Books
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Review: The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post by Allison Pataki
If you have poured yourself a bowl of cereal in the last 100 or so years, odds are it was a Post brand cereal! I think most of us are familiar with some uber wealthy names like Vanderbilt, Hearst, Kennedy, and Rockefeller. The name Post doesn’t necessarily ring any bells for me. It sounds like a common name with little attached to it to distinguish itself. When this book came across my desk for review, I basically thought the cover was pretty and that was about it. The name and title in the book didn’t draw me in or anything, it was purely the elegant cover. I read the blurb…
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Special Feature: A Perfect Equation (The Secret Scientists of London #2) by Elizabeth Everett
Full disclosure, I picked up the first book in this series last year after having pre ordered the book and eagerly waited for it to come, only to be horribly disappointed. I didn’t finish the first book and felt incredibly sad about that. By all accounts this series should be right up my alley. I had majorly high hopes for the first book in the series. There wasn’t anything that really stood out as ‘bad enough to make me DNF’ but it just wasn’t holding my attention and I just didn’t know why. So why am I featuring this second book if I didn’t even like or finish the first…
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Review: Ramon and Juileta by Alana Quintana Albertson
Am I Hispanic? No. But do I love Hispanic culture and traditions YES! My husband is Hispanic and I love combining our traditions and making something uniquely us so when I saw this retelling of Romeo and Juliet but with tacos, I was absolutely dying to read it! As a teenager, I loved Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet plus the Leonardo DiCaprio film was THE movie of my youth. As an adult, Romeo and Juliet is probably the least favorite of the Shakespeare plays (still love the DiCaprio film though!) but when I saw this book I couldn’t pass on it! I was so eager to see how this author spun…
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Special Feature/Excerpt: The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbull
The late Victorian/early Edwardian era through WWI is one of my absolute favorite eras in history. It truly is the ending of an era when the glitz and glamour of the social class start to give way and shape the future of the modern age. One of the things I love reading and studying is the fall of some of the big dynasties like the Romanov empire. One of the reasons the Romanov dynasty appeals to me so much is it feels exotic to me. I think most of us as readers are familiar with books set in England during this time as well as shows like Downton Abbey that…
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Special Feature and Excerpt: Jane and the Year Without a Summer (Jane Austen Mysteries #14) by Stephanie Barron
I am so happy to see how well this series is doing! Fourteen books into the mystery series and it’s still going strong! This is a series that has floated around my radar for a while now and it’s been so fun to watch it grow and mature over the years since the first book was published in 1996! That to me shows this series has staying power! I am so thrilled to bring you guys a sample of the latest book in the series, Jane and the Year Without a Summer. I mean what could be better than Jane Austen with a murder mystery?! Some times I am wary…
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Review: Homicide and Halo-Halo (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #2) by Mia P Manansala
I recognized this cover art almost immediately when the book came across my desk for review! The cover art on the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen books are recognizable and stand out with their bold colors and fun graphics. The first book in the series is Arsenic and Adobo which was a Book of the Month selection last year when it first came out. I snatched it up but then basically forgot about it until this follow up book came across my desk. The pops of color and the cute done on the front inspired me to pick it up and give it a go……regardless if I had read the first book…
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Review: Circus of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneal
I read Elizabeth Macneal’s debut novel, The Doll Factory, a couple of years ago and loved it. I was super excited to see this book was coming out and I absolutely love the cover. The cover is eye catching and bright and just screams ‘circus theme’ and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. Honestly the cover and title implied that it would be a lot more whimsical and happy then it actually was. Having read her previous novel, I was not entirely surprised that this book was a bit more serious than the cover implies. Macneal has a great way of capturing the atmosphere of late Victorian…
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Special Feature: The Lobotomist’s Wife by Samantha Greene Woodruff
There are so many hot new historical fiction releases this upcoming spring and I cannot with all these great titles! This book hit my radar a few months ago and I have been so excited to bring it to you guys! This book follows the early days of the psychological field but through the eyes of the wife of a leading psychologist. This book is based on real life events and I am so here for it! Mental health is on a lot of peoples radar right now with the pandemic and such, so a book like this that looks at some of the early treatment of mental patients really…
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Review: The Next Ship Home: A Novel of Ellis Island by Heather Webb
Heather Webb is such an incredibly gifted writer. I have read and loved many of her novels, she has written independent novels and cowritten novels with Hazel Gaynor. All of them have been wonderful reads and I always look forward to her upcoming novels. This book was obviously no different. I had this one on my radar for months! When I was a little girl I was fascinated by Ellis Island. I recall learning about is in 5th grade and really romanticizing the idea of coming to a completely new country and having to navigate a new culture, in many cases a new language, and to try and make a…
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Review: The Night Train to Berlin by Melanie Hudson
Ya’ll know how much of a sucker I am for WWII romances and historical fiction (which generally includes some kind of romantic element). I just can’t say no and that lovely cover just drew me in. Lately I’ve been reading some easy romances and a couple of solid thrillers so I haven’t really been in the mood to snag a more emotional war time novel but this one just stood out and I knew it was something that I would most likely love. I also love the Cornish coast so any book set there is a win-win for me. Author Melanie Hudson’s debut novel, The Last Letter from Juliet, was…