Books
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Special Feature: Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places by Colin Dickey
It’s the bewitching time of year and it is also my favorite time of year! I absolutely love Halloween and all the spooky reads, especially this time of year. But to be perfectly honest, I can read a good ghost story any time of year. While I normally don’t read a lot of non fiction, sometimes truth IS stranger than fiction and I for one couldn’t pass on sharing a bit about this spooky non fiction read this Halloween season! Last year for Christmas I actually bought this book for my sister and she absolutely loved it! Her an I both love ghost stories and when I saw this one…
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Review: The Woman at the Front by Lecia Cornwall
A WWI battlefield nurse romance? Yes please! I saw this cover and was instantly like YES WWI nurse romances are where it’s at for me! But as I dove into this one it was about a female doctor not a nurse which added a feel of newness for me to a tried and true genre. Lecia Cornwall has written a number of other romances so I was eager to see how much of a romance this book would be. I would say it contained a fair bit of romance but that wasn’t necessarily the focus—the focus was more about the main character, Eleanor’s, journey from fresh new doctor to battle…
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Special Feature: In the Company of Witches (Evenfall Witches B&B #1) by Auralee Wallace
It’s the bewitching time of year and what better way to spend the haunting season than with a cozy witchy murder mystery! This is the first in a new series by seasoned author Auralee Wallace and I am so excited to share a bit with you guys about the book today! Wallace is best known for her Otter Lake Mystery series which boasts five books and a devoted fan following. The thing that attracted me to this new series by Wallace was not only the cover with the sweet black cat, fun witch hat, and classic haunted house but the summary sounded positively charming. Magic, mystery, paranormal, ghosts, and of…
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Review: Portrait of a Scotsman (A League of Extraordinary Women #3) by Evie Dunmore
When I first read Evie Dunmore’s debut novel, Bringing Down the Duke, I absolutely fell in love. I hadn’t been consistently reading a ton of historical romances (meaning, I hadn’t read Julia Quinn yet!) and all I could think of was ‘finally—-a romance novel I can get behind!’ I felt like I was reading something deliciously modern yet set in the Victorian era with all the things I love about historical fiction—strong women with untold stories. I read the second book in this series and while I didn’t love it as much as I loved the first book, I was eager to continue with the series. I was especially excited…
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Special Feature: The Duchess by Wendy Holden
I read my first Wendy Holden book last year and I loved how well she wrote historical fiction! The Royal Governess was a well researched and interesting novel about the governess of Queen Elizabeth, and I came away from it feeling like I learned some new things while enjoying a great story. When I saw she was coming out with this new book about Wallis Simpson I knew it would be a quality book! For me personally, I am not a fan of the love story of Wallis Simpson and the man who would be king. I always felt like Wallis Simpson was an opportunist and I questioned if she…
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Review: Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens (Wrexford & Sloane #5) by Andrea Penrose
When I randomly picked up the first book in this series a few years ago, I knew I was reading something special. While not necessarily and earth shattering read or even something ‘new and different’ in the saturated genre of historical mysteries, there is something about Lord Wrexford that just makes me swoon and I just love him! Charlotte and Wrex have been solving murders and falling in love for the last five books and finally here we are just as they are planning their nuptials and Charlotte’s reentrance into society when another body pops up! This time Charlotte and Wrex don’t really have a reason to investigate this murder…
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Review: A Magical New York Christmas by Anita Hughes
I adore Anita Hughes. I have been a big fan for a while though I have only really read her holiday romances, I have enjoyed each one for a number of different reasons. I think the biggest thing that I have loved about her romances are the locations! Every time I crack open a Christmas romance by Hughes, I am automatically transported to some where cozy and even a bit magical. Her novels have been set in London and Paris at Christmas as well as other more ‘local’ locations for me like Vermont. Each location gets a heavy holiday makeover and I always find myself wondering why I don’t go…
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Special Feature: Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis
Is it really time for Christmas books? The answer is apparently yes. I normally don’t break out my Christmas reads until at least November but I do have a couple of holiday books I wanted to get on your radar before the season got into full swing and this right here is one of them. While this book has a distinctive winter vibe, I am not exactly sure that’s it qualifies as a Christmas book officially. The summary indicates that this story will explore the romance between two strangers who are stranded together in a blizzard—-in March. So it sounds like this might not be the Christmas romance you were…
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Review: The Collector’s Daughter by Gill Paul
Like so many people, ancient Egypt is a source of endless fascination for me. When I saw this one was coming out, it was a no brainer—I had to read this one. I actually listened to the audio version on my commutes in Arizona. The narrator had a pleasant voice and made the book interesting while I was stuck in the desert traffic. Not to mention the story was equally interesting. A few years ago I read a non fiction novel on the Countess of Carnarvon and I had a deep affection for Lady Almina when I finished it. This book does not portray the Countess in a favorable light…
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Review: On Location by Sarah Smith
This summer was the summer of National Parks for me! I explored quite a bit of Arizona this summer including The Grand Canyon NP and Saguaro NP along with a number of National Monuments. Then I came home to Oregon and visited Crater Lake NP and am heading the Mt Rainier NP and Olympic NP in Washington later this fall. So when I saw a book that was a travel/work place/vacation romance with National Parks, I was absolutely on board! This book sounded so promising and I just adore travel romances. Sarah Smith has written a few other romances which I haven’t read but it sounds like the general consensus…