Review: Music for My Soul by Lauren Linwood

Madeleine Bouchard is on the run. She flees from her abusive husband in the dead of night. She hopes to make it to London and board a ship to France that will take her back to her family.

She plans on putting as many miles between her and her husband as she can while it’s still dark when fate intervenes.

Lord Garrett Montayne and his friend are also on the road to London in the wee hours of the morning when they see a woman walking alone.

When they ride up on her, she goes into survival mode.When asked who she is, she can’t use her name as these men could be friends of her husbands.

Instead she gives a name feared throughout the land–Lady Montayne. Garrett is completely taken aback by her declaration having never seen her before but he agrees to play along and he and his friend escort her to London.

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Review: Night of a Thousand Stars by Deanna Raybourn

Deanna Raybourn has been an author long on my radar. I hear wonderful things about her Lady Jane series from a number of people.

So when the opportunity to review her latest standalone book, I was eager to try her books out!

Poppy Hammond, is all set to marry into an aristocratic family but she has other plans which include making a run for it.

She is assisted by the dashing curate Sebastian Cantrip who helps her escape to her family’s house where she can have some time to think and sort out her life.

Before she can thank Sebastian for his assistance, he disappears and she sets her mind to finding him. She soon realizes Sebastian has lied to her about who he is. She discovers that he has fled to Damascus. What in the world took him there?! She is determined to figure out what exactly is going on here.

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Review: The Duplicitous Debutante (Cotillion Ball #6) by Becky Lower

New York society in the 1850’s, expects women to find a good husband, set up a functional home, and of course….have children.

But Rosemary Fitzpatrick has other plans, the last thing she is interested in is entering society and beginning the great husband hunt!

Rosemary has other ambitions which include writing the popular Harry Hawk dime novels. But it’s an age that frowns upon female writers and thus Rosemary writes as the gender generic, F.P. Elliott.

Well the head of the publishing company sends his son, Henry Cooper, to meet this F.P. Elliott along with the other authors of the publishing company. Rosemary is totally captivated by his good looks and charm, and Henry likewise is intrigued by Rosemary who he thinks is the secretary for Mr. F.P. Elliott.

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Review: Murder on the Île Sordou (Verlaque and Bonnet #4) by M.L. Longworth

Judge Verlaque and his girlfriend, law professor Dr Marine Bonnet are taking a much needed vacation on a secluded island off the coast of France, Sordou.

The island was once a haven for the rich and famous in the 1960’s but was long forgotten but the elite in favor of other island destinations in the south of France.

However the Le Bon family, Cat-Cat and Max, just bought the hotel and hope to restore it to its former glory.

With the opening weekend on their life’s savings on the line, they need everything to go perfect….the last thing they need is a murder.

This novel totally reminded me of Clue, set in France. It was full of a number of eccentric characters each seemingly with no motive.

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Review: Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth

I think most know the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel.

The child sold to a witch for a handful of bitter greens who grows up to be the beautiful girl in the world with long golden hair.

Destine to live in a tower forever, a prince rides by and hears a voice and is enchanted by her.

He learns how to get to her by climbing up her hair and ultimately rescues her for the witch and the tower and they live happily ever after.

Sound familiar? But what of the original fairy tale by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force that was published in 1698?

In Kate Forsyth’s book Bitter Greens,  Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force is one of the main characters and we see how her story could have potentially come together.

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