Book Critic
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Review: The Light Over London by Julia Kelly
I have had this one on my radar since last year! I was so excited to be part of the paperback release and couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book when it finally arrived! WWII adds so much drama and interest for me when it comes to novels—especially those set in London. From a historical standpoint, I prefer WWI but when it comes to war time romances, WWII is where it’s at for me. Julia Kelly has written a number of historical romance novels and this appears to be a little different than her usual books but knowing that where was a romantic element in this story made…
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Review: The First Lady and the Rebel by Susan Higginbotham
The first thing that caught my eye about this book was its absolutely stunning cover, and it’s even more beautiful in person! I couldn’t take my eyes off of it and easily found room on my schedule to read it. I also thought the time period and setting would be appealing as I am a Civil War historian, I couldn’t wait to crack it open and discover the story of two sisters on opposite sides of the Mason Dixon line! The two sisters were none other than Mary Todd Lincoln, future first lady, and Emily Todd Helm. Right away I was curious to see how this one unfolded. There are…
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Review: The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter by Hazel Gaynor (Audible Edition)
I’ve been a huge fan of Hazel Gaynor for quite some time and when I saw this book was being released last year, I couldn’t wait and had it no my pre order for months! It arrived and all the reviews were outstanding and I couldn’t wait to crack it open…..and then I just didn’t. I don’t know why but it just never seemed like the right time to read it. As many of you know, I got hooked on Audible earlier this year and have been using it as a tool to supplement my reading. I only listen when I am running errands and if I get really into…
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Review: The Lost Daughter by Gill Paul
I read one of Gill Paul’s novels last year and loved it. I was so excited to see that she was writing a novel about the Romanov family that was coming out in August. Rather than pick up one of her other novels, I decided to hold off and wait for this one to come out. The Romanov tragedy is fascinating to me. It’s one of the greatest tragedies in modern history, but while I am fascinated by it, I haven’t actually read a lot about the family and the history or politics of the time. This was one of the big reasons I was looking forward to this one.…
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Review: Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution by by Kate Quinn, Sophie Perinot, Laura Kamoie, Stephanie Dray, E. Knight, Heather Webb, Allison Pataki
Epic was the first thing that I thought of when I saw this book. There are six different writers in this book and that fact alone suggests that this book was going to have a huge scope. But to be honest, the amount of authors that contributed to this book, made me a little nervous. There are a number of powerhouse writers here and all of them independently successful and excellent authors, but how would their varying styles work together and mesh into one novel? That was my biggest hold out on this one. I know that many of these same authors have collaborated together to write multiple other works—but…
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Review: The Lying Room by Nicci French
I have only read one of Nicci French’s books and that was the 5th book in her popular Frida Klein series. It was about three years ago when I first read that book and I recall feeling like I was missing out on a lot of the behind the scenes friendships and connections by picking up the series midway through. Which is why I didn’t continue the series after that book. She has written a few other standalone books though and I was excited to see this one come across my desk for review since it was one of her first standalone novels in quite a while! By picking up…
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Review: The Girl in the Castle (Deverill Chronicles #1) by Santa Montefiore (Audible Edition)
I read one of Santa Montefiore’s standalone novels recently and I couldn’t get enough of it. I loved Secrets of the Lighthouse and I was desperate to get my hands on another one of her novels. I logged on to Audible and immediately downloaded this book, as the Deverill Chronicles had been highly recommended and is probably one of her most well known books. Most of Montefiore’s novels are standalone but this book is the first in a series that spans 4 books so I knew it would be more epic in nature just based on the scope of this series and time periods each book covers.
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Review: Campusland by Scott Johnston
My sister works at Harvard as one of their librarians so any time I see a book about an ivy league college, I find myself drawn to it. The summary of this book promised to include all the things that I find captivating about ivy league schools…..elitism and rich people problems. I couldn’t pass on this one because I was too drawn to the idea of it. This is a book that I wouldn’t normally pick up in the store or really be drawn to if I’m being honest, but I liked the summary and the fact that this author is also a Yale alum. This is Scott Johnston’s first novel…
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Review: Call Upon the Water by Stella Tillyard
The first thing that went through my mind when I read the summary of this book was it sounded a lot like Philippa Gregory’s latest novel, Tidelands, which I have not read but has definitely been on my radar. I picked up Tidelands from my library but I only got a couple of chapters in before I had to return it. Since then I’ve been meaning to pick it back up and continue the story but I have other books that have been rather diverting. So when this book came up for review I was eager to read it because it sounded so similar. Tillyard has written a number of novels…
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Review: The Vanished Bride (Brontë Sisters Mystery #1) by Bella Ellis
Big big big Bronte fan here! So it’s a given that I have been looking forward to this book for quite a while! But I will admit I was on the fence about it. This book is a reimagining of the Bronte sisters as lady detectives and for me it could have gone either way. I mean, the sisters wrote romances, not mysteries so I was worried that this book might come across as hokey. So basically, I had reservations. I worried that I might have a hard time imagining them as detectives but on the other I love all things Bronte and I simply couldn’t pass on the opportunity…