Book Critic
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Review: The Moon Sister (The Seven Sisters #5) by Lucinda Riley
The Seven Sisters series has been a favorite of mine for the last few years! I have read all of them except the third book, not sure how I missed that one, which ironically was the one I was looking forward to most, but I will definitely be going back to read it as soon as I can. Riley writes with such an elegance and I love how each “Sister” novel stands alone but all together they form singular parts to a larger story. This series also explores a lot of different cultures and setting around the globe, it’s like getting to travel to exotic locations without having to leave…
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Review: American Duchess: A Novel of Consuelo Vanderbilt by Karen Harper
This novel I happened to see on one of my friend’s Instagram and had immediate book envy! I absolutely love the cover and the novel itself sounded so intriguing! Let me just rave about this cover art for just a moment. The orange hues are incredible and if I was walking thru a bookstore and saw this book, I would instantly grab it. The cover art is elegant and appealing, especially to a reader who loves this era (like me). So, as it happened, I shamelessly begged for a copy of this book because I couldn’t stand the thought of missing out on it. I only have basic knowledge of Consuelo…
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Review: Cherokee America by Margaret Verble
This book intrigued me for one reason—it sounded different. This is an ‘Own Voices’ book so I loved that it would be more about people on the fringes and as a historian this book held a lot of appeal to me. It weaves Native American culture with a more traditional family narrative all set in a post Civil War world to create something unique and new. Based on that promise, I was eager to read this and see how it all worked together. I haven’t read a lot of books set on the frontier or with Native American culture mixed in, so something like this book appealed to my curious…
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Review: In the Dark (DI Adam Fawley #2) by Cara Hunter
This book arrived on my desk for review a little late in the game for me. It came early in February and most of my February review schedule was set and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to try and add one more book to the month. However, this book sounded positively horrifying—a woman and child are found in the basement of a house barely alive and can’t speak and no one knows who they are? What in the world—was the first thing that went through my mind. I was instantly curious and eager to find out what this book was all about. So I did what any sensible book…
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Review: The Chef’s Secret by Crystal King
When I first saw this title, it made me hungry. The cover art did nothing to help that situation either. The trey of wine and fruit looks so appealing and I couldn’t help but think that I needed to crack open a bottle of wine to commemorate the beginning of this book! Now if truth be told—I am neither a foodie or a wine drinker, but for this book I felt like I totally could be! I thought it sounded like a fun and interesting story told in a unique setting–so I said yes to reading it. My sister got me a book on famous recipes from different Pope’s for…
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Review: Secrets at Cedar Cabin (Lavender Tides #3) by Colleen Coble
I read one of Colleen Coble’s romantic suspense novels back in August 2018. It was the second book in the Lavender Tides series and I thought it was a really fun read and was eager to read more about this Pacific Northwestern coastal town. Being from Oregon and loving the Oregon coast, is what initially drew me to this author. I love when places that I know and love are featured in books. Even though Lavender Tides is a fictional city, the descriptions of this little town are vivid and could easily be any Washington or Oregon coastal town. Coble’s writing is suspenseful and thoughtful with the romance sharing the…
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Review: The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin
Tara Conklin is one of those authors that has a large cult following. With the success of her novel THE HOUSE GIRL, so many people love her and would eagerly read any of her novels. THE HOUSE GIRL has been recommended to me over and over again, but I just haven’t been moved to pick it up. It came out at a time when I was working on my Master’s in American History and was knee deep in slave research for one of my papers, so the last thing I wanted to read was anything about slavery or the south or the Civil War. Then THE HOUSE GIRL got buried…
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Review: The Beast’s Heart by Leife Shallcross
This book immediately caught my eye when it came across my desk for review. The cover is not only beautiful, but memorable and eye-catching. Plus it is marketed as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. I am of course a huge Belle fan and I was eager to jump on this one and made it my special Valentines Day read. Lately there has been a lot of interest in writing fairy tale retellings and I am one hundred percent on board with that! The other thing that caught my eye was that it was more of a conventional retelling rather than having a modern twist or removing the ;magic’…
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Review: The Curiosities by Susan Gloss
As many of you know, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to read more books outside my comfort zone. I do read a lot of women’s fiction, but I often pass on books that have anything to do with pregnancy loss or infertility. Not necessarily because it’s a sensitive subject, but more because I often find that it’s incredibly heavy and when I read, I want something happy. This book caught me a little unaware when it came to its subject matter, but that was mostly my fault. This cover looks so happy and colorful. Just looking at this cover made me think spring. I have also seen a…
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Review: With this Pledge (Carnton #1) by Tamera Alexander
This is my first Tamera Alexander book, though I have had her books on my TBR radar for quite some time. I think her covers are beautiful and there is something about southern belles and romances that I can’t get enough of. But yet, I haven’t moved her books up on my TBR list for some unknown reason. I was thrilled when this book came up for review because it gave me the perfect excuse to read one of her books, but then I forgot that I had it coming up soon. When I started looking at my calendar I realized that I hadn’t even started it yet and to…