Book Critic
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Review: The Storm Sister (The Seven Sisters #2) by Lucinda Riley
Last spring, I had the pleasure of starting this unique series, The Seven Sisters. This series tells the story of each of the D’Apliese sisters that were adopted by a rich billionaire, Pa Salt, and named after the Seven Sisters constellation. This book is the second in the series and chronicles the story of Ally D’Apliese who is a sensible, professional sailor. After sailing in one of her most challenging races, the smoldering chemistry between skipper, Theo, and Ally is ripe for igniting. The two are vacationing together in the Greek Isles when word reaches Ally that Pa Salt has died. After this devastating news Ally returns to her home retreat ‘Atlantis’…
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Review: The Tsarina’s Legacy by Jennifer Laam
The book begins with flashbacks to the Empress Catherine of Russia, and the relationship she had with Grigory ‘Grisha’ Potemkin. Grisha is in love with Catherine, and is trying to win back her heart. Unfortunately, Catherine has a new lover named Platon Zubov. Platon is a threat to Grisha, not only because he is Catherine’s lover, but also because he tries to influence Catherine. He is determined to preserve Catherine’s legacy he must save her from Zubov’s dangerous influence and win back her heart. Veronica Herrera receives news that she is an heiress to the Romanov throne, and receives an invitation to go to Russia. Seeking purpose, Veronica agrees to act…
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Review: The Girl from the Paradise Ballroom by Alison Love
Soho, 1937. When struggling Italian singer Antonio meets the wife of his wealthy new patron he recognizes her instantly: it is Olivia, the captivating dance hostess he once encountered in the seedy Paradise Ballroom. Olivia is afraid that Antonio will betray the secrets of her past, but little by little they are drawn together, outsiders in a glittering world to which they do not belong. At last, with conflict looming across Europe, the attraction between them becomes impossible to resist – but when Italy declares war on Britain, the impact threatens to separate them for ever… That’s the description of this latest historical fiction novel and to my surprise…..the description…
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Review: The Winemakers by Jan Moran
Caterina Rosetta has got some big time choices to make in her life but her options are limited. She’s had a daughter out of wedlock with a man who she thinks has abandoned her….and since it’s the 1950’s, having a child out of wedlock basically means social suicide. She hasn’t told her mother about the baby because she knows her mother will basically disown her so she needs to give the baby up for adoption…..but she can’t bring herself to do that either. Her mother basically raised her all on her own, so why can’t she raise her daughter by herself? Caterina is an accomplished sommelier who has grown up in a…
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Review: Waging War (The Immortal Descendants #4) by April White
For the last couple of years I’ve been a big fan of the Immortal Descendants series! It’s been really fun watching the series evolve and mature over the years! I love the main characters and the premise for the story so when Waging War came out I naturally agreed to review it! In the previous books, Clocker Saira Elian, time travels through multiple different periods to save friends, family, of course stop the Mongers from gaining power. This book is no different….this time we find Saira time traveling to WWII to try and stop a brutal massacre. Saira and her friend Ringo, travel back to WWII Bletchley Park to team up…
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Review: Lies and Other Acts of Love by Kristy Woodson Harvey
I don’t typically read a lot of ‘Southern fiction’ or women’s fiction, but there was something about this intriguing cover and description that lured me in. After sixty years of marriage and five daughters, Lynn “Lovey” White knows that all of us, from time to time, need to use our little white lies. Her granddaughter, Annabelle, on the other hand, is as truthful as they come. She always does the right thing—that is, until she dumps her hedge fund manager fiancé and marries a musician she has known for three days. After all, her grandparents, who fell in love at first sight, have shared a lifetime of happiness, even through…
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Review: Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye
This has been the year of Jane Eyre inspired literature and this latest Jane Eyre revisitation was something quite unexpected. Any book that has the passage ‘reader I murdered him’ so eloquently stated and matter-of-factly, instantly holds a special place in my heart! When we first meet Jane Steele she is living with her mother in a small cottage on the grande estate of Highgate House. All her life Jane is told she is to inherit Highgate House but when her mother dies unexpectedly Jane’s evil aunt purposes to send her away to a school where she will learn to be a governess. After first hearing this news, Jane runs…
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Review: The Last Days of Magic by Mark Tompkins
This book has only recently been on my radar. It’s being market to fans of Deborah Harkness’s All Soul’s Trilogy so of course when I saw it, I was excited to read something that promises so much! It introduces us to unforgettable characters who grapple with quests for power, human frailty, and the longing for knowledge that has been made taboo. Mark Tompkins has crafted a remarkable tale—a feat of world-building that poses astonishing and resonant answers to epic questions. What became of magic in the world? Who needed to do away with it, and for what reasons? Drawing on myth, legend, fairy tales, and Biblical mysteries, this book imagines answers…
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Review: The Return of the Witch (The Witch’s Daughter #2) by Paula Brackston
I’ve been a big fan of Paula Brackston…….especially her witch books! Ironically the only book of her’s I haven’t read is The Witch’s Daughter! I have it but I just haven’t gotten around to reading it for some reason. So when this book came up for review, I was hesitant only because I haven’t read the first one. However, I was so excited to read another of her witch books that I just gave in a read this one! So I would be lying if I said I should have read the first book before this one. There were a lot of references to things that happened in the first…
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Review: The Arrangement by Ashley Warlick
M.F.K. Fisher is American’s most well known food writer. Her writing abilities created a new literary genre all about food….that’s some pretty impressive writing! What isn’t known about this interesting woman, is much about her personal life. That’s what writer Ashley Warlick plans to do……create a more or less fiction account of a factual figure. When we meet Mary Frances, she is young, restlessly married, and returning from her first sojourn in France……she is hungry, and not just for food. She begins writing to impress friend and neighbor Tim, who seems to understand her better than anyone. Mary Frances and her husband, Al, no longer share the things that once bound…