Book Critic
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Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper #1) by Kerri Maniscalco
Having a library card is the best thing in the world. After seeing this book on a few Instagram pages, I was lured in by the cover and title. I wasn’t really sure I wanted to buy it though so I put a hold on it at my local library. After waiting three weeks for it to be returned, I was finally able to pick it up! This is one of those times that I am so thankful for library cards. Seventeen-year-old Audrey Rose Wadsworth was born a lord’s daughter, with a life of wealth and privilege stretched out before her. But between the social teas and silk dress fittings,…
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Review: Anne of Green Gables (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by L.M. Montogomery
Earlier this year I reviewed the audio edition of this book and had mixed feelings. I loved Anne with an E as a little girl but as an adult I felt rather like a Marilla. However when the new Penguin Classic edition came up for review, I was all in, especially because I wanted to see if I found reading Anne as an adult was better than listening to her. This cover was everything. It captured childhood nostalgia and sentiment and stood out from other edition. Something about the cover screamed ‘raspberry cordial’ to me. I loved the bright colors and graphics. L. M. Montgomery’s novel Anne of Green Gables…
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Special Feature: Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables #1) by L.M. Montgomery
By now I am sure many of you are in full holiday mode. I know I am! The amount of Amazon Prime packages arriving at my house is actually quite embarrassing. How many of you have a young girl you are trying to buy for? Or maybe a wife who loves reading? You can’t go wrong with the classic Anne of Green Gables! Like many adult women today, I grew up loving Anne with an E Shirley. She was so sassy and funny that you can’t help but love her. As a young girl my first ‘crush’ was the dashing Gilbert Blythe. Earlier this year, I ‘listened’ to the audiobook…
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Take Two Review: A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire #3) by George R.R. Martin
Over the last couple of years, I have started re-reading the ASOIAF series. The first time I read all the books, I felt completely rushed and didn’t have a complete scope of everything that was happening. And let’s be real….there is SO much going on in this series. So many layers of betrayals, history, lore, and the complexity of the characters and houses alone warrants at least a few re-readings. This time through, I promised myself that I would savor each book and not feel rushed or like I was on a timeline to read each one. This book is my absolute favorite in the series so I was happy…
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Special Feature: PARIS FOR ONE by Jojo Moyes
I have been a huge fan of Jojo Moyes for years now. The first novel I read by her was ME BEFORE YOU and if you haven’t read it, you need to go read it like now! But make sure you have kleenex handy! Some novels are better than others but not the whole, Moyes has pretty solid writing skills and her novels satisfy even the pickiest readers. Many are tear jerkers so be prepared! Last year I had the pleasure of reading PARIS FOR ONE which was a delight, and now it’s out in paperback through Penguin Books. This book, even though it’s a novella, would be a great…
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Review: The Lure of the Moonflower (Pink Carnation #12) by Lauren Willig
So this is the book that everyone has been waiting for in this series…..Jane’s romance with maybe the exception of me. I have never really been a fan of Jane in this entire series. Maybe in the beginning she had intrigue and promise but as the series has gone on I just have liked her less and less. But I had to finish the series all the same and Willig is always so good at making me fall in love with her heroines, I tried to keep an open mind. Portugal, December 1807. Jack Reid, the British agent known as the Moonflower (formerly the French agent known as the Moonflower),…
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Review: Gin and Panic (Discreet Retrieval Agency, #3) by Maia Chance
I have just come off of reading two very very dense books with heavy subject matter. I needed something to just enjoy rather than something I need to digest. Enter Gin and Panic. I was happy to read a cozy mystery even though I was jumping in on the third book. I didn’t care. I just wanted something that looked entertaining without epic battles in every chapter. Former socialite Lola Woodby, not-so-discreet private eye in Prohibtion-era New York City, along with her grim Swedish sidekick, Berta, take on a piece-of-cake job: retrieving a rhinoceros trophy from the Connecticut mansion of big game hunter Rudy Montgomery.
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Review: A Column of Fire (Kingsbridge #3) by Ken Follett
I was first introduced to Ken Follett back in 2009 when I took my first trip to London. I needed something long enough that I would not read it all by the time the flight was over and long enough that I wouldn’t have to buy another book while I was there. One of my friends recommended The Pillars of the Earth. I wasn’t going to read it but she brought it for me and I felt bad saying no. Ironically, all I remember of that trip was how much I loved that book! That book was fantastic. I loved everything about it. I remember staying up way too late…
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Review: Christmas in London by Anita Hughes
I feel like I gained 10 pounds just reading this novel. This is a great foodie lover novel if you are into that sort of thing. Foodie lit is a new phenomenon for me but one that my tastebuds love and my waistline doesn’t. I love how charming novels like this are and I am surprised how much I loved the food element….needless to say, I devoured a roll of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls while reading this book….#sorrynotsorry. It’s a week before Christmas and Louisa Graham is working twelve hour shifts at a bakery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. When a young cooking show assistant comes in from the rain and…
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Review: The Ghost of Christmas Past (Molly Murphy #17) by Rhys Bowen
This is one series that I really need to go back and enjoy from beginning to end! While most of the Molly Murphy books can be read as stand alone books, why deprive yourself of such fun reading? I’ve only read one of the books in this series but I was very impressed with the quality of writing and mystery of that book and I was eager to read more by her. I’ve read one of her stand alone books and while good, I think her mystery books are better personally. My mom keeps giving me a copy of popular series, HER ROYAL SPYNESS, I have like 4 copies now.…