Book Critic
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Review: Pale Morning Light with Violet Swan by Deborah Reed
The cover of this book looks so calming and elegant. The second I saw this cover it put me in the mood for some high brow literature. The only problem was that I wasn’t quite in that sam mood when I picked this one up to actually start reading. When I first read the description for this one, it was back in early spring and was due to be released in the early summer but then it got pushed back to the fall and while I might have been ready for some heavy reading in the spring/summer, I was not in the mood for that in the fall. But I…
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Review: Daughter of Black Lake by Cathy Marie Buchanan
When this book first came up for review, I simply couldn’t pass it up. I have had The Painted Girls on my TBR since it came out in 2013 so when I saw that this book was by the same author, I knew it was a no brainer….I simply had to read this book! I love historical fiction and it’s always so hard for me to pass on a historical fiction book because I always enjoy them so much. But sometimes with any genre, it can start to feel stale. Over the years, I have started taking systematic breaks from historical fiction in favor of thrillers or horror just to…
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Review: Murder at Queen’s Landing (Wrexford & Sloane #4) by Andrea Penrose
I absolutely fell in love with this series when I read the very first book. I can’t believe the series is only on book 4, I feel like so much has happened in these four books. It’s been quite the journey. When I saw this one on Netgalley, I immediately downloaded it and couldn’t wait to dive in. The book wasn’t due to come out until September and I downloaded the book in June…..needless to say I read it in June because I couldn’t wait to see what happened between Wrexford and Sloane in this book! I read this book in only a couple of sittings and couldn’t put it…
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Review: Murder on Cold Street (Lady Sherlock #5) by Sherry Thomas
This is a series that I am so glad I decided to try again. When I read the first book, I couldn’t even finish it. I struggled to get into the series and the first book. I DNF about 20% of the way through and felt incredibly sad about it because by all accounts this was a series that I should have loved. I kept seeing the books coming out and so many people raving about them that I kept wondering if I just was missing something and maybe needed to give it another go. But I held off because it’s hard to change my mind once I hav DNF…
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Review: The Lavender Garden by Lucinda Riley (Audible Edition)
One night I was browsing for a new audiobook on Audible and the book The Light Behind the Window by Lucinda Riley popped up as a recommended read. I was so excited because I thought it was a new Lucinda Riley book so I downloaded it immediately. Then I realized that it wasn’t a new Lucinda Riley book but rather the UK title for The Lavender Garden. Which was actually ok because I have had The Lavender Garden on my TBR since 2013 so I thought it must have been a sign that it was time to read it. I started listening to it in my car while driving my…
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Review: A Pretty Deceit (Verity Kent #4) by Anna Lee Huber
I have been a long time fan of Anna Lee Huber and I have read every single one of her books. I never miss one of her new releases so obviously I had the next Verity Kent book on my calendar months before its release. When I first started this series it felt different than Huber’s other books not just in time period but in characters too. Verity Kent has a lot more grit and grey area to her than some of Huber’s other heroines. And don’t even get me started on Sidney. I have struggled with Sidney’s character since the first book and have in all honesty never quite…
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Review: A Highlander is Coming to Town (Highland, Georgia #3) by Laura Trentham
Yes I know it’s barely fall and I should be gearing up for all the spooky and mystery reads (don’t worry I am!) right now, but yes this is a Christmas book that you see here today! Every year I always say to myself ‘I am going to wait until Nov 1 before reading any Christmas books’ and every year I manage to squeeze one or two in before all the horror and ghost stories. This book sounded like it would be a quick, easy, and festive read that I could burn through in a day or two and it was exactly that and I finished it feeling satisfied and…
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Review: A Trace of Deceit (Victorian Mystery #2) by Karen Odden
I decided to read the first book in this series before picking this one up. Thinking that as it was a series, I would need to get caught up to speed with the characters before diving into this one. As there was only one book, I figured it wouldn’t be a bad idea just to check it out. Well come to find out, I didn’t really need to read the first book in the series before this one, but I am still glad that I did as it gave readers a nice introduction to one of the main characters in this book, Matthew. If you love historical mysteries, then I…
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Review: Before the Crown by Flora Harding
Not only is this cover absolutely breathtaking, but the story sounded excellent as well. But in all honesty, it was the cover that captured my attention and made me want to read this one! Thanks to shows like The Crown, royals and Queen Elizabeth have been getting a lot of attention and focus. In The Crown though we don’t get too much background on the early years of Princess Elizabeth so that’s why this one excited me so much. This book promised to shed some light on the romance between Phillip and Elizabeth and I was absolutely here for it!
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Review: A Dangerous Duet (Victorian Mystery #1) by Karen Odden
Karen Odden is an author I have had on my radar for a while but I just never seem to pick up any of her books. Well that changed when I was asked to read the second book in the Victorian Mystery series. I thought I had better read the first book in the series before jumping into the second book, so I ordered this one and dove right in! As many of you know, I never met a historical mystery that I didn’t like—ok well maybe there were a couple, but by and large, I love historical mysteries and I love discovering new heroines and heroes to admire.