Book Critic
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Review: Anne of Green Gables (Anne of Green Gables #1) by L.M. Montgomery, Colleen Winton (Narrator)
Every time that the Anne of Green Gables movies was on TV when I was a young girl—I watched it. Religiously. I loved the 1985 version….a true childhood classic for me. Anne with an E was my idol. Mostly because I too was an Anne with an E so I felt like in some way we had a special connection. Now as an adult, I can’t tell you a single thing about the movie I watched many many times over as a girl, but I remember loving it and I remember that it made me fall in love with all things turn of the century and that I wanted desperately…
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Review: The Sumage Solution (San Andreas Shifters #1) by G.L. Carriger
I have been a fan of Gail Carriger for YEARS. Her series The Parasol Protectorate has been one of my favorites since reading it for the first time like six years ago. I’ve read some of her short stories as well which have a distinguishable cheek. I love just about everything she puts out. I haven’t read a lot of LGBTQ books, in fact I think the only one I have read was also by Carriger. It’s not really a genre that I readily pick up to read, but Carriger has such fantastic writing skills that I am always eager to read her latest book or story! Not to mention…
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Review: Arrowood by Mick Finlay
I absolutely love the tagline of this book: London Society takes their problems to Sherlock Holmes. Everyone else goes to Arrowood. That totally caught my eye when I was scanning Netgalley in search of new books to read this summer. An anti-Sherlock Holmes sounded refreshing and new. I have been watching the TV show Sherlock (which if you haven’t watched it, go right now to Netflix and start!) and I love the modern take on it, so I thought that something like an anti-Sherlock read would be complimentary. The Afghan War is over and a deal with the Irish appears to have brought an end to sectarian violence, but Britain’s position in the…
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Review: The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer
This book was marketed to fans of Outlander and I can totally see why. Lady doctor some how time travels back hundreds of years and falls in love. Sounds a lot like Outlander right? If you want to get that basic, then yes it is similar to Outlander, however this book is not Outlander so if you are looking for another book series that’s basically like Outlander, then I suggest looking elsewhere. Now that said, if you liked Outlander this book has similarities that you might find intriguing and interesting so if you like time slip novels then keep reading this review. Accomplished neurosurgeon Beatrice Trovato knows that her deep…
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Review: Murder on Black Swan Lane (A Wrexford and Sloane Mystery #1) by Andrea Penrose
While combing through the catalog of titles on Netgalley, I happened to come across this one and admittedly, was captivated by the cover. I am not really sure why, I mean it’s not like it’s really that new and eye catching….I feel like I’ve seen a ton of books with similar titles that I was passed by in favor of something more eye catching. But for some reason I paused on this one long enough to read the summary. Again, nothing terribly fresh but yet it sounded like just the thing I was looking for…..something predictable. I was dying to read another British detective mystery novel and this sounded like…
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Review: India Black (Madam of Espionage #1) by Carol K Carr
This book has randomly surfaced on my Goodreads recommendations page and Twitter feed for the last few years now. I personally love the cover and thought it sounded like an intriguing read. Well recently I saw someone else on Twitter reading it and I suddenly felt like it was time to check it out. When Sir Archibald Latham of the War Office dies from a heart attack while visiting her brothel, Madam India Black is unexpectedly thrust into a deadly game between Russian and British agents who are seeking the military secrets Latham carried. Blackmailed into recovering the missing documents by the British spy known as French, India finds herself…
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Review: Wives of War by Soraya M Lane
It’s been a long time since I have sought out an author to do a review. Most of the time, books come my way and if it sounds like something I might like or in the mood for, then I review it. However with Wives of War, I saw the book on my Twitter feed and it totally grabbed my attention and for one reason….I loved the cover. In my never fending Twitter feed, I see tons of books go by. But with this one, the cover caught my eye which promoted me to read the description. It sounded like something totally up my alley so I asked if I…
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Review: One Good Thing (Ten Beach Road #5) by Wendy Wax
I am knee deep in summer reading and what better book to read at the beginning of summer than something with the word ‘beach’ in the title and a cocktail on the cover? Ok this one didn’t have ‘beach’ in the title but the series does so I figured close enough! One Good Thing is the fifth book in the Ten Beach Road series and it did get me in the mood for summer. Embroiled in a battle to regain control of their renovation-turned-reality TV show, Do Over, Maddie, Avery, Nikki, and Kyra find themselves holding tight to the frayed ends of their friendship and relationships. Maddie must face the…
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Review: Love & Death in Burgundy by Susan C. Shea
How many amateur detective novels have you read that are set in a quaint English village? Tons, am I right? Now don’t get me wrong, I love my English village mysteries but sometimes it’s nice to have a change of scenery. The French country side is the perfect setting for this mystery. When I think of France all I think of is Paris, but there is a whole other beautiful countryside that often gets overshadowed by the lights of Paris. I loved how this story brought life to the French countryside. I am ready to buy a little chateau in the country and drink wine…..now if only there was a…
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Review: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
War and Peace or more commonly known as “the book most people have lied about reading” is the definition of epic. This book is big and intimidating but it’s often the crown jewel for readers, why? Because it’s arguably the greatest novel ever written, so naturally if you’ve read it you must be part of the ‘in crowd’ or elite readers of the literary world. So, why haven’t I read this book up until now? I mean, I’ve read massive books before, I mean the A Song of Ice and Fire books are just as long as this book so I’ve clearly read long books. Let’s not forget Les Miserables,…