the first book starts!) and while I didn’t think I would like reading the advice columns at the beginning of each chapter—it grew on my and now I love it! A cozy mystery with some romance was just what I needed going into the long winter months. I started this book in early January and was done with it in a matter of days and naturally I am anxious for the next book in the series to come out and sadly I am…
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Review: A Smoking Bun (A Bakeshop Mystery #18) by Ellie Alexander
Ellie Alexander is such a solid choice when it comes to cozy mysteries! I have really enjoyed many of her cozy mystery books and while they are not historical cozies, I love all the food and charm of Ashland Oregon in the Bakeshop Mysteries! Not to mention I know Ashland well and I love how Alexander brings the town to life! That is one of the reasons I always come back to her books…..she writes with such authenticity of the region and being an Oregonian myself, I love seeing our state highlighted to such perfection! The Bakeshop Mysteries has been a series that I have jumped around in over the…
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Review: Chasing the Horizon (A Western Light #1) by Mary Connealy
A few years ago I read a book completely out of my typical historical fiction time period, Where the Lost Wander. I absolutely LOVED this book for so many reasons and I have since been looking for ‘the right’ book to read next that might fit within that time period. There aren’t a lot of popular historical fiction books set in the American West that draw me in. Don’t get me wrong I love the American West from a historical standpoint and I grew up watching all the cowboy TV shows (Dr Quinn and Young Riders I am looking at you!) but it’s typically not a genre of book that…
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Review: The Gentleman’s Gambit (A League of Extraordinary Women #4) by Evie Dunmore
This book was on my pre-order for months. Evie Dunmore has crafted such a unique world in her books and with the ‘votes for women suffragette movement’ as a historical backdrop. I was fully expecting to enjoy this book and say good bye to the series and characters of this series as this is the last installment, but when I started reading it, I found it wasn’t holding my interest in the way that I had hoped. In past years, I would have kept reading—ride or die—to complete the book. But in recent years I have been trying to be more intentional with my reading. There are some books where…
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Review: The Foxhole Victory Tour by Amy Lynn Green
Whenever I am looking at books for potential review, one of the first things I check out is the author. Is it someone I have read before? Seen around the bogging world? Maybe it’s someone I had on my TBR or it could be a new author that sounds interesting. In this case, Amy Lynn Green is a new to me author. I didn’t recognize any of her books nor had I heard any buzz for her, but sometimes that in of itself is a draw! Sometimes I want the authors that fly under the radar since buzz doesn’t always mean ‘must read’. That’s how I felt about this one,…
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Review: Iron Flame (The Empyrean #2) by Rebecca Yarros
By about half way through Fourth Wing, I had already downloaded book two, Iron Flame. I instinctively knew that I would need the second book immediately following Fourth Wing and I was absolutely not wrong. I was thrilled when we got snow/iced in for almost a week too so that I could spend all my snow days reading! I was so happy the both myself and husband were home from school along with our seven year old. My husband and son thankfully watched movies while I was able to curl up on the couch and read this book. I finished it in about two days which is saying something considering…
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The Lilly of Legate Hill (Belles of London #3) by Mimi Matthews
As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I have started scaling back on a lot of my reviews for publishers etc quite a bit for 2024. This will not always be the case, but for now I need to juggle family, work, and hobbies so for now I am scaling back. But there are a few authors that I will always make room for in my review calendar. One of those is Mimi Matthews. She is one of my favorite historical romance writers and I have read all of her books. For me, she has been one of those authors who went overlooked by bigger publishing houses and…
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Review: A Winter by the Sea (On Devonshire Shores #2) by Julie Klassen
I featured this book when the cover reveal came out and since then I have been so excited to read this one! I read the first book in the series last year and really enjoyed it and couldn’t wait for the next installment in the series. Not to mention I am a big fan of Julie Klassen so naturally I had this one on my radar for months prior to its release! And honestly how could you not get excited about this book when you see the cover??? The Cover is stunning and I just knew it would be a good that would grab my attention! Julia Klassen is a…