Literary Criticism
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Review: The Rewind by Allison Winn Scotch
I love all the 1990s nostalgia that is going on right now. Dr Martens are making a come back (glad I kept my pair from high school!), the Boo Pails are back at McDonalds, flare jeans and baby doll dresses with a white tee are back with a vengeance! YEAH flare jeans! My 1990s kid heart is so happy and I am just loving it! I love seeing remakes of some of my favorite 1990s films—the remakes aren’t great (looking at you Baywatch!) but it’s fun to see people trying to introduce them to as new audience! And I have seen a number of books thick with 1990s nostalgia and…
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Review: A Lot Like Adios (Primas of Power #2) by Alexis Daria
After reading YOU HAD ME AT HOLA, I liked it enough to download the second book in the series. It showed promise and had strong characters that I felt brought flavor and excitement to the story. Plus I was on the hunt for another romance novel that was equal parts fluffy and entertaining. I have to admit, I liked this one WAY better than the first book. In fact, I feel like this should have been the first book in the series. Michelle’s character was complex in an unexpected way and I think a lot of women can relate to her. If you are a fan of romance novels, especially…
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Review: The Belle of Belgrave Square (Belles of London #2) by Mimi Matthews
It’s no secret that I have been a long time Mimi Matthews fan. I have loved all of her books but of course some more than others. Over the years I have seen her move from a smaller publisher company to the big time with Berkley publishing. It’s been so exciting to see her grow as an author and or course see other new readers discover her and see how amazing she really is as a writer! I read the first book in this series and liked it quite a bit but this was the story I was most eager to explore since meeting these characters in the first book.…
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Review: You Had Me at Hola (Primas of Power #1) by Alexis Daria
This book has been on my radar for quite a while. I even dowloaded a copy a few months ago with the intension of reading it but then my ADHD kicked in and another book caught my eye and this one fell by the wayside. Every once in a while though I would see it pop up on my radar again and in my recommended reading, finally I decided to pick it up! I was really wanting something light and fun, and that fact that it was Hispanic Heritage Month, I thought why not read this one?! I loved the idea of two soap opera/novella stars coming together for a…
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Review: One Woman’s War by Christine Wells
Ya’ll should know by now that I am a sucker for basically any historical fiction, but I have a soft spot for war time historical fiction. This book has a strong espionage angle that I thought sounded interesting. I love spy novels and espionage, lately a lot of historical fiction novels include an espionage angle so naturally I gravitate towards book that include this. When I saw this one come up for review, it was an easy yes. I loved that the real life story of Victoire Bennett, was the inspiration for the classic James Bond character, Moneypenny! For someone who loves spy novels, there can be no passing on…
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Review: Murder at the Serpentine Bridge (Wrexford and Sloane #6) by Andrea Penrose
I have really enjoyed this series from the very beginning. It has great characters that while perhaps not unique in their description (wealthy titled man turned detective), when you get right down to their characters they distinguish themselves for readers. Charlotte is the character who has changed the most throughout the series. Wrexford has remained fairly constant in his persona, but Charlotte’s changes have been exciting to watch. Naturally when this come came up for review, I couldn’t pass it up. I am fully invested in watching the series continue to grow and am excited to see that more books will be forthcoming! If you are a fan of historical…
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Review: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
If I had to describe this one, I would say it’s a Golden Girls meets James Bond mashup that you never knew you needed. Deanna Raybourn has been a beloved author of mine for YEARS! Her characters are charming, witty, and smart. I have read almost all of her books and never pass on anything she has written. She is truly a talented writer and I am just so thrilled that she has come out with a new standalone book! Raybourn has such a great prose with humor, charm, and boldness that is rare to find and I absolutely love when she comes out with a new book as I…
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Review: The Most Likely Club by Elyssa Friedland
I can vividly remember my very first assembly in high school as a freshman. It was the ‘senior assembly’ where they announced all the ‘most likely to’ people. This was the mid 1990’s so they were still doing things like ‘best legs’ and’ most likely to marry a rich guy’. So obviously things like this are pretty outdated now a days but I can still remember wondering what I would be voted ‘most likely’ as when I became a senior. As luck would have it I never got to find out. I moved my senior year of high school to a large school that had done away with this by…
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Review: Our Woman in Moscow by Beatriz Williams
When I think of good, solid, historical fiction—one of the first names that comes to mind is Beatriz Williams. Hands down she writes wonderful novels rich with historical detail and characters you can relate to. I have loved many of her books and when I saw she was coming out with this more modern piece of historical fiction, I was all over it. So many of her books are set in the 1940s to 1950s and this book really felt like it was going to have a more modern twist with the Russians and spies. I bought it when it first came out and then forgot about it until my…
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Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This book on been on my radar for YEARS. I have had a copy on my shelf and that stunning green dress just calls to me on the cover. But yet I haven’t picked it up. Despite the rave reviews and all the buzz. I don’t really know why other than it sounded a little heavy but I found myself looking at it and then putting it back on my shelf. Especially the last couple of years, I have really leaned more toward light fluffy reading and just wasn’t ready for something more serious. Then I found myself reading on my Kindle one night only to discover that I was…