Books
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Review: The Hawkweed Legacy (Hawkweed Prophecy #2) by Irena Brignull
When I was pitched this book, I thought this was the first in the series. I loosely read the summary and just assumed that it was the first one. So let’s get this out of the way first—read the first book in the series before you read this book. It’s hard for me to write a review for this one because it’s very clearly part of a series and was meant to be read by people who had read the first book. With that in mind, I could have backed out and said I would rather wait and read the first one before writing a review, but I made a…
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Giveaway: THE WHALE: A LOVE STORY by Mark Beauregard
I am thrilled to be offering this book up for giveaway this week! Can we talk about how beautiful that cover is?! It makes me think of the summer and beach reading! A rich and captivating novel set amid the witty, high-spirited literary society of 1850s New England, offering a new window on Herman Melville’s emotionally charged relationship with Nathaniel Hawthorne and how it transformed his masterpiece, Moby-Dick In the summer of 1850, Herman Melville finds himself hounded by creditors and afraid his writing career might be coming to an end—his last three novels have been commercial failures and the critics have turned against him. In despair, Melville takes his…
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Special Feature: Murder at the Flamingo (A Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery #1) by Rachel McMillan
I was so sad that I couldn’t fit this one in to my review schedule for the summer, so I opted to do a special feature instead! This looks like a promising new mystery series with an intriguing duo! About Murder at the Flamingo Series: A Van Buren and DeLuca Mystery (Book 1) Paperback: 352 pages Publisher: Thomas Nelson (July 10, 2018) “Maybe it was time to land straight in the middle of the adventure…” Hamish DeLuca has spent most of his life trying to hide the anxiety that appears at the most inopportune times — including during his first real court case as a new lawyer. Determined to rise above his father’s expectations,…
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Review: Immortal Reign (Falling Kingdoms #6) by Morgan Rhodes
The first book in this series kind of left me underwhelmed but I was willing to give the second book a chance. Before I knew it, I was on the fifth book eagerly awaiting the sixth to be released! For some reason, I thought there were seven book in the series, but it became apparent fairly early on, that this was the last book in the series. Personally I felt like there should have been seven books instead of the six. As two lethal elemental gods set out to destroy Mytica, sworn enemies must become allies in the final fight to save the kingdoms. Jonas continues to willfully defy his…
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Review: Four Funerals and Maybe a Wedding (Her Royal Spyness #12) by Rhys Bowen
The Royal Spyness mystery series is one that has been gifted and recommended to me more times than I can count. I literally have three copies of the first book from my mom because she keeps forgetting that she already recommended it to me. So clearly it’s a book that people want me to read. I just haven’t thought about it when I am looking for something to read. I am no stranger to Rhys Bowen’s books though. She writes beautifully and I love reading her stand alone books! Finally, after all this time, I picked up a Royal Spyness mystery…..about twelve books too late!
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Review: The House at Saltwater Point (Lavender Tides #2) by Colleen Coble
I like books with interesting mysterious titles. This book, in combination with the cover, said mystery to me. I love the dark, brooding colors and scenery on the cover of this book and in many ways, it reminded me of a more modern Mary Stewart novel, so I was eager to read it. Ellie Blackmore is making a name for herself as a house flipper. But when her sister Mackenzie disappears, Ellie can’t focus on anything but uncovering what happened. Her only clue is the bloodstain on the deck of Mackenzie’s boat. Ellie knows her sister isn’t on the best of terms with her ex-husband, Jason, but he wouldn’t kill…
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Review: Beautiful Exiles by Meg Waite Clayton
I watched this absolutely wonderful HBO miniseries called Hemingway and Gellhorn in 2012. I had major movie hangover after watching it. IMBD users didn’t seem to like it as much as I did, but for whatever reason this movie just resonated with me and I was fascinated by this couple I knew nothing about. I knew that Hemingway was moody and an all around asshole but that he wrote beautifully. Full disclosure, I haven’t read a single Hemingway book—-but I’ve read enough Hemingway quotes to discern that he’s a brilliant writer. The person I didn’t really know much about though was Martha Gellhorn. In the film she seemed like a…
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Review: A Class Apart (A Matter of Class #1) by Susie Murphy
When I first started book blogging (almost 10 years ago!), I used to read a ton of indie and self published books but now that I have been blogging for so long, I tend to read a lot more books from publishing groups or established authors. One of the things that I liked most about reading these self published or indie books was so that I could give constructive criticism. I hate when I read a book review and it just says something like ‘your book sucks’. Why not offer some suggestions to help guide them or praise where praise is due? Most of the self published or indie books…
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Special Feature: AN UNWANTED GUEST by Shari Lapena
If there is one thing I have learned in all my years of book blogging….it’s women can write fantastic and chilling thrillers! I will be reviewing this one later in the summer but I wanted to make sure it was on your radar! This one sounds so chilling and intriguing! We can’t choose the strangers we meet. As the guests arrive at beautiful, remote Mitchell’s Inn, they’re all looking forward to a relaxing weekend deep in the forest, miles from anywhere. They watch their fellow guests with interest, from a polite distance. Usually we can avoid the people who make us nervous, make us afraid. With a violent storm raging,…
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Review: Competence: Custard Protocol (The Custard Protocol #3) by Gail Carriger
I came upon Gail Carriger in 2011 when I had entered a Steampunk reading challenge. She was an author I would never have picked up on my own but as soon as I read the first book, I was completely hooked and so thankful that I had stumbled upon both the reading challenge and her books! Since then I have read just about everything she has put out, with the exception of The Custard Protocol series. When this book came up for review, I was a little worried because it’s the third in the series…..a series which I haven’t even read though the world sounded the same and Carriger’s writing…