Book Critic
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Review: A Perilous Undertaking (Veronica Speedwell #2) by Deanna Raybourn
So as many of you might have noticed, I have been on a Deanna Raybourn book binge read! I first discovered Raybourn’s books a few years ago when I read Night of a Thousand Stars, which I thought was pretty good as a stand alone book. It wasn’t until last year that I rediscovered Raybourn and picked up the first Veronica Speedwell book and absolutely fell in love with the series. Needless to say, I’ve been waiting a long time for this book to come out…..I literally couldn’t wait until January for it to come out, fortunately for me I got my hands on an ARC of the next book!
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Review: Silent in the Sanctuary (Lady Julia Grey #2) by Deanna Raybourn
While I was waiting patiently for my induction to start (which basically took like 12 hours), I was able to finish reading the latest Lady Julia book! And what a perfect read to pass the time! I’ve been a fan of Raybourn for quite some time, but the first Lady Julia book didn’t quite meet my expectations, however I liked her enough and love Raybourn’s ability to create romantic tension between characters that I thought I would give the second book a try. Having been away in Italy with her brothers and their friends, Lady Julia has heard nothing from her sort of love interest Nicholas Brisbane. But she has had…
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Review: Silent in the Grace (Lady Julia Grey #1) by Deanna Raybourn
Lady Julia’s husband has literally just dropped dead in the middle of her dinner party. After being in failing health for most of their marriage, Lady Julia knows he isn’t long for this world but she is shocked when the impertinent Nicolas Brisbane suggests that it might have been foul play. Brisbane is a private investigator who was hired by Lady Julia’s husband because he believed someone wanted him dead. Brisbane plans on continuing the investigation if Lady Julia would like….but she is reluctant to believe him and dismisses him after the funeral. A year later, a chance discovery changes her mind and she reaches out to Brisbane for help in solving…
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Take Two Review: A Clash of Kings (A Song of Ice and Fire #2) by George R. R. Martin
After watching the rapidly developing plot lines of season 6 of Game of Thrones on HBO, I felt the need to re-read the second book in the ASOIAF series. It’s been two years since I re-read the first book and I got so much out of the second reading that I vowed to continue re-reading the series over the years. The last time I read the second book was in 2012 so obviously it’s been a while and lots of details have been forgotten. With no real rush or agenda, I started reading the second book back in May and I just finished it in July…..yes it took me much longer…
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Review: Poison or Protect (Delightfully Deadly #1) by Gail Carriger
I have been a huge fan of Gail Carriger since reading Soulless way back in 2011! Carriger has a wonderful whit that translates so well onto the pages of her stories. When this short story came across my desk for review, I was thrilled to read another book set in the same world that Carriger has crafted so well! Over the years she has written the Parasol Protectorate series which is more of an adult read, and then the Finishing School series which is more of a YA read but both are set in the same world that the PP series begins. This latest novella is also set in the same world…..a steampunk universe…
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Review: The Secret Language of Stones: A Novel (The Daughters of La Lune #2) by M.J. Rose
When I read the first book, The Witch of Painted Sorrows, I had no idea that it was going to end up being an actual ‘series’. It read so well as a stand alone book that I was surprised to see it would be becoming a series. So when this one came across my desk, I was thrilled to review it and see how the ‘series’ was going to develop as there were some loose ends that weren’t exactly completely tied up in the first book. This book was right up my alley, WWI France. I love books set in this time period not to mention a little hint of…
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Review: Tides of Honour by Genevieve Graham
Oh how I love war time romances but I especially enjoy them when they are different. This book is set in Canada during the Great War which is what immediately drew me in. I haven’t read any books on the Great War set anywhere other than England or France so this book totally grabbed my attention. Private Daniel Baker is completely unprepared to meet the love of his life in the middle of a war but that’s exactly what happens in the summer of 1916 when he marches off to France as part of Nova Scotia’s 25th Battalion. Audrey Poulin lives alone with her grandmother in the quiet French countryside, where…
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Review: Re Jane by Patricia Park
This is the year of all things Jane Eyre! With it being the 200th anniversary for Jane Eyre, there are TONS of retellings out there right now! Jane Eyre isn’t my most favorite Bronte book but I do admire Jane’s spirit and it’s always fun to read modern retellings of classics! So even though this book sounded a little different….I like different…..so I agreed to read it and see what it’s all about! For Jane Re, half-Korean, half-American orphan, Flushing, Queens, is the place she’s been trying to escape from her whole life. Sardonic yet vulnerable, Jane toils, unappreciated, in her strict uncle’s grocery store and politely observes the traditional…
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Review: The Gilded Cage by Judy Alter
This book sounded like it was kind of ‘off the beaten path’ as far as setting goes, which was why I decided to read this It’s rare for me to read a historical fiction novel that’s set in America, and when I do it’s usually an east coast setting so this whole Chicago setting sounded intriguing and I thought I would try it out! Born to society and a life of privilege, Bertha Honoré married Potter Palmer, a wealthy entrepreneur who called her Cissy. Neither dreamed the direction the other’s life would take. He built the Palmer House Hotel, still famed today, and became one of the major robber barons…
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Review: Just Life by Neil Abramson
As a general rule, I typically decline any and all books to do with dogs because they just give me too many feels…..good bad or otherwise! However, there was something about this one that sounded really intriguing…..maybe it was the hint of a scientific type of story line…..I don’t know but something just said ‘read me’ about this book. An unidentified virus is spreading through the New York City neighborhood of Riverside, near Central Park. Despite the desperate need for answers, the medical community can only determine the cause is zoonotic, suggesting birds one day and dogs the next as the possible source. Despite the lack of information, the politically…